The Perfect Murder: Five Great Mystery Writers Create the Perfect Crime - Hardcover

Hitt, Jack; Block, Lawrence; Caudwell, Sarah

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060163402 ISBN 13: 9780060163402

Publisher: HarperCollins, 1991

Synopsis

Lawrence Block, Sarah Caudwell, Tony Hillerman, Peter Lovesey, and Donald Westlake describe how they would commit the perfect murder

About this title

From AudioFile:

Tim plots "the perfect murder" of his adulterous wife by indicting his once best friend who is now her lover. He invites five authors to perfect his plan. Each author, narrated by a different actor, responds and then critiques the others. Victor Garber's Tim has a condescending tone which one must endure. But Josef Sommer uses a clear and highly listenable voice for Westlake's letter. George S. Irving has good vocal quality and execution (employing a diabolical laugh and second voice) for Lovesay's response. John Randolph Jones employs a Texas accent to outline Hillerman's murder. Lynn Redgrave has a passionate, adamant and almost mothering tone for Caudwell's plan. Michael Patrick McGrath's presentation leans toward montone and is least successful. A unique format and entertaining listen for those who enjoy mysteries. M.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

From Kirkus Reviews:

An amplified reprint from Harper's magazine in which editor/author Hitt, as the wealthy, unhappily married ``Tim,'' puckishly asked five mystery writers--Lawrence Block, Sarah Caudwell, Tony Hillerman, Peter Lovesey, and Donald Westlake--to suggest a fabulous, money-no-object, dramatic means of disposing of his philandering ``wife'' that would incriminate his cuckolding ``best friend.'' Surprisingly, Hitt turns out to be the best writer in the group, Westlake the flattest, and Hillerman and Lovesey the funniest. Their schemes? Lovesey resurrects his jellyfish-in-the- Jacuzzi scenario, which has appeared in at least three previous anthologies; Caudwell costumes hers in Scottish kilt and plaid; Block disguises his as a serial slaying (``Kill the bitch,'' he says, over and over); Hillerman opts for a confessional twist, a dunk in the tub, and poisoned mushrooms as well; and Westlake creates a double identity so that the murderer can be his own alibi. Then Hitt asks the authors to critique each other's schemes. They gleefully attack him and each other. A hilarious means of introducing readers to the mind-set of the hard-boiled, the cozy, the traditional, the antic, and the glib state of the current mystery masterminds, with Hillerman and Lovesey the standouts. -- Copyright ©1991, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About this edition

• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Publication date: 1991
• ISBN 10: 0060163402
• ISBN 13: 9780060163402
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 195