Book Review: NINE LIVES by Peter Swanson

Title: NINE LIVES

Author:  Peter Swanson

Publisher:  Faber and Faber Ltd

Read: April 2022

Expected publication: out now

My Rating: 🌟🌟🌟

 

 

Book Description:

 

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke - until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor.

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next....

 

My musings:

 

I’m not usually a fan of too many characters because it often prevents me from bonding with any of them and it takes a lot of energy to keep them all straight in my mind. However, after a few doubts in the beginning of NINE LIVES, I found that this wasn’t a problem here, as Swanson managed to highlight those particular character traits in each person that made them stand out from the rest. They all piqued my interest, even though a few of them barely made it through one chapter before the grim reaper got to them. I soon regretted any bond I had with a few of the more intriguing characters, as they gradually fell victim to the murderer. If you have read Agatha Christie’s book AND THEN THERE WERE NONE (which is referred to often as the nine ill fated members of the murder list contemplate their lot), then you will know that no one gets spared.

NINE LIVES was a quick read from beginning to end as the list of survivors got ever smaller, and the body count mounted quickly. Swanson’s prose is sparse and he kept his multi-perspective chapters short and on track, which moved the story along at a good pace. Blink, and there’s been another death. Keeping with Christie’s style, the murders are not exactly cosy, but not too gruesome or distressing either, and I was more intrigued than distressed as even my favourite characters fell off the perch.

Did I guess the culprit? No. Then again, I was not particularly impressed with the final denouement or the killer’s motivation for the murder spree, which ultimately let the story down for me. However, I did like the matter of fact way Swanson presented his nine victims, which made me feel invested and kept me reading and guessing until the end. Whilst this didn’t come anywhere close to the magic of THE KIND WORTH KILLING, it was entertaining enough and would make for a quick holiday or weekend read.

 

 

Thank you to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for the free electronic copy of this novel and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.