Eight Detectives is a debut novel with an interesting premise. A book editor visits a reclusive self published author of a book of short stories. The idea was clever but I did not feel very engaged with the protagonists or the nding.

I really liked the set up of the book. I felt it was a novel narrative, different from the normal mystery.
A writer of a self- published book is visited many years later by a publisher's editor with the idea of republishing the book. During they visit the short mystery stories are re-read and dissected for form and inconsistencies and for the way they fit the author's thesis of a mathematical solution for writing a mystery. There are 7 detective mysteries, the 8th detective being the publishing editor. Nothing is quite as it seems.

It is difficult to describe the book without over using the words book / stories or narratives but I did enjoy the initial examination of each mystery. There is a lot of cross over between this and some Agatha Christie novels. However the tying of the disparate strands and the unknotting of the whole felt less enjoyable. I was disappointed by the ending.

Very different and very clever. I’m not sure I’m clever enough to understand it. Certainly not the mathematical formula and permutations that are at the heart of the seven detective stories. Though that probably doesn’t really matter that much.

The book is made up of these short stories but also in between each are the discussions between editor Julia and author Grant McAllister on the remote Mediterranean island where he lives alone. Julia has told him that she wants to publish his short stories The White Murders thirty years after their original publication. But is that all there is to it?

As you read the stories (some of them quite gory and disturbing) and the discussions between editor and author, you begin to realise that the real mystery is that of Grant McAllister and why he moved here all those years ago. What is he hiding? And why does he have so little memory of the original stories? What do the inconsistencies point to?

This is one of the most original and clever books I have ever read. At times I had to re-read passages to try and understand it. And as for the stories themselves. Well number seven is definitely my favourite. But then I love the addition of the supernatural.

Many thanks to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi

Crime fiction writer and professor of mathematics Grant McAllister is enjoying his quiet retirement on a Mediterranean island. He no longer writes and hasn’t done for thirty years. But then comes the day when ambitious editor Julia Hart turns up on his doorstep. Grant’s early work is being republished and with it a collection of short crime stories that have never been published before. The two of them must work together to prepare these stories. Grant can barely remember them, they were written so long ago, but within them, as Julia reads them to him, he discusses what these stories reveal about the craft – and mathematical modelling – of crime fiction. It’s all very fascinating but as Julia reads these stories she uncovers something unexpected in them, clues, perhaps, hinting of another crime, an unsolved murder. And so begins a battle of wits between Julia and Grant. Neither should underestimate the other.

I couldn’t wait to read Eight Detectives as soon as I heard about it. I love novels that play around with the themes and tropes of genre, playing games with the characters and reader alike (thinking now of Anthony Horowitz and Stuart Turton), and so the premise of Eight Detectives is irresistible. I’m delighted to say that this is a fiendishly clever novel, a deliciously twisty mind puzzle, and it is very well written. It comprises a series of short stories, each of which are brilliant in their own right, which are then used by Julia and Grant to suit their own ends. It’s such a clever, ambitious structure that could easily have defeated an author but Alex Pavesi knows just what he’s doing.

This is one of those books that must remain a mystery beyond its appealing premise. I will say no more about its plot. But I will say that there were times when I thought I had figured out where it was going and I was always proven wrong. I’m not a reader of short stories but I really enjoyed how these tales were woven together to form a purpose. There are shocking moments, there are others that make you shiver. And there are other moments when you realise that the clues are there but you just need to know how to find them.

Eight Detectives is a fabulous piece of crime fiction in itself. It’s very Agatha Christie in some ways, which is most definitely a good thing. It then takes these stories and turns them into something else. You can almost imagine Agatha Christie enjoying the conversation. We’re not allowed too far into our two main characters’ heads. This is largely an intellectual exercise. We must go in cold, have no favourites. But it is completely compelling and engrossing. And it’s fast, as the ball is repeatedly hit back over the net. Excellent stuff! And it comes highly recommended.

I am going to admit, right here and now, that I am not the biggest crime/mystery reader.Not that I don’t like the genre - I do, hugely, just as much as I like reading fantasy - but I am not as well read in the genre compared to other readers, so when I first heard of Eight Detectives, I admit I was a little curious, but made an active decision to not know much about it. I requested it from the UK publishers on NetGalley and, after several months of “Oooh”ing and “Ahh”ing, I decide to give this a whirl, though I was still in the dark over what exactly this book was about.

