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3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Only so so for me. I was enjoying it all along and found it crazy how open about things Matthew was, but then the end petered out for me (or I didn't get it!).
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is so good and so easy to lose track of time. There wasn’t a slow part of the book and so I found myself constantly wanting “just one more chapter.” So good!
This book was so good! I was in a bit of a reading slump after I read The Identicals. I had started 2 different books and just couldn't get into them, but when I started this book, I knew it would be a good one. Once I through about 85% of the book there was such a shocking plot twist that I actually had to put my kindle down for a moment and really process what had just happened. It made me have to take another look at what I had read so far.
This book, similar to the other one, is told from multiple people's perspectives, and really adds depth to the story. It's written in third person, so while you get all the action, it also gave insight to each character's thought process as well. All the characters played a key role in the story, and no time was spent on a character that didn't have a role to play.
I would definitely recommend this book to others!
This book, similar to the other one, is told from multiple people's perspectives, and really adds depth to the story. It's written in third person, so while you get all the action, it also gave insight to each character's thought process as well. All the characters played a key role in the story, and no time was spent on a character that didn't have a role to play.
I would definitely recommend this book to others!
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Before She Knew Him kinda defied my expectations regarding how the plot was going to go in several aspects, although I managed to guess one critical twist - but no matter, it was still a thoroughly enjoyable thriller and I'm amazed at the way that Peter Swanson has so cleverly plotted this tale. Hen and Lloyd are recent transplants to a neighborhood just outside in Boston, Massachusetts. Hen is the more introverted, artistic one of the pair, who'd had her troubles with her bipolar disorder. When Lloyd requests that they attend a neighborhood party, Lloyd and Hen meet the only other childless couple - Mira and Matthew. Mira seems interested in befriending the couple and invite Lloyd and Hen over for dinner.
When taking a tour of the house, Hen is stunned by a fencing trophy that she sees in Matthew's office. In turn, both Mira and Matthew note her adverse reaction to the trophy. Hen believes that the trophy belongs to a young man who was killed two years ago, a murder mystery that the authorities have never been able to solve. However, what is the link between this young man and Matthew? What motive could Matthew have for murdering the young man? And will anyone even believe Hen's suspicions about Matthew, given her checkered history?
Like I said, Before She Knew Him defied my expectations because the story isn't really a cat-and-mouse game in terms of Hen trying to catch the killer. Instead, the story is more of a psychological thriller that switches between the perspectives of Hen, Matthew, Matthew's brother Richard and occasionally Mira. In particular, we delve into the psyches of Hen and Matthew and their histories, which explain why they are the people that they are today. Hen firmly believes that Matthew is the killer and undertakes a series of increasingly dangerous surveillance measures to figure out what Matthew is up to. Meanwhile, Matthew notes Hen's obvious discomfort in seeing the trophy and wonders what Hen is thinking about him.
Furthermore, the book doesn't rely on any lazy writing - the characters behaved in somewhat believable ways. Even though Hen fancies herself as a detective, she actually keeps the authorities informed of her suspicions and isn't just recklessly barging ahead with some lame excuse about why she shouldn't let the police handle it.
With that said, there was one twist that I'd seen coming but it was far along enough in the book that it didn't mar my reading experience.
When taking a tour of the house, Hen is stunned by a fencing trophy that she sees in Matthew's office. In turn, both Mira and Matthew note her adverse reaction to the trophy. Hen believes that the trophy belongs to a young man who was killed two years ago, a murder mystery that the authorities have never been able to solve. However, what is the link between this young man and Matthew? What motive could Matthew have for murdering the young man? And will anyone even believe Hen's suspicions about Matthew, given her checkered history?
Like I said, Before She Knew Him defied my expectations because the story isn't really a cat-and-mouse game in terms of Hen trying to catch the killer. Instead, the story is more of a psychological thriller that switches between the perspectives of Hen, Matthew, Matthew's brother Richard and occasionally Mira. In particular, we delve into the psyches of Hen and Matthew and their histories, which explain why they are the people that they are today. Hen firmly believes that Matthew is the killer and undertakes a series of increasingly dangerous surveillance measures to figure out what Matthew is up to. Meanwhile, Matthew notes Hen's obvious discomfort in seeing the trophy and wonders what Hen is thinking about him.
Spoiler
In fact, I thought that Matthew was quite clever in banking on Hen's bipolar disorder and her history of accusing someone else as a killer to undermine her testimony that he's a serial murderer. The way that he'd chosen to reach out to her specifically to tell her that her guesses are correct also gave me chills, as it seems as though he wanted someone to catch him and it was just as well that nobody was likely to believe her.Furthermore, the book doesn't rely on any lazy writing - the characters behaved in somewhat believable ways. Even though Hen fancies herself as a detective, she actually keeps the authorities informed of her suspicions and isn't just recklessly barging ahead with some lame excuse about why she shouldn't let the police handle it.
With that said, there was one twist that I'd seen coming but it was far along enough in the book that it didn't mar my reading experience.