Questions About Eight Perfect Murders

by Peter Swanson (Goodreads Author)

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Answered Questions (21)

This question contains spoilers... (view spoiler)

Flighty_Z The author actually cleared that up! Amazon fail.

https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...…moreThe author actually cleared that up! Amazon fail.

https://www.goodreads.com/questions/1...(less)

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Do you need to be familiar with the eight thrillers from Mal's list to appreciate this book?

Susan No. I think it would add to it but I hadn't read any of the books referred to and I still loved it! It does kind of spoil those classic mysteries thou…moreNo. I think it would add to it but I hadn't read any of the books referred to and I still loved it! It does kind of spoil those classic mysteries though as Malcolm reveals the killer and how they did it for several of the books. So if you don't want the classics spoiled then read them first.(less)

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Which mystery books does this book spoil?

Jenn S At least these, but there may be a few I'm forgetting:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
And then there were none
Strangers on Train
Double Indemnity
The Drowner…moreAt least these, but there may be a few I'm forgetting:
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd
And then there were none
Strangers on Train
Double Indemnity
The Drowner
Malice Aforethought
The Red House Mystery
The A.B.C. Murders
Deathtrap
The Secret History(less)

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Has anyone made a list of all the books/authors mentioned in this novel (beyond the eight at the beginning)?

Anne I enjoyed this book ( AKA Rules For Perfect Murders) so much more than the usual cosy murder mystery. Not unusually, it is set in Boston and the wider…moreI enjoyed this book ( AKA Rules For Perfect Murders) so much more than the usual cosy murder mystery. Not unusually, it is set in Boston and the wider New England area, and has numerous quirky characters of varying reliability but also, as another reviewer noted, this is a meta mystery with considerable depth and complexity, that is based on and refers to many previous books. There are so many that I made a reading list (with wiki links that include spoilers) of all the antecedent books that are directly related to the plot as well as those mentioned in passing. The list is a kind of plot spoiler so perhaps best to read after you have finished the book. ( There are other lists at the end.) If you enjoy mystery, crime, detective novels give it a try or if you want to explore this genre check out the list.. I know what I am going to be reading for the next several weeks.

Authors and books in order of mention.

Ruth Rendell Shake Hands Forever 1975
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shake_H...

Agatha Christie Pocket Full of Rye 1953
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Pocke...

Agatha Christie ABC Murders ( 1936
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_A.B...

A .A . Milne The Red House Mystery 1922
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Red...

Anthony Berkeley Cox Malice Aforethought 1932
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malice_...

James M. Cain Double Indemnity 1943
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Double_...

Patricia Highsmith Strangers on a Train 1950
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange...

John D MacDonald The Drowner 1963
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D....

Ira Levin Deathtrap 1978
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deathtr...

Donna Tartt The Secret History 1992
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sec...

Dorothy B Hughes In a Lonely Place 1947
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_a_Lo...

Atkinson K Started Early, Took My dog 2010
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Started...

Agatha Christie The Sittaford Mystery 1931
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sit...

Dorothy L. Sayers The Nine Tailors 1934
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nin...

Nicholas Blake The Corpse in the Snowman 1941
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1...

Ngaio Marsh Tied Up in Tinsel 1972
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tied_Up...

Martin Cruz Smith Gorky Park 1981
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gorky_P...

Peter Høeg Smilla’s Sense of Snow 1992
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miss_Sm...

Scott Smith A Simple Plan 1993
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Simpl...

Scott Phillips The Ice Harvest 2000
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Ice...

Ann Cleeves Raven Black 2006
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raven_B...

Richard Stark The Hunter 1962
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hun...

Agatha Christie The Murder of Roger Ackroyd 1926
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mur...

Gillian Flynn Gone Girl 2012
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gone_Gi...

Daphne Du Maurier Rebecca. 1938
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca...

Rex Stout Too Many Cooks. 1938
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Too_Man...

Patricia Cornwell Postmortem,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postmor...

Michael Connelly The Black Echo. 1992
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Bla...

Dorothy L. Sayers Gaudy Night 1935
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaudy_N...

Josephine Tey, The Daughter of Time 1951
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dau...

Faye Kellerman The Ritual Bath 1986
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Ritual-Bath-...

Umberto Eco The Name of the Rose 1983
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Nam...

Charles Dickens Bleak House 1852
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bleak_H...

Robert Galbraith The Cuckoo’s Calling 2013
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cuc...

John Le Carre The Spy Who Came In From The Cold
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Spy...

Lawrence Block When the Sacred Ginmill Closes Lawrence Block 1986
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_th...

Agatha Christie And Then There Were None 1940
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/And_The...

Other writers in order of mentions
Louise Penny
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louise_...
Robert Parker
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_...
John Dickson Carr
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Di...
Lee Child Jack Reacher Book Series
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jack_Re...
Sara Paretsky
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sara_Pa...
Dennis Lehane
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dennis_...
Elizabeth George
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabe...
Anne Perry
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anne_Perry
Sue Grafton, Gregory Mcdonald, Ian Fleming, Peter Benchley, Micky Spillane. Alastair Mc Lean
Ed Mc Bain.

More lists :
Mal's playlist
Max Richter 24 postcards in full colour
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/24_Post...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xNNhj...

Michael Nyman CDs in my old CD player and listened to his score for The End of the Affair
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_End...
https://open.spotify.com/album/1JOSD4...

Mal loves poetry
“An Exequy” by Peter Porter
The Hawk in the Rain" by Ted Hughes.
“Winter Nightfall” by Sir John Squire.
“Black Rook in Rainy Weather” by Sylvia Plath
“Aubade” by Philip Larkin,
“Crossing the Water” by Sylvia Plath,
“Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard” by Thomas Gray.
and anything by Anne Sexton

And if you want to drink along with Mal
Old Speckled Hen
Hefeweizen.
Gritty McDuff’s English-style bitter
Guinness
Left Hand Stout
Zwack
Petite syra
Taylor Fladgate Tawny Port (less)(less)

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Age rating, anyone?