Grant McAllister is a professor of mathematics. One day, thirty years ago, he wrote a paper about the mathematical rules of murder mysteries. He wrote a collection of seven short stories inspired by his paper, self-published the collection - The White Murders - then vanished from public life, living in seclusion in a small village on a quiet Mediterranean island.

That is, until Julia comes along. Julia is an editor for a small, crime publishing house and its owner wants to republish the collection. Together, the two go over each of the seven stories to amend for a modern audience.

But Julia notices that, in each story, there’s are errors. Inconsistencies that reference a real life murder that has been unsolved for thirty year. The murder of actress Elizabeth White, which the media dubbed at the time, The White Murder…

I am going to admit this right here and right now: this is going to be a marmite book. You are going to either love it or hate it. And the main reason for that is how the book is written.

Like I said earlier, I went into this knowing little to no information, so I was completely thrown by how this novel was written. It’s jumps from one of the short stories with The White Murders then a chapter of Julia and Grant talking about said story, then back to another short story and so forth. Now, some of you guys will recognise the style as it’s been done in Magpie Murders and Moonflower Murders, both by Anthony Horowitz, but those focuses on a novel within a novel, not a collection of short stories within a novel. So, this jumping back and forth, and to different stories as well, might be a bit jarring for some readers. I got on board with this around the second short story, but I get other readers might not like this style.

Oh, before I go further, I did find it really odd that most of the short stories have strong nods to Agatha Christie, and both Julia and Grant hint to that by saying things like “We’ve seen this done before successful” and yet, not once, mention the author’s name nor the titles they were hinting at (view spoiler) in questions, even though we have just read the story so it wouldn’t really be a spoiler, would it?

But, I liked most of the short stories in here, which take up around three quarters of the book. Most, if not all, were dark and twisted. But the main mystery - the mystery of Julia and Grant - was much more a slow burner, maybe a background mystery, because we spend so little time with them. Maybe that’s the point. Readers, like Julia, have this growing sense of unease, of mistrust, and we have to figure out quickly what is going on.

Speaking of that (sorry, I should talk about the writing and I will in a second), the last three chapters were my favourite. I was listening to them, walking round my kitchen in a small state of shock as truths come flying. Now, I guess a good handful of them and I was pleased that I did, but there were others that I didn’t get, and this is where readers might get annoyed because they come out of left-field and there’s not really any clues to these reveals. How are we, the readers, meant to solve a mystery if the author doesn’t play fair and give the readers the clues? Are those reveals just a “shock” ending?

Now, I liked these endings - to me, they make sense - but I would have liked a clue or two, even a red herring to go “Huh? That’s odd…”

Now, the writing. To me, the writing worked. It was sparse enough with just enough detail to keep the stories (let’s be truthful, we have about eight stories on the go) going. But, I understand that this might not work for other readers who would like more detail.

Like I said before, this is going to be a marmite read for some readers. Some readers won’t like it, others will. I enjoyed it and I am intrigued to see what else they write nexts.

An accomplished debut novel featuring an intriguing puzzle of seven short stories bound together by an overarching mystery. The story revolves around a publisher wishing to reprint a book of short mysteries meeting with the author to appraise and edit the collection before publication. The in-story author professed to discovering a series of rules that all murder mysteries adhere to and wrote a story using each rule. The book contains some maths, but if you’re not that way inclined, don’t get put off as you don’t need to understand it to fully appreciate the book. Personally I love a Venn Diagram, but realise it’s not everyone’s cup of tea. For me the short stories were more interesting than the main event and worth a read in themselves.
A unique approach to mystery writing and I’m excited to see what Alex Pavesi comes up with next.

Editor Julia Hart travels to the Mediterranean to meet Grant McAllister, the author of a book of short stories, entitled the White Murders. First published in the 1940s, Julia reads through each story, discussing with Grant the inconsistencies she uncovers in each. Is there a darker picture emerging, of the truth behind the book?

Eight Detectives has many hints of an Agatha Christie novel about it. In fact, it even acknowledges this during the story. Each little murder mystery is (by definition) very short, but enjoyable tales. The linking story, that of Grant and Julia, becomes slightly more complicated as the book develops, but, again, quite entertaining reading. I did find the ending a little confusing, but this didn’t interfere with my overall enjoyment of the book.

A pleasant read.

