When Malcolm Kershaw first started working at Old Devil's Bookshop he was in charge of the online blog and one of his first posts were books that contained what he believed to the books with perfect unsolvable murders. However, Malcolm gets a huge surprise when an FBI agent enters his bookstore to question the list that he made. She is convinced that someone is using his list to get away with murder and it seems that she is not the only one interested in Malcolm, the killer is out there watching him, knows his history, his secrets. To protect himself Malcolm has to find the killer before he makes his way through the list and exposes everything Malcolm has worked hard to achieve.
STOP!!!!! If you are planning to read some of the great mystery reads from some of the greats just STOP and not read this books as there are spoilers to all of these book:
1. The ABC Murders
2. Strangers on a Train
3. The Red House Mystery
4. Malice Afterthought
5. Double Indemnity
6. The Drowner
7. The Secret History
8. Deathtrap
So even if just one from above is on that list read it first before you read this book. I wish I had known going into this book which books he was talking about and while the narrator does warn of spoilers you don’t know the books until you're already invested in the book.
This is the second book that I have read from Swanson (first book was Her Every Fear) and this book far exceeded the first book that I read by him. The stories are completely different, which I appreciated, and I just found this book way more interesting in main character and story. This is the first bookstore murder that I have read in a long time and I really enjoyed myself. There were a few muddy points along the way, mainly with the FBI/Malcolm dynamic in my opinion (their interactions just seemed odd, almost forced. I know that Malcolm is roped into working the case by the FBI but it was the writing that felt forced) but I really enjoyed the story and it will keep you guessing until the end. I personally did not see all the twists and turns that Swanson throws at you so that always gets bonus points from me.
I think one of my favourite part of the book is the narration of the book. I like that it is told from only Malcolm's point of view. This works for this book due to the fact that he is the expert in the books from the list. You as the reader also get to know Malcolm really well and the kind of character he is, as well as learning that he has more than one secret in his life and you as the reader are not only trying to solve the murders but also Malcolm's secrets as well.
While this book is extremely clever from start to finish, does it bring anything new to the Mystery genre? No, but it is a good read from start to finish, I just wish is hadn't ruined some books that I had not had a chance to read yet.
Enjoy!!!!
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