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elmewhy's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
~~3 Stars~~ 8th March 2022
The Set-Up... Hooked! The synopsis was wow and completely enticed me to read this. It had everything, a cool premise and synopsis, the promise of a great twisty and turny mystery, and a respectable author behind it.
The Plot...I had high expectations but was let a little down. The book was a great easy read and the short chapters kept the story going - I enjoyed how a death/murder wasn't detailed to the ground to drag out the word count, it kept up the thriller/mystery theme. Sprinkled into each character's subplot was a little life lesson/issue that kept things relatable, the overarching theme and ending themelife isn't fair was kind of eh to me but was natural to the tone of the book. Honestly, I don't think the realism of this book gets enough credit, (I mean bar the serial murder part) we saw all the different ways people reacted when they received the mysterious mail, honestly, I too would throw it away and forget all about it.
A prominent reference either spoiled or helped me predict exactly how this book was going to go, reading this book wasn't a case of 'How will this end?' it was more 'Oh, I know what is gonna happen how will Swanson do it differently' - Read below for the Agatha Christie thing.
The Characters...I found each character really interesting, the short descriptions of them were enough to grasp their personalities - There was some diversity between them, as much as you couldwhen you realise their joint connection later on it made sense, and there was a lot of diversity personality-wise given the connection . Although in any book that has nine main figures and then adding in the side characters there were a lot of people to think about, we switched character perspectives and hero/heroines which for me kept it interesting. I enjoyed how the nine interacted with each other in different capacities, and there were some interesting personality traits. However, there were one or two characters who were basically irrelevant to the plot One character, Jay Coates, pretended to be the Jay Coates in the letter but wasn't actually him and we ended his plot there with no explanation?? You could say it displayed human needs for attention but eh just irrelevant . IMO the characters were fleshed out nicely considering the number of people we are introduced to, we weren't necessarily following anyone so the deaths weren't a real shock and kept the story flowing easily.
The Agatha Christie thing... Now I enjoy a reference here and there to AC within modern thriller/mystery books. However, my biggest issue was how much "And Then There Were None" was mentioned -and if you know ATTWN it will spoil who the murderer is or at least give you a very strong indication. Plus the book is used as a plot point to figure out the "why" for the murderer. . From knowing ATTWN, the ending felt underwhelming and predictable, I felt spoiled without even reading a spoiler - if it's a retelling then the book was great, if it's not, it should be.
*Heard this wasn't the first time Swanson has referenced an AC book in his books.
The Ending... I don't have any strong feelings about how this ended, the above points clarify this. The justification for the murders was questionable and I would have liked more reasoning behind it. The connection reveal was okay but did need more fleshing out - we basically heard nothing from the people who we needed to hear fromThe parents connected them all with the death of Jack Radebaugh/ Jonathan Grant's sister but we heard nothing from them at the end?? . The biggest surprise for me wasn't even the ending, and honestly, maybe my mind just wasn't connecting these dots properly but I enjoyed this connection more than the ending - How Alison Horne's older lover was Jack Radebaugh - didn't connect that up at all until the ending. I mean kinda creepy how he slept with his ex-friends/sisters killers daughter to try and get back at him before killing her BUT I have to admit it was the most exciting reveal
Overall, I did enjoy my reading experience with this book. I wasn't too baffled by the plot and the reveals weren't very exciting. The set-up for the book was there and completely had me hooked but the actual end product wasn't living up to the hype. I will read more of Swanson's book though as I did enjoy the writing style.
Details
-Plot: medium-paced
-TW: Death, Murder, Child loss/Death
-Ending Happy/Sad/Unfinished:No winners, even though one of our protagonists is revealed to be alive you have to imagine the disappointment they must feel after they woke up. No one survived apart from her, the criminal wasn't caught or appropriately brought to justice, and she was the only one equipped to maybe stop/figure him out. You could believe that justice was served from our killer's perspective -- but probably not. Follows the theme of 'it's not fair but so is life'.
The Set-Up... Hooked! The synopsis was wow and completely enticed me to read this. It had everything, a cool premise and synopsis, the promise of a great twisty and turny mystery, and a respectable author behind it.
