★ 01/28/2019
At the start of this exceptional psychological thriller from Swanson (All the Beautiful Lies ), bipolar Hen “Henrietta” Mazur and her husband, Lloyd Harding, have dinner one night at the suburban Boston home of neighbors Mira and Matt Dolamore, with whom they’ve recently bonded over their mutual childlessness. At one point, Hen spots a fencing trophy on their hosts’ fireplace mantel that she believes was won by Dustin Miller, a college student who was murdered two years earlier and who attended the high school where Matt teaches history. Matt claims that he bought the trophy at a yard sale, but Hen, who’s become obsessed with Dustin’s case, suspects that Matt killed Dustin. The next day, when she visits the Dolamores, the trophy is missing, reinforcing her suspicions. However, Hen gets little support from Lloyd or the police because of her history of mental health problems and of falsely accusing others of murder. An uneasy relationship soon develops between Hen and Matt, whose traumatic childhood adds emotional heft to the narrative. Surprising twists help keep the suspense high to the end. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. (Mar.)
Mr. Swanson unfolds this creepy story with the assurance and economy of a master. Surprises follow one another with inevitability, until the final electrifying jolt.” — Wall Street Journal
“[A] neatly knotted suspense story.” — New York Times Book Review
“In trademark style, Swanson’s ingenious plotting throws up tantalising clues and then slowly unravels them through a series of shocking revelations, leaving readers confused, bemused and racing to the last page. Compelling, creepy, and psychologically astute, this is stylish thriller writing at its very best.” — Guardian (UK)
“A twisty, fast-paced tale that depicts picket-fence suburbia’s seamy, murderous underside… Swanson is at his best in exploring the kinship—or what some see as the kinship—between artist and killer, one of the themes of Swanson’s great model and forebear, Patricia Highsmith… A dark, quick-moving, suspenseful story.” — Kirkus Reviews
“It is deliciously good – dry, intelligent, perfectly paced, [and] there is more than a touch of the Barbara Vines about the delicately played out, deliciously dark relationship that develops between Hen and Matthew… This is Swanson’s best thriller yet.” — The Observer (UK)
“Plenty of suspense and surprises... This intense and sinister thriller builds to a shocking conclusion as the bizarre relationship between a woman and her killer neighbor plays out.” — ShelfAwareness.com
“There’s a neat twist at the end, but the real surprise is the way characters are allowed to grieve their losses, a luxury not always allowed in stories of this type. For a fast-paced thriller, Before She Knew Him achieves an impressive significance in its pauses.” — BookPage
“Swanson builds the tension to a nearly unbearable level... The detail he uses as he delves into their lives and psyches foreshadows the stunners to follow… A cornucopia of carnage and craziness, Before She Knew Him simultaneously disturbs and delights.” — The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg, VA)
“A wicked thriller that does not disappoint… Another gem that pulls the reader in and never lets go, even as the story comes to a close. This is a book that will keep you up at night and haunt your thoughts. A fun, chilling read.” — Manhattan Book Review
“Woven into this twisty-turny murder thriller is mental illness and the instability it causes. Maybe worse than not being able to rely on yourself is that other people might not believe you. How can they be sure you’re not being paranoid, or manic, or obsessive?” — The Big Thrill
“The narrative trickery is bold, but reined-in… As in all his best work, Swanson is equally beguiling when conjuring up the mind of a sociopath and the middle class Eden that harbors him.” — The Sunday Times (UK)
“What would you do if you began to suspect your next door neighbor was a serial killer? That is the dilemma faced by artist Hen - and the jumping off point for this very contemporary thriller that will keep you gripped through every elegant twist and turn.” — Sunday Mirror (UK)
“This acutely perceptive writer has become a master of psychological chills and thrills, transforming what appears to be ‘cosy domestic’ into something infinitely more dangerous and deadly… A sizzling slice of his unique brand of domestic noir… Tingling with tension [and] brimming with menace.” — The Guardian (UK)
“In Peter Swanson’s expert hands, one woman’s discerning observation at a quiet suburban dinner party unfolds into a gripping, twisty, psychologically complex thriller. I could not put it down.” — Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife
“What would happen if a serial killer met the perfect confidant, someone who would never be believed if they revealed his secrets? Nothing good… Swanson has crafted another bar-raising psychological thriller with this tense, unexpected spin on serial killers and those obsessed with them.” — Booklist
Praise for All the Beautiful Lies : “Suspense lovers will devour this deliciously duplicitous read, which is chock-full of twists, turns, lust, greed, and dishonesty.” — Library Journal on All the Beautiful Lies
“Swanson’s fourth psychological thriller is a gripping exploration of delusion and deceit; sure to please readers of Laura Lippman’s stand-alones.” — Booklist on All the Beautiful Lies
