A review by pomoevareads
Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

What might you speculate if you received a list with nine names on it and one of them was yours? None of the other names look familiar to you and then you are made aware that this list may put your life in danger. This is the premise of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson.

This is a fast-paced thriller with short chapters. There is a character chart at the beginning of the book which was very helpful when you have just a little time to learn about each character. The chapters count down as people are eliminated from the list, literally. 

I have avoided reading Eight Perfect Murders by this author because I have been told that it spoils many other books. This one spoils And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie so if you have any plans on reading that one, it should be completed before this book. I did enjoy the many literary references throughout to books that characters were reading. 

I would have appreciated more clues throughout the story rather than being handed the reason in an all in one fashion. I also found myself trying to put Linwood Barclay’s Find You First out of my mind while reading this one as it has a similar trope. 

Overall, I enjoyed this one and will happily read more of Swanson’s books as I did enjoy the writing and character building. 

Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. Nine Lives publishes March 15, 2022.
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