PETER. SWANSON SWANSON (PETER.)

A Sunday Times and Observer Thriller of the Month 'Deliciously good . . . Swanson's best thriller yet.' Observer 'Gripping, twisty . . . I could not put it down.' Alafair Burke When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house, they're relieved to meet another childless couple in their neighbourhood, Matthew and Mira. But when they're invited over for dinner, Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this mild-mannered schoolteacher really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen might know about? And even if she's right, who would believe her?

Before She Knew Him

Nash

WHAT. A. GREAT. FU**ING. BOOK! 

Review to come

Alexa M

alternate title: Gaslighting 101
i really liked The Kind Worth Killing by this author but this was sooo boring. not a thriller or even really a mystery? we literally find out everything by like chapter 2 and then its just blah blah until the world's dumbest twist. snooze

Peter Swanson

A Sunday Times and Observer Thriller of the Month, from the bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and All the Beautiful Lies '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, Mass., they're relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial 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 hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger? From its deeply unsettling opening, Peter Swanson, the master of contemporary domestic thrillers, fashions a novel as brilliant, dark, coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.

alyssa b

** spoiler alert **
           4.5. Peter Swanson is soo underrated and his books are always so fast paced with twists and turns. I really loved this book I was hooked from the beginning and throughout the book there was always twists that left me shocked. Only reason it wasn’t a 5 was I feel like I needed a little more closure at the end, and some finals words from Matthew and Mira. Especially Mira I really wanted a final chapter from her on her thoughts and how she was going to move forward. Also not sure if I missed this but how did Mira meet Richard if Matthew/Richard were the same person? But still such a good book and I highly reccomend this author.

Rachel Kanyid

I really enjoyed this, and didn't suspect the twist at all until right before it happened! That rarely happens!

A tedious, uninteresting "thriller." Even the minor twist at the end didn't add anything interesting. Got the sense Swanson phoned this one in after the success of The Kind Worth Killing.

Madilyn Taylor

Emma Caldwell

4.7 stars. This book was a great thriller, not as gory as I’m used to which was nice for a change. The twist at the end though...I didn’t expect it!!!

Julia

Elle

** spoiler alert **
           I was so incredibly annoyed with every character in this book. Lloyd, for not believing his wife. Hen for not standing up for herself, Mira for her naivety. Surprisingly, the only character I sort of liked was Matthew. Hen was also a good character once you got through her flaws.

Other than that, I just felt like the whole story fell flat. It’s not often that I write reviews but I wanted this book to be better than it was. I thought the surprise at the end with Richard being a separate personality for Matthew was interesting, but the author could have done so much more with Matthew to make him a more dynamic character. We found out about his dissociative identity disorder, and then the book pretty much ended right after.

Overall, it was just a frustrating and underwhelming read for me.

Kelsey

The story as a whole is great, but I feel it could have been told in less pages. The first 10 chapters were all about getting to know the characters and the last ten chapters were full of action and I could not put the book down, especially with the twist at the end.

But the 10 chapters in the middle felt dragged and unnecessary, to the point that I struggled to pick the book up at one point, it could have been snappier, more suspenseful and fast paced. 

I enjoyed the characters in the book as I had opinions on each character which showed great development. 

Overall a good read and I will read more of Swanson's books in the future, hopefully they will be more fast paced and snappier throughout.

A Sunday Times Thriller of the Month, from the bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and All the Beautiful Lies '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, Mass., they're relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial 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 hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger? From its deeply unsettling opening, Peter Swanson, the master of contemporary domestic thrillers, fashions a novel as brilliant, dark, coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.

A Novel

chloe mcpherson

'If I really wanted to get Matthews attention then I think I killed the wrong woman'

Hen and Lloyd were just expecting a friendly dinner with their neighbours, what Hen wasn't anticipating was seeing a trophy that looked identical to a trophy that had gone missing from a murder scene, that Hen was fascinated for a few years.
Hen is convinced she and her husband are living next to a murderer, but considering Hen's past, who is going to believe her?

Just like Swanson's other books, this story is told from multiple point of views, each character more twisted than the next, all getting caught in their web of lies.
The book flowed really nicely, nothing felt forced, it was easy to read and quick to get through.
I just want to take a moment to talk about the plot twist in this book, if you have read this book then you know what I am talking about. I think it's one either people are going to love it or they aren't really going to care for it.

In my life of reading, I don't think I have seen this plot twist happen, and I loved it. It had me shook, I won't be forgetting this book any time soon.

Caitlin Snyder

(+) Great, creepy book! I figured out the little twist but still really enjoyed it. I liked the exploration of an unreliable witness with the reader knowing she is actually telling the truth.

Jen Estrella

3.5/5 - Eh. I'm still confused. (view spoiler)[I have one major question. Does Mira know about Richard? I know she mentioned him when she came back from her travels (something about the place looking different and Richard likely having spent the night there). I don't know how this would be possible unless she knows that her husband has a split-personality? If you've read the book, please tell me if I missed something. (hide spoiler)] This was highly addictive though. I definitely want to read The Kind Worth Killing.