“Complex [and] intriguing… [Swanson] makes sure to place those twists and turns perfectly... And when someone else turns up dead, the story goes from 0-to-60 in a split-second. Peter Swanson has done a fantastic job.” — Suspense Magazine on All the Beautiful Lies
“Swanson has drawn on Alfred Hitchcock to good effect. In All the Beautiful Lies , he looks instead to du Maurier… The reader is soon gripped and wondering which will come first: Harry’s seduction or his death? Swanson’s magpie borrowings are always finessed into something fresh and piquant.” — The Guardian
“An explosive mix of seductions, obsessions, and dark secrets.” — New York Journal of Books on All the Beautiful Lies
“There are many twists and turns, and quite a few surprises along the way…. A solid, twisty work of suspense.” — PCA/ACA Mystery & Detective Fiction Reading List on All the Beautiful Lies
“Gripping… [Alice’s] past is peppered with secrets and the damage is revealed in a split narrative between now and then, culminating in an edge of the seat ending.” — Sunday Post (UK) on All the Beautiful Lies
“This atmospheric, stylish mystery is pure pleasure.” — Sunday Mirror (UK) on All the Beautiful Lies
“The Girl with a Clock for a Heart is a twisty, sexy, electric thrill ride and an absolute blast from start to finish.” — Dennis Lehane
“This devilishly clever noir thriller could have been called “Strangers on a Plane.” … It would have made a great Hitchcock movie.… Unlike most books that fail to live up to the hype, this one makes good on the promise, right down to the chilling final paragraph.” — Fort Worth Star-Telegram
“The Year’s Best Fiction: … A taut thriller with a mounting body count and a final twist so ruthlessly clever it’s criminal.” — Entertainment Weekly on The Kind Worth Killing
“The spirit of film noir is alive in this twisty tale of an ordinary man whose life is disrupted by his first love—an old-fashioned femme fatale who brings double crossings, financial scams and murder in her devastating wake. Clever and stylish.” — Sunday Mirror (UK) on The Girl With a Clock For a Heart
“The skillfully conjured Boston winter creates the perfect atmosphere for breeding paranoia, which kicks into high gear with the introduction of Cherney’s Rear Window-like flashbacks. Swanson … introduces a delicious monster-under-the-bed creepiness to the expected top-notch characterization and steadily mounting anxiety.” — Booklist (starred review) on Her Every Fear
There’s a neat twist at the end, but the real surprise is the way characters are allowed to grieve their losses, a luxury not always allowed in stories of this type. For a fast-paced thriller, Before She Knew Him achieves an impressive significance in its pauses.
A wicked thriller that does not disappoint… Another gem that pulls the reader in and never lets go, even as the story comes to a close. This is a book that will keep you up at night and haunt your thoughts. A fun, chilling read.
In trademark style, Swanson’s ingenious plotting throws up tantalising clues and then slowly unravels them through a series of shocking revelations, leaving readers confused, bemused and racing to the last page. Compelling, creepy, and psychologically astute, this is stylish thriller writing at its very best.
Mr. Swanson unfolds this creepy story with the assurance and economy of a master. Surprises follow one another with inevitability, until the final electrifying jolt.
Plenty of suspense and surprises... This intense and sinister thriller builds to a shocking conclusion as the bizarre relationship between a woman and her killer neighbor plays out.
It is deliciously good – dry, intelligent, perfectly paced, [and] there is more than a touch of the Barbara Vines about the delicately played out, deliciously dark relationship that develops between Hen and Matthew… This is Swanson’s best thriller yet.
Woven into this twisty-turny murder thriller is mental illness and the instability it causes. Maybe worse than not being able to rely on yourself is that other people might not believe you. How can they be sure you’re not being paranoid, or manic, or obsessive?
Swanson builds the tension to a nearly unbearable level... The detail he uses as he delves into their lives and psyches foreshadows the stunners to follow… A cornucopia of carnage and craziness, Before She Knew Him simultaneously disturbs and delights.
The Free Lance-Star (Fredericksburg
[A] neatly knotted suspense story.
New York Times Book Review
Mr. Swanson unfolds this creepy story with the assurance and economy of a master. Surprises follow one another with inevitability, until the final electrifying jolt.
The spirit of film noir is alive in this twisty tale of an ordinary man whose life is disrupted by his first love—an old-fashioned femme fatale who brings double crossings, financial scams and murder in her devastating wake. Clever and stylish.
Sunday Mirror (UK) on The Girl With a Clock For a Heart
An explosive mix of seductions, obsessions, and dark secrets.
New York Journal of Books on All the Beautiful Lies
The Girl with a Clock for a Heart is a twisty, sexy, electric thrill ride and an absolute blast from start to finish.
Swanson has drawn on Alfred Hitchcock to good effect. In All the Beautiful Lies , he looks instead to du Maurier… The reader is soon gripped and wondering which will come first: Harry’s seduction or his death? Swanson’s magpie borrowings are always finessed into something fresh and piquant.
Swanson’s fourth psychological thriller is a gripping exploration of delusion and deceit; sure to please readers of Laura Lippman’s stand-alones.
