Book editor Julia Hart works at a crime-fiction publishing house that plans to reissue The White Murders, a story collection published some years ago in limited edition. Julia has come to an unnamed Mediterranean island to visit with the reclusive author, Grant McAllister, to discuss the new edition.

Julia is intrigued by Grant’s proposition that there is a mathematical formula for murder mysteries, involving sets, subsets and permutations. Julia’s method for working with Grant is to read a story, then discuss it with him, particularly how each story fits into the formula.

In alternating chapters, we read a McAllister story, then Julia and Grant’s discussion. Creepiness sets in early, as the stories are psychologically tense and increasingly gruesome. Grant himself describes some of them as sordid and distasteful. Then, with each story, eagle-eyed Julia notes inconsistencies, and Grant’s assertion that they are mistakes or meant to test the reader is less and less believable. Grant’s refusal to talk about his personal history raises questions too.

While the book is inventive, it’s not like an Agatha Christie novel, as some reviewers suggest. She avoided gruesomeness, her characters were lively personalities, and she usually played fair with the reader, so that the reader had a chance to figure out the whodunnit. Here, the ick factor is high, the characters are two-dimensional, and the whodunnit in the stories often depends on facts not revealed to the reader.

This is a clever and inventive novel, with many twists and turns. I see it as an effort to play with the form and conventions of crime fiction. It succeeds on that level, but I prefer more character development in my crime fiction. For me, the novel gave me a lot to think about, but not much to feel about.

Best book I've read in a long time. Brims with energy and the characters are richly drawn and put into a superb plot. I wish all books could be this good.

I loved this book for its inventive nature! They mysteries are very much in the style of Agatha Christie style. Each short story was engaging and intriguing, and adding a mathematical element to the mysteries made it even more interesting and unique.

I am a slow reader and I only read when going to bed, but this is one of those very few novels that I also read during the (weekend) days!

A big thanks to the publishers and Net Galley for providing me with an advance copy. It's certainly a book I will be recommending! And looking forward to what the author comes up with next!

Alex Pavesi's "The Eighth Detective" is a well-plotted tribute to vintage murder mysteries and detective fiction from the Golden Age of that genre. The reader will notice the overt influence of Agatha Christie's work in several of the sub-plots. The meta-mystery keeps the story moving along at a quick pace, with a number of those vintage conventions well-placed for good measure. And the ending, as for all the best of those Golden Age mysteries, was just right.

The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi is such a fun book. It mixes mystery and math. The format of this book is engaging, with seven short stories coming together to uncover a bigger mystery. This is definitely a book I will be recommending.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. All thoughts are my own.

Special thanks to Henry Holt and Co. and NetGalley for the ARC of this book!

I gave this book a big 4.5 stars! I really did love it. It was very original, and I can't wait to see what Alex Pavesi writes next! I also read this book with a great friend which made it extra fun. A n EXCELLENT book for book clubs to discuss.

I would encourage everyone to try this author!!!

Julia Hart, an editor travels to aMediterranean island to meet with a reclusive author. What results is them reviewing his stories. The book is comprised of multiple short mystery stories with the editor and the author discussing each mystery.

The individual mysteries were intriguing; how they were set up an solved. I found the individual mysteries quite intriguing; reminiscent of Agatha Christie. As Julia and Grant discuss each mystery she becomes aware of inconsistencies. I will not say more I don’t want to spoil the surprise for the readers. But things are not as they appear. And I think readers will be surprised by the shocking end to this book.

Grant McAllister is a former mathematics professor who in the 1930s published a research paper in which he set forth the mathematical structure of murder mysteries. He also wrote a book called The White Murders that contained seven stories that illustrated the mathematical principles he set forth in the research paper and he had the book privately published with a small print run in the early 1940s. Twenty-five years later, he is contacted by the editor of a publishing company that wants to publish The White Murders for a wider audience. Julia Hart, the editor, goes to the small Mediterranean island where Grant is living in order to prepare the book for publication, including learning more about the mathematical structure so she can prepare an introduction to the book explaining the math, rather than including the research paper as an appendix to the book.

