quippe | Entries tagged with peter swanson

The Blurb On The Back:

If you want to get away with murder, play by the rules.

A series of unsolved murders with one thing in common: each of the deaths bears an eerie resemblance to the crimes depicted in classic mystery novels.

The deaths lead FBI Agent Gwen Mulvey to Boston’s Old Devils bookshop. Owner Malcolm Kershaw had once posted an online article titled ‘My Eight Favourite Murders’, and there seems to be a deadly link between the deaths and his list - which includes Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders, Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers On A Train and Donna Tartt’s The Secret History.

Can the killer be stopped before all eight of these perfect murders have been re-enacted?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Peter Swanson’s mystery thriller has a great premise and makes good use of the idea of the perfect murder while respectfully discussing the 8 books at the heart of its plot. However every character other than Malcolm is under-developed to the point of being little more than a plot device and having guessed the twist very early on, I found the book to be predictable towards the end so while it’s not a terrible read, it’s not a great one either.

Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

”They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret …”

When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford, Massachusetts, they’re relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly childless couple in their neighbourhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the house immediately next door.

When they’re invited over for dinner, however, things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew’s study. Could this charming, mild-mannered college professor really be the person Hen, who has been battling her own problems with depression and medication, thinks he is? Even if she is right, who would believe her? As Hen’s suspicions grow, she and Matthew are drawn closer together. But who, if anyone, is really in danger?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Peter Swanson’s psychological thriller plays with the reliability of characters, how their psychological disorders can be used against them and how people choose not to see what’s in front of them. However, this book suffers from making its key reveal too early and by making the twist in the ending too obvious so that overall, it just doesn’t rise above its parts to become a satisfying read.

BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM was released in the United Kingdom on 7th April 2019. Thanks to the Amazon Vine Programme for the review copy of this book.

The Blurb On The Back:

Following a brutal attack by her ex-boyfriend, Kate Priddy makes an uncharacteristically bold decision after her cousin, Corbin Dell, suggests a temporary apartment swap – and she moves from London to Boston.

But soon after her arrival Kate makes a shocking discovery: Corbin’s next-door neighbour, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police begin asking questions about Corbin’s relationship with Audrey, and his neighbours come forward with their own suspicions, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own.

Jetlagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination playing out her every fear, Kate can barely trust herself, so how can she trust any of the strangers she’s just met?

( The Review (Cut For Spoilers): )

The Verdict:

Peter Swanson’s standalone psychological thriller is a hackneyed affair that’s driven by hackneyed coincidence, implausible characters, a deeply misguided romance with a peeping tom and a deeply silly plot that nods at STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and although I believed in the main character’s anxiety (which is well depicted), she’s very much a victim all the way through the plot, which made it impossible for me to empathise with her.