Eight Detectives

by Alex Pavesi

‘Chess is a cheap metaphor. It’s what men use when they want to talk in a grandiose way about conflict.’

‘Right now he’s sleeping the sleep of the just-had-lunch.’ She

‘the first ingredient is a group of suspects; the characters that may, or may not, have been responsible for the killing.

If there are only two suspects, then both of them know who the killer is.

‘The second ingredient of a murder mystery is a victim, or group of victims. Those characters that have been killed in unknown circumstances.’

‘Suspects, victims and detectives. The first three ingredients of a murder mystery.’

as if not being inclined to voice an opinion was the same as not being able to have one.’

The craft, then, is in the misdirection: in picking the solution that in some ways seems the most unsuitable to the story you’ve written, but in other ways fits perfectly.’

‘To me, the sea is like having a pet dog asleep on the hearth. When I’m near it, even inside my cottage, it’s like I can feel it breathing. It’s a companion, of sorts. It’s less lonely to live alone by the sea.’

It was a Monday morning: the first opportunity for anything interesting to happen after the stifling quiet of Sunday.