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).