Booklist on All the Beautiful Lies
This devilishly clever noir thriller could have been called “Strangers on a Plane.” … It would have made a great Hitchcock movie.… Unlike most books that fail to live up to the hype, this one makes good on the promise, right down to the chilling final paragraph.
This acutely perceptive writer has become a master of psychological chills and thrills, transforming what appears to be ‘cosy domestic’ into something infinitely more dangerous and deadly… A sizzling slice of his unique brand of domestic noir… Tingling with tension [and] brimming with menace.
In Peter Swanson’s expert hands, one woman’s discerning observation at a quiet suburban dinner party unfolds into a gripping, twisty, psychologically complex thriller. I could not put it down.
There are many twists and turns, and quite a few surprises along the way…. A solid, twisty work of suspense.
PCA/ACA Mystery & Detective Fiction Reading List on All the Beautiful Lies
Complex [and] intriguing… [Swanson] makes sure to place those twists and turns perfectly... And when someone else turns up dead, the story goes from 0-to-60 in a split-second. Peter Swanson has done a fantastic job.
Suspense Magazine on All the Beautiful Lies
The Year’s Best Fiction: … A taut thriller with a mounting body count and a final twist so ruthlessly clever it’s criminal.
Entertainment Weekly on The Kind Worth Killing
The narrative trickery is bold, but reined-in… As in all his best work, Swanson is equally beguiling when conjuring up the mind of a sociopath and the middle class Eden that harbors him.
This atmospheric, stylish mystery is pure pleasure.
Sunday Mirror (UK) on All the Beautiful Lies
What would happen if a serial killer met the perfect confidant, someone who would never be believed if they revealed his secrets? Nothing good… Swanson has crafted another bar-raising psychological thriller with this tense, unexpected spin on serial killers and those obsessed with them.
Gripping… [Alice’s] past is peppered with secrets and the damage is revealed in a split narrative between now and then, culminating in an edge of the seat ending.
Sunday Post (UK) on All the Beautiful Lies
The skillfully conjured Boston winter creates the perfect atmosphere for breeding paranoia, which kicks into high gear with the introduction of Cherney’s Rear Window-like flashbacks. Swanson … introduces a delicious monster-under-the-bed creepiness to the expected top-notch characterization and steadily mounting anxiety.
Booklist (starred review) on Her Every Fear
What would you do if you began to suspect your next door neighbor was a serial killer? That is the dilemma faced by artist Hen - and the jumping off point for this very contemporary thriller that will keep you gripped through every elegant twist and turn.
What would happen if a serial killer met the perfect confidant, someone who would never be believed if they revealed his secrets? Nothing good… Swanson has crafted another bar-raising psychological thriller with this tense, unexpected spin on serial killers and those obsessed with them.
The skillfully conjured Boston winter creates the perfect atmosphere for breeding paranoia, which kicks into high gear with the introduction of Cherney’s Rear Window-like flashbacks. Swanson … introduces a delicious monster-under-the-bed creepiness to the expected top-notch characterization and steadily mounting anxiety.
Booklist on Her Every Fear
There are many twists and turns, and quite a few surprises along the way…. A solid, twisty work of suspense.
PCA/ACA Mystery &Detective Fiction Reading List on All the Beautiful Lies
[Swanson] knows how to ration his twists and where in the narrative to place them, devoting just the right amount of time to exploring the ramifications of each new development before spinning the story off in an ominous new direction… De Palma, or Hitchcock… would kill for the film rights.
2018-12-11
The latest thriller from Swanson (All the Beautiful Lies , 2018, etc.) is a twisty, fast-paced tale that depicts picket-fence suburbia's seamy, murderous underside.
Hen and her husband, Lloyd, have just left Boston for the tranquil burbs, and things are looking up for her. After a psychotic break sparked by the unsolved murder of a neighbor, Hen is on the mend, her bipolar disorder under control, her optimism resurgent, her career as an illustrator of dark YA books taking off. At a meet and greet she and her husband hit it off, or think they should, with their next-door neighbors Matthew and Mira, the only other childless couple nearby. But when they cross the driveway for a barbecue, the potential for neighborly coziness curdles. Hen notices a little fencing trophy on a shelf in Matthew's office and recognizes it—or wonders if she recognizes it—as one of the mementos the police reported was stolen from the murder scene in the city. When Hen recalls that the man killed was once a student at the prep school where Matthew teaches history, Hen grows suspicious of Matthew—and starts to stalk him. Is this a break in the case or the beginning of another fit of paranoia? And even if it's the former, who will believe Hen's suspicions given her earlier obsession with the case and the hospitalization it led to? Swanson is at his best in exploring the kinship—or what some see as the kinship—between artist and killer, one of the themes of Swanson's great model and forebear, Patricia Highsmith. Swanson isn't quite up to Highsmith's lofty mark, and he succumbs toward the end to a soap opera-like plot-twist-too-far...but for the most part, this novel delivers.
A dark, quick-moving, suspenseful story stuffed full of psychological quirk and involution.
