Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.78 AVERAGE
3.78 AVERAGE
4.5 stars! I loved this book, but I would have preferred to have more detail and information on why Hen suspected the girl of murdering Dustin, and why she attacked her... and why she even cared since he tried to rape her?
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Simply great
Intense and riveting, Peter Swanson always keeps me on the edge of my seat with his amazing books and story telling.
Intense and riveting, Peter Swanson always keeps me on the edge of my seat with his amazing books and story telling.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It has been too long since I read a book by Peter Swanson. I have been a fan of his work since he started publishing. Unfortunately, I have slacked on keeping up with his books. I blame it on that accurate saying, “Too many books, too little time.” I recognize I have been trying to be more thoughtful about the books I choose to read. I want to pick up a book feeling confident I will love it. I am also doing much better, giving myself permission to bail on a book if it’s not for me. Not only that, but I even just culled my Audible wishlist to include only books I am excited to read. Granted, my wishlist still sits at 268 titles. I have no idea what it was before I started that spontaneous project. Haha
I know it seems like I digressed a bit there, but my point is that I made an excellent decision in selecting Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson. He is an author I can count on for an outstanding psychologically suspenseful novel. A young couple, Hen and Lloyd, buy a house in the suburbs of Boston. Hen is an illustrator and managing her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Lloyd encourages Hen to attend a block party to meet their neighbors. This leads to a dinner invitation to the couple’s house next door. While touring the neighbor’s home, Hen notices a sports trophy that looks like one that went missing from a man’s home that was murdered two years ago. It was a murder case she followed closely because it happened in her community. Immediately, Hen suspects her neighbor, Matthew, of murder. Due to her mental health struggles in the past, no one is keen to believe her. Hen begins following Matthew and is discovered.
I borrowed the audiobook from my local library with the Libby app. I loved that there were two narrators, Sophie Amoss and Graham Halstead, as there are two POVs in the story. I was completely engaged in the story from beginning to end. I thought it was kind of dark, in a superb way, as it contributed to the suspense and unexpected twists. Furthermore, I enjoyed the ending, especially since I didn’t exactly see things turning out the way they did. Extremely well written psychological thriller.
I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
I know it seems like I digressed a bit there, but my point is that I made an excellent decision in selecting Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson. He is an author I can count on for an outstanding psychologically suspenseful novel. A young couple, Hen and Lloyd, buy a house in the suburbs of Boston. Hen is an illustrator and managing her diagnosis of bipolar disorder. Lloyd encourages Hen to attend a block party to meet their neighbors. This leads to a dinner invitation to the couple’s house next door. While touring the neighbor’s home, Hen notices a sports trophy that looks like one that went missing from a man’s home that was murdered two years ago. It was a murder case she followed closely because it happened in her community. Immediately, Hen suspects her neighbor, Matthew, of murder. Due to her mental health struggles in the past, no one is keen to believe her. Hen begins following Matthew and is discovered.
I borrowed the audiobook from my local library with the Libby app. I loved that there were two narrators, Sophie Amoss and Graham Halstead, as there are two POVs in the story. I was completely engaged in the story from beginning to end. I thought it was kind of dark, in a superb way, as it contributed to the suspense and unexpected twists. Furthermore, I enjoyed the ending, especially since I didn’t exactly see things turning out the way they did. Extremely well written psychological thriller.
I have photos and additional information that I'm unable to include here. It can all be found on my blog, in the link below.
A Book And A Dog
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I can't believe I hadn't seen the twist coming. And the significance of the book's title...that was very nice to realize at the end. I had been wondering throughout the whole story what the significance could be and then it comes out of nowhere, and whew.
The book was an enjoyable read overall but I'm kind of over the "mentally ill woman gets gaslit" trope. I also felt there were quite a few loose ends with Mira - did she know about Matthew's split personality disorder? How did her story ultimately end? I wish we had gotten more.
The book was an enjoyable read overall but I'm kind of over the "mentally ill woman gets gaslit" trope. I also felt there were quite a few loose ends with Mira - did she know about Matthew's split personality disorder? How did her story ultimately end? I wish we had gotten more.
This had SO MUCH promise to be a great psychological thriller, but Swanson forgot about the protagonist's bipolar disorder about a third of the way through the book. It felt a lot more generic after that element went missing, and there were far too many plot twists lumped together at the end. Probably would have been two stars if I weren't the type of reader who gets too wrapped up and is completely oblivious to upcoming reveals until retrospection. Still, it kept my interest -- a solid three-star thriller for me.
Whoa... second book I have read by this author the first was all the beautiful lies. This book was so good. I appreciate the light that’s shed on mental illness. This book follows Hen and Lloyd as they move into their new house they stop over one night for dinner to formally get to know their new neighbors when Hen spots something suspicious. she follows true crime cases and recognizes something in her neighbors house that alerts her Into thinking her new neighbor is a murder... or possibly a serial killer? She’s no sure what to do but we follow her journey in figuring it all out I don’t want to give to much away but that was enough to get me intrigued and I’m dying to read more of his books I wasn’t a huge fan of all the beautiful lies but I decided to give this author another shot and glad I did this book was great!!!