The Plot...I had high expectations but was let a little down. The book was a great easy read and the short chapters kept the story going - I enjoyed how a death/murder wasn't detailed to the ground to drag out the word count, it kept up the thriller/mystery theme. Sprinkled into each character's subplot was a little life lesson/issue that kept things relatable, the overarching theme and ending theme
A prominent reference either spoiled or helped me predict exactly how this book was going to go, reading this book wasn't a case of 'How will this end?' it was more 'Oh, I know what is gonna happen how will Swanson do it differently' - Read below for the Agatha Christie thing.
The Characters...I found each character really interesting, the short descriptions of them were enough to grasp their personalities - There was some diversity between them, as much as you could
The Agatha Christie thing... Now I enjoy a reference here and there to AC within modern thriller/mystery books. However, my biggest issue was how much "And Then There Were None" was mentioned -
*Heard this wasn't the first time Swanson has referenced an AC book in his books.
The Ending... I don't have any strong feelings about how this ended, the above points clarify this. The justification for the murders was questionable and I would have liked more reasoning behind it. The connection reveal was okay but did need more fleshing out - we basically heard nothing from the people who we needed to hear from
Overall, I did enjoy my reading experience with this book. I wasn't too baffled by the plot and the reveals weren't very exciting. The set-up for the book was there and completely had me hooked but the actual end product wasn't living up to the hype. I will read more of Swanson's book though as I did enjoy the writing style.
Details
-Plot: medium-paced
-TW: Death, Murder, Child loss/Death
-Ending Happy/Sad/Unfinished:
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, and Murder
markedwithanm's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Homophobia
what_heather_loves's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
"So here's the thing. There was an envelope at the scene of the crime, addressed to Frank.'.'He had the list?'. 'Exact same list. The one with your name on it.' 'Shit' Jessica said."
Imagine receiving a list of names, including your own, in the post and discovering other names on the list are people being killed. A man, Frank Hopkins, is found drowned on a beach in present day Maine in the USA. His hand is a piece of paper with a list of nine names, including his own. When another name on the list is found dead the FBI get involved, as well as a local Maine detective, Sam Hamilton, working the case alone. They try to track down all the names on the list, to offer police protection, with a couple of agents (including one whose own name is in the list, Jessica Winslow) begin to suspect the connection. Will the killer, and their motive, be discovered in time?
Influenced by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which is referenced in the book as being re-read by one Sam Hamilton, the readers is given the perspectives of each of the names on the list, nine people who don't know one another and don't appear to be linked. The readers gets to know and like, or dislike, the eclectic mix of characters and I become invested in seeing them survive, or equally felt it would be no loss to the world for those who are horrible people; there's also the perspectives of the FBI Agent Jessica Winslow and the Maine Police Detective Sam Hamilton, following the killer's trail and trying to protect the names on the list. I found it a fascinating concept and was surprised it held my interest bearing in mind the number of protagonists and how the story moved about between them and different locations, but it's well crafted, fast-paced with short chapters and it worked. An ingenious whodunit for fans of classic and contemporary mysteries.
Imagine receiving a list of names, including your own, in the post and discovering other names on the list are people being killed. A man, Frank Hopkins, is found drowned on a beach in present day Maine in the USA. His hand is a piece of paper with a list of nine names, including his own. When another name on the list is found dead the FBI get involved, as well as a local Maine detective, Sam Hamilton, working the case alone. They try to track down all the names on the list, to offer police protection, with a couple of agents (including one whose own name is in the list, Jessica Winslow) begin to suspect the connection. Will the killer, and their motive, be discovered in time?
Influenced by Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, which is referenced in the book as being re-read by one Sam Hamilton, the readers is given the perspectives of each of the names on the list, nine people who don't know one another and don't appear to be linked. The readers gets to know and like, or dislike, the eclectic mix of characters and I become invested in seeing them survive, or equally felt it would be no loss to the world for those who are horrible people; there's also the perspectives of the FBI Agent Jessica Winslow and the Maine Police Detective Sam Hamilton, following the killer's trail and trying to protect the names on the list. I found it a fascinating concept and was surprised it held my interest bearing in mind the number of protagonists and how the story moved about between them and different locations, but it's well crafted, fast-paced with short chapters and it worked. An ingenious whodunit for fans of classic and contemporary mysteries.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death
bookishflaneur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Nine Lives is a tense and thrilling murder novel which kept me guessing to the last minute. As with “Rules for Perfect Murders”, I found the build up and climax incredibly well written and something I never could have guessed. The characters were very much flawed, but as a reader I was still able to feel for their situation. Personally, I preferred RFPM, however the concept for this book is still very good and very well executed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Stalking, and Toxic relationship
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