I didn't find this book easy to read.. Although the premise of the story is a good one, I found some of the plot implausible and it felt as though the whole book could do with some additional editing particularly around the ending. Metaphorically speaking there are some jagged edges that need smoothing down.

As soon as I saw the premise for this story I knew I had to read it! I really enjoyed the short stories interspersed within the main thread of the story. These stories were probably my favourite parts of the book. This was because they managed to keep my interest a little more than the main story.

Eight Detectives was certainly an intriguing book and managed to keep me guessing. I am definitely glad I read it but if I’m honest there were parts that didn’t quite work for me too. The main thing being that I never really felt a connection to the characters within the central story. What I will say is that if you are a fan of Agatha Christie you will enjoy the short stories and the overall feel of the story. I especially liked the story Trouble at Blue Pearl Island. There is a very different and unique aspect to the plot that made a refreshing change. On this occasion I guess it just wasn’t quite right for me. Maybe I had too high an expectation but I do look forward to seeing what this author creates next!

3.5 > 4 stars

Stories within a story, mystery on mystery, Eight Detectives sets out to prove the formula to a perfect murder mystery novel, while also drawing the reader into a bigger plot. The novel has all the ingredients for a perfect mystery - the reclusive grumpy writer Grant, the plucky young editor Julia who sets out to uncover some secrets and determine the meaning behind discrepancies in the writers many short stories.

It's a complicated, slow building plot that builds on ideas and theories. We learn along with the Julia, with little vignettes and conversations between writer and editor scattered amongst the short murder mysteries. I did find a lot of the stories very formulaic - which I understand was probably the point, but they all ended up sounding the same and blended into one. There's nothing distinct or particularly original about them. I also found the writing difficult to digest at times. It's a little stiff and stifled, and it's almost as though the author purposely sets out to confuse the reader so that they couldn't possibly work out what is going on, whereas I prefer to be swept along in mysteries and can draw my own conclusions (before being proved utterly wrong by our protagonist).

Interesting concept, but this fall's a little flat for me on execution.

Such an interesting concept, eight short detective stories designed to illustrate the eight principles of crime fiction wrapped up in a mystery themselves. I was really looking forward to this book but then I read the first few stories and they were not very good. I struggled through to the end, which itself was predictable, but felt that this was a triumph of concept over execution.

# Eight Detectives # Netgalley

I have read a similar type of book like this before. So for me the concept of different shorts stories and how it all comes together with them all being linked or in some way involved without knowing is actually nothing new. When I first came across this type of concept it was so unusual, plus the short stories were good. Which I can’t really say the same for these. I. Am not really a miss Marpal, Agatha Christie, midsummer murder type of person I. Find them slow over exaggerated but most of all reading those types of books for myself. Rather than spending hours reading them I might as well have a couple of games of ludo with my grandchildren. Although I can not take away from the actual author of the impressive writing style. Along with what he was actually trying to achieve but didn’t quite make it in my opinion. It’s the first book of this author I have read. However I will be on the lookout and also looking him up once I have written this review.. Because as I said I was really impressed with the the style along with what I think maybe what he was trying to achieve. I actually want to see if he’s done it in a previous book or something. Just unfortunately this one for me did not impress at all. Also the stories are becoming much of a muchness now. In fact some authors personally well let’s just say plagiarism seems to be a big thing with quite a few authors at present. Not that I think this one is in anyway down to plagiarism far from it actually. So I definitely want to see what the author as done with his other books. I will be looking for new ones too.

3.5 Stars from me

This is a supercute throwback style book which is actually a set of short stories all linked within one overarching thread.

The stories themselves have a warm fuzzy feeling similar to watching an old Miss Marple or Poirot on a Sunday afternoon. They are all quirky and a little bit convoluted but clever none the less.

Each one is based - in accordance with the overarching theory - on a set of mathematical rules for murder mysteries.

The story that ties them all together is yet another mystery and one that unfolds in tiny pieces. Overall I found this to be a bit of a slow burn, albeit a very enjoyable wander through some murder mysteries with clever little twists.

Sadly this book did not meet my expectations - I though the concept was great, and the stories were enjoyable, but not great. Unfortunately, the interactions between Grant and Julia were stiff, full of exhausting repetitions and did not add much to the overarching plot, except that I was losing interest in it. The ending was good, although not exciting. I would sum up Eight Detectives as a concept crime novel, rather then an enjoyable story.

