Eight Perfect Murders
Peter SwansonPeter Swanson’s new novel is catnip for mystery fans—and especially irresistible for those of us lucky enough to work in bookstores that specialize in the genre. The book is narrated by Malcolm Kershaw, owner of Boston’s fictional mystery specialist, Old Devils Bookshop. Some years back, Kershaw compiled a list of eight perfect murders taken from the classics of the genre—murders as plotted by Patricia Highsmith, John D. MacDonald, Agatha Christie, and so on—and now, it seems, somebody is using his list as a guide.
There has been a murder apparently inspired by Christie’s A. B. C. Murders, and another that seems to reference James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity. The copycat crimes involve some obscurity and interpretation (they aren’t all direct imitations
