Eight Work Late: an office murder mystery

by Larkin Shaw

If the hours don’t kill them, a colleague might…

Eight work late. Seven survive. One ex-cop to reveal the seedy, occasionally ludicrous, underbelly of corporate life.

Iain Fletcher’s body is discovered on the 28th floor of THP Ltd, skull cracked on the company-branded doorstop. “A tragic accident, an unexpected and unfathomable loss.” So say the Board.

Casimir Dale, former detective and current specialist in office discord, investigates. He soon finds that the eight who worked late are not the strangers they appear to be. And taking two pieces of fruit from the THP Ltd kitchen causes more consternation than the dead exec on the 28th floor. There’s also a ninja lunch lady.

Can Casimir separate the truth from office politics to solve the case?

Genres: Humor

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 27, 2022

About the author

Larkin Shaw worked in finance for fifteen years before switching to writing. Corporate life provided the inspiration for a series of office-based mysteries and rom coms. Office politics was also a natural springboard into paranormal and urban fantasy genres. Originally from South Africa, she is currently based in London, UK. Follow on www.larkinshaw.com

Reviews

[Yvonne (It's All About Books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Finished reading: March 22nd 2023

"These people have had years of practice in the art of deception - it's at the heart of this whole enterprise. Lean in close and you'll smell it. It's not only what dies hidden in the stairwell. It's the stench of rage and rot on every one of them."

*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by BookSirens and Mulberry Skies Ltd. in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***



There was just something about the blurb of Eight Work Late that caught my attention immediately. This story is marketed as an office murder mystery, mixing corporate life with murder and (dark) comedy. It's not something I come across every day and since I do love a good murder mystery with a locked room vibe, I simply couldn't resist adding Eight Work Late to my shelves. And while I'm not sure my expectations were actually fully met, I can't deny it was still a solid read.

The premise makes this book really stand out, and the fact that the office and corporate life in general plays such an important role in the plot really adds something refreshing to this murder mystery. It's one of the elements that stood out for me in Eight Work Late, and I appreciated how much focus there was on different work life issues, power imbalance as well as misogeny. I could also really appreciate the locked room vibe of this murder mystery; with only eight people working late and one ending up dead, the suspect pool is truly limited, and this makes things a lot more interesting.

Now here is what didn't work as well for me personally. After reading the blurb, I was expecting plenty of humor and a dark comedy vibe in general. I know that how you react to humor is highly personal and I know that I'm quite picky when it comes to comedy in my stories in general. Still, this doesn't take away the fact that I couldn't see the humor at all in Eight Work Late. I didn't laugh out loud ONCE, not one chuckle, not even a tiny little giggle. I like my humor on the dark and sarcastic side, but somehow whatever humor used in this particular story just wasn't it for me. In fact, some of the I assume were supposed to be funny moments were only highly annoying instead (like for example the constant repeat of 'Bashful' to refer to Bashford, which was mainly just disrespectful if I you ask me).

Eight Work Late has a large cast of characters, and the story constantly jumps between them. Sure, Casimir is mostly present to interview them and keep them in line, but the plot still felt a bit jumbled. Especially since there are random flashbacks to the past incorporated along with the POV switches themselves... I also found that certain parts of the plot was quite slow and very drawn out. I still love the premise of this story, but I felt that the plot structure and development could have been sharper. I wasn't really a fan of the blog fragments; they only slowed down the pace even further and I didn't like the writing style and tone used there. The twists regarding the murder mystery could have been hidden better as well, because it was quite easy to guess what had really happened that night. Sure, there were a couple of details I didn't see coming, but as a whole there were no real surprises.

As a whole, there were things I liked and other elements that didn't work as well for me in Eight Work Late. Most people do seem to enjoy this story a lot better so far though, so it might just not have been a right fit for me.

P.S. Find more of my reviews here.

[Glitter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cackled through the entirety of this book. If this isn’t anything like a real-world office life (minus a bit of murder mystery!) I don’t know what is! The deeper I delved, the more I loved this read.

You’ll find yourself first trying to take this mystery and dig up who’s-who. The next moment, you’re in a seek for the second mystery! Soon enough you just break into hysterics because the puns and reality become more and more realistic. If you’ve worked in the land of cubicles or corporate anywhere, you will point at every single character and tie them to your own job!

I have absolutely NOTHING negative to say about this beauty!

Steer clear of the paper guillotine when you're working!

[Mary Ryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I quite enjoyed this. The discovery of the body of Iain Fletcher in the THP office brings the police and consultant Casimir to investigate. Eight people including the victim were all working late that night so this has the feel of a classic whodunnit.

I really enjoyed the style of the writing in this. Casimir is a weird character and I enjoyed the back and forth between him and his colleague Bashford. There is a lot of office politics going on here, and this is something I can totally relate to so it felt quite real. There is a lot of humour also, and the ongoing Ninja Lunch Lady is hilarious. Other than the fact that it felt a bit drawn out in places, it was a totally gripping read.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

A classic whodunit reminiscent of the boardgame, which takes place within a corporate company. Great humour throughout, covering the employees typical gripes with company politics.

Overall an enjoyable read - good plot with a twist. Great characters (ones you can relate to within an office environment). The Ninja Lunch Lady is priceless. Just a little long-winded in places, hence the 4 stars.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Meghan Turner · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

What a fun read!

A dead boss, a Ninja Lunch Lady, and a bloody paper guillotine. This story had me laughing out loud more times than I can count and was almost impossible to put down. Anyone who has ever worked in an office can relate to the dynamic and relationships these characters have, minus the possible murder. 4/5 ⭐️ would definitely recommend!

[Tamar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved Eight Work Late! Lovely little thriller detective novel, read this over 1.5 days. A real page turner! Having worked in corporate offices before I could imagine the characters in the workplace. Loved the strong female characters, and learnt some new information in this book too. All round 5 stars and am keeping an eye out for the next book from this awesome new author!

[Paul Murphy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Whodunnit! Loved every bit of it, read it in 5 days! :-)