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Midge (525 KP) rated Before She Knew Him in Books

Mar 18, 2019

Before She Knew Him

Peter Swanson | 2019 | Fiction & Poetry

8.3

(4 Ratings)

Book Rating

An Exceptional Psychological Thriller!

This exceptional psychological thriller from Peter Swanson (author of ‘The Kind Worth Killing’), is an absolute masterpiece!

Henrietta ‘Hen’ Mazur and her husband, Lloyd Harding, have dinner one evening with their new neighbours, Matt and Mira Dolamore, at their suburban Boston home. Following dinner, on a tour of their house, Hen notices a fencing trophy in Matt’s study that she believes was won by Dustin Miller, a college student who was murdered two years previous and who attended the high school where Matt is a history Professor. Matt claims that the trophy was bought in a sale, but Hen, who is obsessed with Dustin’s case, suspects that Matt killed Dustin. However, the next day when she visits Mira, the trophy has vanished, thereby reinforcing her suspicions. But Hen gets little support from the Police or her husband because of her history of mental health problems. An unlikely bond then develops between Hen and Matt, whose traumatic childhood adds tonnes of emotional interest to Peter Swanson’s superb narrative. Lots of twists and turns and an edge-of-your-seat plot keep the suspense in “Before She Knew Him” really high until the fulfilling and dramatic conclusion.

This brilliant psychological novel is a fabulous page-turner and a definite winner.

{Thank you to Edelweiss, HarperCollins UK/William Morrow and Peter Swanson for a free copy and for giving me the opportunity to provide an honest review.}

Kudos

Christine A. (965 KP) rated Serial Wives in Books

Dec 9, 2018

Couldn't connect with any of the characters (1 more)

Seems to be a long book but only 204 pages

I was provided with a complimentary copy of this book so I could give an honest review.

I was immediately intrigued by the description of "Serial Wives" by Yvonne Eve Walus. A guilt ridden girl, a mother with a husband who recently returned home but is still a bad boy, and a serial killer who murders women and displays their bodies dressed in a white sheet and puts a fencing mask on them. This description had me hooked. Unfortunately, I did not feel connected to any of the characters. I did not find myself rooting for them to succeed or survive. I did not hate them nor was I actively hoping any of them failed or died. I just was not sympathetic toward them. I found the story to be all over the place, leaping from one person to an other. From the beginning you knew all of the characters were going to be connected. The "reveals" did not seem like reveals.
The book seemed very long. When I finished, I was surprised to see if was, according to Goodreads, only 204 pages. I think the story was ok and would give it 3 stars. Yvonne Eve Walus has written 13 books but I do not think I will add any to my "want to read" list.