This is a very cleverly constructed book with stories within stories within stories which only really unfolds at the very end - and the end is very satisfying and barely signposted. A mathematician, Grant, has written a paper many many years previously about the core plots within murder mysteries. He constructs an algorithm and writes a variety of stories to illustrate the plots - one victim, many suspects, detective as victim or as suspect, the closed door mystery... there are loads of permutations but the paper included 8 of them. Many years later, Julia, a publishing editor comes across the paper and sets out to the Greek island where Grant now lives to update the book and look at publishing it.

Along the way there are many diversions as Julia and Grant discuss the stories and the format of the new book. Julia also wonders about the - possibly coincidental - connection between the book being called The White Murders and the unsolved murder of a young woman called White at around the same time. They read through the stories, discuss the victim/suspect setup and look forward to publishing success. Except all is not as it seems.

Recommended if you like books with a twist and are interested in the way stories can be constructed differently. Definitely worth picking up.

I was given a copy of this book by Netgalley in return for an honest review.

Visiting a Mediterranean Island to meet reclusive author Grant McAllister is editor Julia Hart. Julia’s employers want to publish a collection of stories by McAllister which have been out of print and largely ignored for many years but Julia believes there is now a market for these clever tales.  McAllister was a professor of mathematics and he devised a formula or a set of rules into which all crime fiction will fit – his collection of stories will be used to demonstrate each of these rules. One story per rule.

Julia and McAllister sit together, Julia reads a story and the pair discuss the rule or classification which that story fulfills.  Julia also highlights some inconsistencies in each of the stories (there are always one or two) and challenges McAllister why he allowed them to creep into the text.  Some are very subtle and I confess I missed virtually all of them – even when I knew to look out for them as the book progressed.

As a novel, Eight Detectives gives the reader a collection of short stories to enjoy – each a tale of Golden Age crime which are being hailed as Christie-esk in their execution.  Indeed one of the stories is very much penned in homage to one of Dame Agatha’s finest novels and this is noted in the book. The stories are all quite different as each needs to conform to one of McAllisters rules and we only know the rule at the end of each tale. This ensures a reader can be surprised at the outcome of each story.

As with any short story collection (which Eight Detectives technically is not) there are some stories which are more enjoyable than others.  So I found there were periods of the book where my attention waned. The story of Julia and McAllister between the short stories links the whole book and suggests there is a further untold tale developing; but that is a possible encroachment to spoiler territory and you need to read for yourself to learn about their conversations.

I found Eight Detectives a tricky book to review.  I am very much a fan of the concept of the rules which McAllister devised.  I liked Julia and though I cannot talk about her analysis of each tale and her ‘error spotting (because spoilers) this was also very well executed by the author.  However I am not a great fan of short stories and I wasn’t gripped by some of the tales.  To compare my reading experience to a train journey…there were times I was excited by the view, some bits felt comforting and familiar but at the end of the experience I felt a bit flat.

So a quandary – should I review it on the blog?  Well as you are reading this…YES.  It is a clever, clever premise. I am seeing a lot of love for it from other reviewers and for fans of Golden Age crime and “cozy” crime I would highly recommend it.   Is it a page turning thriller?  NO.  I struggled to see it to the end as it just didn’t hit the mark with me.  We can’t love them all.

Really enjoyed this. It was mind-boggling and made my brain hurt a little trying to figure it out 'who-dunnit'. Mystery upon mystery upon mystery. Very well thought out and well-written.

I loved this book to fresh and unlike any crime book I have read in a long time. I stopped reading crime books for a bit as the stories can become quite obvious but this one kept unveiling new clues and bits of information that kept me gripped all the way through. Fantastic fresh and I could not put it down

Having seen so many headlines about this book, I was expecting great things. I was quite disappointed. The individual stories were very good, and I understand the premise of the book, but it didn't really work for me. I didn't feel it was very cohesive, rather the explanation of what Julia was doing was rather contrived. I appreciated the twist and thought this was a clever idea, but it didn't hold my attention and took me a few days to get through it. #netgalley #eightdetectives

Thanks to NetGalley and The Publisher for this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of murder mysteries I could appreciate this book, however, my expectations were not meet. Written as a series of short mysteries with intervening chapters between stories to tell the whole story, I felt that the structure wasn't executed well enough, it felt really disjointed and the connections so tenuous it didn't really feel like a novel but a short story collection instead. The ending was somewhat clever but also a bit flat, and wasn't enough to redeem it for me.

Would recommend if you like old school murder mysteries.