The book alternates between the murder mysteries in The White Murders and a discussion of each story by Grant and Julia. In their discussions, Grant explains the four ingredients that comprise a murder mystery, the various permutations of those ingredients, and how they are expressed mathematically. Grant and Julia discuss how each story demonstrates a different permutation. Julia also asks about inconsistencies she notes in each story, including references that seem to refer to an actual unsolved murder, known as the White Murder, as the victim was an actress named Elizabeth White, that occurred around the time the book was originally published.

The mathematical approach to writing a murder mystery is an interesting concept and the author has done a great job of explaining the mathematical concepts in a way that will be understandable to the readers. The seven murder mysteries are creative and enjoyable; some rather devious and macabre. However, what makes this book worthy of five stars is the ending, which involves some rather good surprises. Readers will likely suspect one of the surprises, but the others will likely truly be surprises. I would highly recommend this book.

I received a copy of the e-book via NetGalley in exchange for a review.

I received a free copy from NetGalley. Interested in publishing his work, an editor reads through the author his 7 short mystery stories and points out questions about each story as he teaches her about mystery writing based on his mathematical formula of what must be included. Stories within a story was a great idea and makes it hard to review as some of those were better or worse than others. It also means there were a lot of characters. A good one if you know you can only read in short bursts.

The Eighth Detective is the most innovative format I've seen in murder mysteries. The "author" and his new editor reviewing these stories written years ago in the "author's" career. All leading to a surprising climax. You won't be disappointed.

"An argument had been building between them all afternoon, ever since Bunny had brought their lunch to a sudden end." Why did he invite Henry and Megan to his house in Spain in 1930? "...a pointing finger of blood reaching from below Bunny's door...Bunny facedown, on the sheets-a knife handle emerging from his back". Upon further inspection, all windows and doors were locked. "If there are only two suspects, then both of them know who is killer is". This story was written twenty-five years ago by Grant McAllister, a retired mathematician, a recluse living on a secluded Mediterranean island.

In 1937, Grant wrote a research paper entitled "The Permutations of Detective Fiction". His goal-to explore the criteria needed for a tome to be classified as a murder mystery and list all the possible structural variations. He had published a slim volume of seven murder mysteries in a collection called "The White Murders". Having discovered this book in a second hand bookshop, a small publisher was interested in reissuing "The White Murders" for sale to a wider audience. Julia Hart, editor, was dispatched to the island to meet the elusive Grant McAllister. Julia is suspicious from the get-go, however, she gives him the benefit of the doubt. Each murder mystery has inconsistencies. Are these inconsistencies intentional? Why doesn't Grant provide any clarity? Julia and Grant continue to have lively discussions about the permutations of detective fiction.

The footpath on the southern coast of Evescombe was isolated. It was a perfect place to murder someone...all it takes is a gentle push...decades of erosion...possible 'Death by Distraction'? According to Grant's mathematical concepts-two suspects could be guilty...a suspect or the victim as suspect.

"The Eighth Detective" by debut author Alex Pavesi is a fascinating puzzle, a unique perspective on the murder mystery. "The killer or killers must be drawn from the group of suspects [mathematically speaking], the killer(s) must be a subset of the suspects...". Why is Grant McAllister's book titled "The White Murders"? Readers are in for an innovative, very creative read. Kudos to Alex Pavesi.

Thank you Henry Holt & Company and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Not one story, but seven. Or more, many more depending how you look at it. This is a very cleverly written love letter to mysteries. Grant McAllister worked out the mathematical formulas for mystery novels and wrote a story collection. He never published anything else, but thirty years later, Julia Hart, an ambitious editor comes to the island of his retirement to discuss republishing the book. It is quickly established how the stories, which are all great, by the way, have little inconsistencies that could be clues to something larger. I had fun spotting them in the rest of the chapters, even if I missed a lot of them. Then, there is a twist so unpredictable and smart, that it had me rethinking the whole novel from the beginning. But the mysteries don’t end there. This is simply an original, unpredictable and amazingly clever book that mystery lovers will eat up.
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thank you, NetGalley/ Henry Holt and Co.!