Annalee Harris

Hen and Lloyd are ready to have a fresh start in a quaint little community outside of Boston. Things are looking up for the couple, who had finally decided that being parents wants in the cards for them. They meet their new neighbors, attractive couple Mira and Matthew, and are invited over for dinner. But it's at that dinner when Hen notices something suspicious--a fencing trophy adorning Matthew's mantle, one that is strikingly similar to one that belonged to a young man who was murdered. As Hen delves deeper into the unsolved murder--and Matthew's life--she discovers he's the killer; unfortunately, Hen's pleas fall on deaf ears, as her credibility is marred by the fact that during a manic bipolar episode, she attacked a girl after accusing her of the same crime.

Before She Knew Him is suspenseful and interesting in that the killer is introduced from the very beginning. While the unreliable narrator has obviously been used in novels before, it was cool to see it played out as the narrator being unreliable to everyone else in the novel, not to the audience. The characters, aside from doughboy Lloyd, had depth, intrigue, and purpose.

The topic of mental illness is a difficult one to discuss, especially how its portrayed in literature. Hen's bipolar disorder is not villainized, but instead humanized; it's refreshing and treated with vulnerability and honesty. The people around her use that to invalidate her feelings and experiences, which is a realistic portrayal of how mental illness is often viewed as both a crutch and a character flaw. The thing about Before Shew Knew Him that turns this iffy is (view spoiler)[Richard.

While novels aren't necessarily meant to be taken completely seriously, and a moderate amount of suspension of disbelief is required to enjoy reading, but the thought of Matthew having a split personality that's his dead baby brother is weird enough, but making that dead baby be just like his father, committing sexual assault and murder? It feels like maybe Swanson wanted to villainize mental illness just a little bit, but then prove that not all mental illness is "bad" by having Hen be the hero? The reasoning for the split personality is unclear, since the novel could've been successful without that twist. Richard being a twin would've worked just as well, in complete honesty. (hide spoiler)]

Overall, Before She Knew Him was an easy to read, fast-paced novel that worked well, despite a few snags.

celeste

** spoiler alert **
           me @ thriller authors who always fall for the awful cliché of multiple personality disorder or schizophrenia as a plot-twist for their killers:

Pepper

2.5-Meh-Stars

The story wasn’t thrilling enough to be called a thriller. Especially the first two-third of the book. It was slow and lame. Although the ending was quite engaging. I only wish the book had the same momentum right from the beginning. 

I picked up this book despite its poor rating only because I had enjoyed the author’s previous book The Kind Worth Killing. I didn’t enjoy this half as much as I did the previous one. I have a feeling I’m going to forget everything happened in this book within a month or two and I don’t really like to read volatile stories.

Writing is average. I felt like I was reading facts more than a story. The author tells me what's happening instead of trying to show it. She went there. She did that. She asked this. Enough of it, already. And the characters were not really interesting enough to be a part of a thriller. They were lifeless and boring. 

One thing I noticed was, sometimes, when the POV changes the author doesn’t pick up where the previous narration ends, instead he goes back in time a little bit and describes the same scene from a different person’s perspective. It’s something I’ve noticed from his other work too. You might think that could get boring, but it’s not, really and I rather enjoy it.


Writing: 5/10
Story: 6/10
Characters: 6/10
Cover: 7/10
Title: 6/10

Emily C Peterson

Elodia

Alyssa Jacunski

I don’t think peter Swanson is the author for me. This is the second book of his I’ve read, and I was bored the entire time and could t wait to be done. Hopefully, anyone else who reads this will like it more than I did.

Jessica 

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  As always, a copy of this book was provided by the publisher or author in exchange for my honest review. This does not effect my opinion in any way.


My intrigue was on high as soon as I saw the cover for Before She Knew Him. For some reason the brightly designed cover and mysterious title piqued my interest before I even read the synopsis. I love a good contrast and the vividness in Before She Knew Him vs. its subtly mysterious title was eye-catching. Add in the fact that Peter Swanson's been on my TBR for quite a while and it should come as no surprise to you that I jumped at the chance to review this one!

There's this undeniably compelling quality to Swanson's prose. You can just as easily nod your head in agreement or feel the chill of his words. Before She Knew Him is one of those thrillers that is subtle in its craziness--before it sneaks up on you. The ideal thriller, in other words. Straight away, I had so many questions when it came to the stories central mysteries.

Before She Knew Him has a cast of characters that really, really intrigued me even further. As if the main mystery wasn't appealing enough, the sharpness of each of these characters lead me into an even more compelled state. Before She Knew Him was compulsively readable in so many levels, but the story wouldn't be half as captivating without these characters.

I wanted to know everything about them. Their pasts. Their present. Everything. As a reader who often indulges in thrillers/mysteries, very rarely do stories surprise me. I thought I knew where this story was going; who these characters were, what they were stumbling into. But Before She Knew Him managed to surprise me in a way that not every story can.

Before She Knew Him is woven together in an engaging, can't-put-down kind of way. Everything is connected and once the plotlines begin to unravel, there's really no turning back. There was a big part of me that didn't want to put down this book for a single moment because it was constantly building upon itself.

Overall, this was such an enthralling read that went from 'calm before the storm' to 'the storm' in an irresistible way. Peter Swanson, I see you, and I'm definitely diving into your backlist soon. Fantastic writing, highly atmospheric, and gorgeously paced, Before She Knew Him was such a great read.

Before She Knew Him

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