The premise -- an introverted widower, Malcolm Kershaw, manages Old Devils Bookstore in Boston. Once upon a time, in 2004, he wrote a blog post as a store promotion listing perfect murders in crime fiction. He came up with 8 titles (listed in synopsis if you want to read or reread) after quite the agonizing ordeal and, in fact, even going so far as to put down a couple that he hadn't actually read but researched the plots. The obvious point of the post was to chose the most clever, most ingenious, and most foolproof in crime fiction history. The post was published and Malcolm expects a deluge of reactions and receives only two comments. So much for viral sensation. In fact, he's all but forgotten about the post until Special Agent Gwen Mulvey of the FBI shows up to ask some questions about it. Seems that someone is murdering people using the plots in the books that Malcolm listed. Intrigued, Malcolm decides to look into these unsolved crimes especially once he figures out that whoever is doing this must actually know him. NO SPOILERS.
If you're a fan of old, classic mystery thrillers, this is a quick read that should keep you fully engaged as you try to anticipate what is going on and why. I read this in a couple of hours this evening as it is quite short and moves along quickly. That said, I think I'm not really the most appreciative audience as I'm really only mildly interested in the type of books that the author has based the story on though I am a committed suspense thriller reader. I have read and really enjoyed Swanson's other books, but this one didn't quite hit the mark for me with twists, thrills, chills or suspense. I look forward to his next book.
Thank you to NetGalley and HarperCollins Publishers for the e-book ARC to read and review.
This is a standalone and is not part of any series.
Genre - crime thriller, classic mysteries
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