48 pages • 1 hour read
Peter SwansonEight Perfect Murders
Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more.
Themes
Reality and Fiction
Eight Perfect Murders compares and contrasts real life and fiction in its genre. This begins with the boilerplate language on the copyright page, noting that Swanson’s book is a work of fiction, which is followed by a claim by the narrator that the book is a memoir. The narrator, Malcolm, is unreliable and comments on the general unreliability of narrators. He thinks, “I don’t trust narrators any more than I trust the actual people in my life” (82). All people, including fictional people and real people, are not truthful. This, along with the prefatory material, indicate that he should not be trusted. Malcolm tells lies, or fiction, in a book he claims is nonfiction. The genre of the novel, a mystery claiming to be a memoir, can be compared to reality television that is actually scripted.
The murders in the novel bring fictional scenarios to real life. Malcolm’s list of perfect murders inspires the killings of readers and writers, such as Elaine (a regular at Malcolm’s bookstore) and Robin (the author of a book against monogamy). Marty, the killer, tells Malcolm: “You write a list that celebrates the art of murder and then I decide to actually do what that list proposes, to create actual art” (228). For instance, Deathtrap is the book that inspires Elaine Johnson’s death. Marty, in a clown mask, scares her, causing a heart attack that can’t be easily identified as murder. Marty refers to this murder, as well as his other murders, as works of art.
On the other hand, Malcolm maintains that he didn’t want his list about fiction to become reality. When Marty refers to the list as, “Your favorite murders, Mal” (249), Malcolm replies, “They were my favorites in books, not real life” (249). Malcolm believes there is a difference in writing about mystery novels and committing murder. However, he omits the fact that he committed murders that were also inspired by his list—the murders of Claire and Steve—until the very end of Eight Perfect Murders. Once he has confessed to his crimes, and admitted that people will think he and Marty are the same person, Malcolm decides to finish the list by killing himself. This links him with the Charlie identity that FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey came up with during the investigation. Gwen says, “Charlie would want to copy the drowning killing, especially since it’s the title of the book” (52). Malcolm’s death ends up being the one that emulates the murders in The Drowning.
Memory and Omission
Malcolm’s issues with memory, as well as his intentional omissions, make him an unreliable narrator. At first, he forgets minor things, like the plot of a specific book. When Gwen talks about The Red House Mystery, Malcolm admits he read it a long time ago, despite putting it on his list of perfect murders. Gwen “described to me the basic plot, and it started to come back” (39). Her description triggers his memory. As the novel progresses, Malcolm’s forgetfulness increases. One example is when he forgets that he left a stolen library book at the store. He “suddenly remembered the book, Little Fish, and that I’d left it here at the store” (191). This is a book written by the person Malcolm suspects is the murderer, and he made sure not to check it out, but take it from the library without leaving a record. Then, he leaves it lying around in the bookstore he owns.
Malcolm forgets things about his friends, as well as about the murder investigation. Tess asks Malcolm to talk to Brian about hiring some help around the house while his arm is broken. When she checks in with Malcolm, he says, “I forgot we’d talked about that” (217). He also forgets things about his own home and comfort. In the cold Boston winter, he gets back to his apartment and “realized that I’d left the windows cracked, not something that I remembered doing” (192). On a snowy day, Malcolm opened the windows then immediately forgot that he did. These various lapses in memory develop the characterization of him as unreliable.
Additionally, Malcolm omits important facts when talking to people, as well as when writing his memoir. For instance, he omits the fact that he arranged a murder from the police and, initially, the reader. When the police question him about the death of Claire’s drug dealer, Malcolm says he was “telling the truth when I say that I forgave him” (95). Malcolm’s process of forgiving Eric for getting Claire hooked on drugs is arranging Eric’s murder. In his memoir, Malcolm admits to arranging Eric’s murder. The reader has information that the police don’t have. After confessing to his role in Eric’s murder, Malcolm omits the fact that he killed Claire in his memoir until the very end.
Gwen also omits information from both Malcolm and the FBI. She questions Malcolm and investigates Elaine’s house without going through the proper FBI channels. The FBI eventually suspends her because of her conflict in interest. Gwen hides her identity as the daughter of the man who molested Claire from Malcolm for most of the novel. Eventually, she admits that “Mulvey is my mother’s maiden name” (175) and she found Malcolm through the death of her father. Malcolm only admits to killing her father at the end of the novel.
The Nature of Bookselling
A large portion of Eight Perfect Murders focuses on the labor conditions of public retail spaces. Booksellers have positive and negative interactions with customers. Malcolm enjoys a “certain kind of customer we occasionally get, fanatical mystery readers who make a point to visit us during their trip to Boston” (60). These tourists are good for making money, as well as lifting the spirits of the employees. However, there are customers like Elaine, who are “racist, openly homophobic” (46). While she did spend a decent amount of money on new hardback books, she was rude and bigoted. While Malcolm tolerated Elaine as a customer, her offensive nature got her killed by Marty. Some customers are so problematic that Malcolm bans them from the store. One example of this is David Popovich. Malcolm tells Emily that the “customer isn’t always right, you know” (87).
Swanson includes little details about working in a bookstore. These include having a large number of bookmarks on hand. When he is arranging a murder swap, Malcolm writes his victim’s name “on the back of an Old Devils bookmark” (92). He later asks Marty to research Norman, claiming that Norman had books with “bookmarks from Old Devils” (139). The truth is that Malcolm killed Norman and wants to find out who killed Eric for him. However, bookmarks are a good cover because booksellers—and book buyers—have lots of them. Another detail is the “borrow policy” (61) of Old Devils. This allows employees to take home used books, as long as they don’t damage them. Mingling with authors is a third detail about working in a bookstore. Referring to Elaine attending all the readings, Malcolm says, “most authors, I find, are willing to put up with an asshole if it means a book sale, especially a hardcover book sale” (46). Bookstore employees, as well as problematic customers, regularly get to meet authors.
Being a bookseller is central to Malcolm’s concept of self. He began working at Old Devils at 29 years old and believed he found his true calling. However, Malcolm says that when he is around “fellow antiquarian booksellers [...] I feel like an imposter in their midst” (147). The imposter syndrome that Malcolm feels could be attributed to his lack of a concrete identity—whether Malcolm is Marty or not, Malcolm’s memory problems and hidden past as a murderer distance him from other booksellers whose defining feature is their career. Furthermore, Malcolm slacks off at the bookstore after becoming involved in Gwen’s murder investigation. When he walks by Old Devils after being absent from work, he notes how “it felt strange to be outside looking in. The world kept going, I guess” (203). Malcolm’s involvement with the mystery of the list killer, and thus with his own past, which is intertwined, pulls him away from something that was formerly an incomplete definition of his identity. While Malcolm identifies strongly with his bookselling profession, more prominent events and personality traits are revealed about Malcolm’s identity.
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