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Rating: 
Summary: Looking Forward to More
Review: Fresh and off-beat, The Eighth Method has much to recommend it: interesting characters and an engaging plot with unexpected but believable twists. The clues are subtle but play fair with the reader and make for a story that is paradoxically both fey and logical. It savors of Christie and Stout without being a mere stylistic rehash and does what any good read should - leaves one eager for more. The good doctor and his slightly eccentric circle are grand company in the old tradition!
Rating: 
Summary: Exciting debut
Review: Interestingly, Brian Bain's THE EIGHTH METHOD was one of the first books I scanned while trying to decide if I wanted to take the self-publishing plunge. I guess the fact that I went on to publish with iUniverse is a testament to Bain's writing. THE EIGHTH METHOD introduces us to Dr. Stanley Highstreet, a brilliant but self-effacing physicist with an interest in psychic phenomena. Highstreet bears some resemblance to the eccentric master detective Nero Wolfe, and like Wolfe, Dr. Highstreet has an associate, an Archie Goodwin by the name of Zetrower Hill. Zet, a Sacramento PI, serves as our narrator in the first book of the series: the investigation of the ghostly ringing of ship bells from the doomed RMS Lusitania . Standard poltergeist gig, thinks Zet, except...these dinner bells are only copies. Fakes. He decides to videotape the 'poltergeist' in action, never dreaming what he finds will uncover a fifty-five year old society murder. Two things immediately struck me as I thumbed through THE EIGHTH METHOD. First, length: the contemporary mystery weighs in, on average, at about 60,000 words. THE EIGHTH METHOD, at 138 pages, is modeled on the leaner, plot-focused detective novels of the 30's and 40's. Secondly, eccentric master sleuths have gone out of fashion with New York publishers (though not with readers, who continue to gobble up golden age mysteries as though they were...er...going out of style). These two facts alone illustrate what makes iUniverse an exiting choice for writers who have the guts to break formula. Tired of not getting what he felt was a fair reading, Bain took the initiative and went into partnership with iUniverse. Brian Bain is not alone in choosing to write for himself as well as a targeted demographic (which may or may not exist entirely in the minds of publishing "suits"). Every day the number of books on the cyber shelves of the iUniverse Bookstore multiply, offering greater choice for writers and readers. As for THE EIGHTH METHOD, Bain writes capably, displaying an affection and appreciation for the traditional school of mystery writing. Does the market still exist for cerebral great detectives, their tough guy lieutenants, and a roomful of colorful suspects quizzed to the point of confession? With the help of iUniverse, Brian Bain is about to find out.
Rating:
Summary: a good, old fashioned mystery
Review: The Eighth Method is a classic mystery in (and for) modern times. A super-inteligent paranormal investigator and his private detective friend (who also narrates)investigate a haunted historical artifact...or is it? And that's just one of the puzzles our sleuths must solve. Two mysterious deaths and the question "How many methods are there to kill someone with a book?" also require solutions. While I would have liked to get to know Dr. Highstreet and Zet (not to mention the other members of his detective agency) a bit more, I found the book a fun, fast moving read. The plot twists kept me guessing and the characters are more than a modern Holmes and Watson. Enjoy!
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