Reviews with content warning for Child death - Nine Lives

Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

35 reviews

jenn_reads's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

It was fine. Just... fine.

I listened to it as an audiobook and it was a little more difficult to follow than I imagine it was in print? It kept re-reading the list of names and starting the chapter numbers over from one, it took me about two thirds of the book to realize it might have names struck through that the narrator wasn't identifying as such. It was also a little hard to keep track of the threads as an audiobook.

The Jay chapters in particular were really jarring to hear aloud like that. I was not prepared.

I feel like I probably should have just reread And Then There Were None.

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foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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vkitoria's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

i would have read this all in one sitting if i'd had the time. super engaging and i like the author's concise, but funny writing style. i liked this much more than "eight perfect murders" which i read a couple months ago, i feel like the conclusion here made more sense.

i love when the perpetrator in a mystery is revealed to be another identity of a character we've known all along, like in the decagon house murders, but it's still done in an unexpected way. i eat that shit UP

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kayrenee521's review

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mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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jrpal's review against another edition

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slow-paced

Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.0

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midnightrose_reads's review

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dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes

3.75

Another solid thriller from Peter Swanson. I didn’t enjoy it quite as much as The Kind Worth Killing, but would recommend it none the less.

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kris386's review

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mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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dalmavatai's review against another edition

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mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

First off, let me just say that this is a retelling of And Then There Were None. It's not just inspired by it as most of the marketing suggests - it's a straight-up retelling so go into it knowing that.

I actually really enjoyed this book and is probably my favorite Peter Swanson as I found both The Kind Worth Killing and Every Vow You Break mediocre. It was fast-paced, exciting, and had a reveal that I didn't expect and really enjoyed. As usual, Peter Swanson doesn't have super memorable characters or relationships, and the reason behind the murders did not surprise me as it was very similar to the one in And Then There Were None. I also thought some of the connections could have been revealed in a more interesting and suspenseful way, so by no means is this a perfect book. But I did really enjoy my time reading it and if you're looking for a fast-paced, plot-based thriller with a satisfying (albeit not completely unpredictable) twist, then this one's for you! Just be aware that this is a retelling and therefore if you've read the original and loved it, this might not be your thing.

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shazzalovesnovels's review against another edition

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mysterious sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

"Bad People go unpunished all the time. And innocent people suffer outrageously."

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elmewhy's review against another edition

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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 theme

life 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 could

when 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 from

The 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'.

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