The Eighth Detective: A Novel

Clever and charming, The Eighth Detective by Alex Pavesi reads a bit more like a short story anthology or a treatise on the murder mystery form than a novel. What pulls it all together is a frame story that seamlessly draws the reader into its lesson about the constituent parts of a classically constructed tale. Then, the book’s ending veers in such a way that makes the whole endeavor so much more exciting than anticipated. Julia Hart has traveled to the isolated home of an author on a remote Mediterranean island. They are meeting to collaborate on revisions and a preface for the re-release of his sole work. Grant McAllister lives in self-imposed exile but agrees to work with Julia to redress the disappointing sales of the original from 25 years prior. His collection of tales, entitled “The White Murders,” was conceived as a way for McAllister to delineate how mathematical concepts could be applied to literary efforts. In alternating sections, each one of his seven stories are presented and then followed by a “conversation” between the author and editor. They discuss how each tale exemplifies a particular configuration of victim, suspects and perpetrator. Over several days, the two dissect and analyze how plot can be built around a limited number of possibilities. The seven stories vary in tone and subject and are each individually strong and excellently told. During their work together, Julia comes to suspect that McAllister may have a mystery of his own that she will seek to uncover. Pavesi does an admirable job keeping interest in the connecting plot, but at times the painstaking description of story construction can become tedious. Still, The Eighth Detective is fascinatingly “meta” and the mysteries provided are well-conceived. As a whole, Pavesi’s book is a truly fun read that manages to be cerebral and informative even as it entertains. Thanks to the author, Henry Holt and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an unbiased review.