What an incredibly unique mystery! Julia Hart is republishing Grant McAllister's book of detective stories, so she goes to visit him on a remote Mediterranean island where he lives. They go over the stories one by one and diagnose the "rules" of murder mysteries. I enjoyed reading each of the individual stories, and I thought the ending was very clever and inventive. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

The setting:

Julia Hart, a young book editor, travels to a remote village in the Mediterranean in the hopes of convincing Grant McAllister, a reclusive writer, to republish his collection of detective stories. Grant, a professor of mathematics, says there are rules for murder mysteries--which are followed in the seven detective stories that he published decades ago under the title, The White Murders. There are victims, suspects, murderers, detective, equations--in various permutations. Julia notices inconsistencies in these stories, and tells Grant that she wishes to revisit them before republishing the book. {Notes: wouldn'/t/shouldn't an editor have noted these?!] The stories are told the Julia and Grant "discuss" [really, she reviews] each story. And so it begins.

I'm in the distinct minority, did not love. Was not engaged, Often found it tedious; in fact, it often was a chore to read this book, And, I found only some of the stories interesting.

In many ways, this book reminded me of The 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle--as it too well-written, inventive, confusing, creative, orginal [and better!]. BUT NOT ENOUGH.

However, there were some descriptions that caught my fancy:

"...his face was almost a perfect pink circle...the rest of his body seemed to be built solidly and exclusively out of dark-gray rectangles"

"sieved handfuls of dry leaves from her long red hair"

"Ceiling loomed like a fist..."

"...her solid bracelets clattered against one another, making her arm a musical instrument"

And in the end, a twist [no spoiler from me], that ultimately sealed blech. But, giving 3 stars because no grimacing,

An incredibly fun read that is breath of fresh air in the the current climate of mystery novels. The author weaves together seven short detective stories that are connected by an overarching story. While the short stories gave me classic murder mystery vibes (think Agatha Christie or Alfred Hitchcock), the larger plot makes these stories fresh and unique. It also incorporates descriptions of mathematical concepts to better understand the format of murder mysteries. These concepts were explained in an interesting and understandable manner and added depth to the plot. Best of all, the ending was completely shocking and totally satisfying! My only gripe is that I never really connected with the characters, which kept me from being fully invested and slowed down my reading speed. Otherwise, it was a wonderful read! Thank you to Henry Holt & Company and NetGalley for providing me with an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.

I think the anthology aspect of the murder mysteries was fun. Many of the stories were reminiscent of Agatha Christie.

But I had a hard time connecting with the rest of the plot. Not really until the end. At that point it just feels like one more short story, which was fine, and maybe the point. But I found myself not wanting to read those sections between the other stories bc there wasn’t really much of a story happening.

I feel bad giving this any review as it was a DNF for me. I am not a fan or straight-up murder mysteries, I get bored with so little character development. I thought this one would be different since this was running parallel to another story, about the author, which is what intrigued me.

Unfortunately, I just found myself skimming through the murder mystery stories to get to the conversations because I was curious what was happening with the author. I ended up not being invested enough to finish.

The writing was very good, and I think folks that are fans of murder mysteries will really enjoy this clever novel. Just not for me.

A very interesting premise, but it became far too drawn out to maintain my enjoyment in reading it. It's a set of 7 mysteries nested within another story/mystery, nested within yet another story. Interesting right? However, the execution became too tedious and drawn out and the wish for it to give its final reveal was for it to come sooner than it did.

The title, The Eighth Detective is a good one that suits the book, although a bit of a mouthful to say. Perhaps if it had been reduced by a mystery or two? I would be interested in reading what this author comes up with again though.

I was craving something similar to Agatha Christie and this novel definitely delivered on that. The format of having 7 short stories with clues hidden in each story that join up to reveal a bigger mystery was fantastic. Each story was amazing on its own and definitely kept me hooked. My only complaint was that the the final big mystery was made a bit too convoluted, so I am not sure how I feel about that yet but I loved the individual short stories and trying to figure out the inconsistencies in each as well.
Recommended for fans of Agatha Christie
Rating 3.5 stars

I was so excited by the concept of this book, but unfortunately it fell a little flat for me. Since the structure uses a framing device of the main characters reading the short stories that make up the novel, it didn't leave enough time to become invested in our main characters. They only appear in snippets between the stories and I felt they weren't developed enough for me to be seriously invested in their fate. So once I got to the big reveal, it was surprising but not satisfying.

I really did enjoy the short stories that made up the book though. And I thought the twists were very creative and cleverly done. And the stories (and whole book actually) felt like they were old-fashioned (and a little cheesy, in a fun way) and could've popped right out of actual, classic detective fiction, which gave an air of authenticity to the whole book.

If you're a fan of classic mysteries, it's worth checking out!