The Eighth Detective is one of the most intriguingly different books I have ever read. With mystery after mystery, plot twist after plot twist and a surprise ending the premise of the book was both fascinating and unlike any I have encountered.
Grant McAllister wrote seven detective stories over twenty years ago. A mathematician by trade, he felt any detective novel could be figured out by deduction of possible suspects and killers. He then proceeded to write these narratives proving his point.
Julia Hart is an editor who was fascinated with McAllister’s theory and has come to the secluded Mediterranean Island where he has been living for years to see if he would be interested in republishing the stories.
McAllister who has not published since his early stories came out is curious as to Hart’s interest. He is not sure he is even interested but agrees to meet with Julia and they begin to discuss the plots as well as how he was able to mathematically predict each stories conclusion. Suddenly, Julia starts to see inconsistencies in the stories. When asked, McAllister finds he cannot really remember some of the parts, perhaps due to his age as his memory seems to be failing.
Julia continues to push McAllister who continues to refuse to give reasons for some of his writing tactics in the stories. She begins to question why he will not open up to her. She forms a theory and begins to put a trap in place to find out just what McAllister is hiding. In doing so, she opens up an astounding can of worms.
There are so many interesting facets of each detective story which are laid out in chapters and then each story is discussed by Hart and McAllister as to how he deduced the killer. But not only are there mysteries buried in each story, there seems to be a mystery buried in the present-day life of McAllister. Can Julia pull that out of McAllister?
This book would be a dream read for a lover of detective stories! It is also an incredibly well-crafted mystery as well for those who like to sink their teeth into a meaty puzzle!
Lisa's Cubby 