The first novel by the creator of the Lemony Snicket series and musician with indie guitar band The Magnetic Fields is a black comedy charting the downfall of Flannery Culp, a world-weary high school senior. The Basic Eight of the title refers to her elite gang of friends, from the glamorous, to the kind, to the jadedly cool – but when the Basic Eight are infiltrated by Flannery’s rival and nemesis, her life spirals out of control, with fatal results.
Written in the form of a journal with faux study questions at the end of each chapter, The Basic Eight is both a witty satire of the American high school genre and a thrillingly cool twist on the Columbo-style murder mystery where the murderer is revealed at the beginning, and the mystery revolves around how the killer got caught. And just when you think the twists can’t get any more treacherous, Handler springs his biggest surprise…
[Jarlath]
The Basic Eight by Daniel Handler
Published by Allison & Busby Books, available in-store at 4.99 (while stocks last)
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