Eight Detectives Audiobook By Alex Pavesi cover art

Eight Detectives

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Eight Detectives

By: Alex Pavesi
Narrated by: Emilia Fox
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Brought to you by Penguin.

'When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over.' A. J. Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules. Grant McAllister, an author of crime fiction and professor of mathematics, once sat down and worked them all out.

But that was thirty years ago. Now he's living a life of seclusion on a quiet Mediterranean island - until Julia Hart, a sharp, ambitious editor, knocks on his door. His early work is being republished and together the two of them must revisit those old stories: an author, hiding from his past, and an editor, keen to understand it.

But as she reads, Julia is unsettled to realise that there are things in the stories that don't make sense. Intricate clues that seem to reference a real murder, one that's remained unsolved for thirty years.

Julia realises she's unwittingly entered a battle of wits where there can only be one winner. But Grant will soon realise that he underestimates her at his peril...

© Alex Pavesi 2020 (P) Penguin Audio 2020

 Crime Thrillers Genre Fiction Literary Fiction Mystery Psychological Thriller & Suspense Women Sleuths

Critic reviews

TODAY'S GREATEST EXPONENT OF PLAYFUL DETECTIVE FICTION. A gloriously original, intricate and often very funny series of practical jokes played on the reader
Terrific. Alex Pavesi knows the genre inside out. One of the year's most entertaining crime novels
Dizzying, dazzling - a potent potion of a thriller, a brew of bibliophilia (think The Shadow of the Wind), wire-taut tension (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and plot swerves so sharp and sudden you risk whiplash with each turn of the page, as bold as the best of Michael Connelly and Lisa Gardner. When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over.
So, so clever. A twisty story and an education in the maths of murder mysteries, Agatha Christie would take her hat off to this one - bravo! (Sarah Pinborough)
Alex Pavesi is a lively writer . . . It feels like a game of Clue-do-ku
An elegantly structured, intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice (Sophie Hannah)
This is both a wonderfully tricksy debut and a loving tribute to the golden age of crime fiction
It's rare for me to read a book in a single day, but I couldn't put Eight Detectives down. Compelling, clever, and beautifully-constructed. It deserves to be huge. I genuinely wanted to applaud at the end (Alex North)
A brilliantly twisty thriller. I adored this clever, game-playing book - it's like Agatha Christie for bibliophiles
A box of delights . . . Pavesi's revelations are completely unexpected, right up to the end
All stars
Most relevant
The first story is a real slog, I almost returned the book several times during the first 45 minutes. Only the fact I was driving stopped me. If you can make it to the one hour mark, things start to pick up. The end result feels somehow unsatisfying as a murder mystery.

Good in parts.

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I had high hopes due to publicity around this book, but it left me a bit disappointed.
The murder mysteries that are part of the story, are interesting, but a tad bland. I was therefore hoping that the underlying story of White murder will bind them together to an unexpected or exciting end, it did not.
It was easy to see where this book was going, and it was not able to keep my interest up in many parts.
Is this an exciting murder mystery to keep you guessing and on your toes? No. Is this a book that you listen while cooking or something? Yeah, it's good for that.

Underwhelming

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Every murder mystery was a treat. It was crammed full of twists and turns. Very enjoyable

clever book

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