Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Hello everyone.  I hope your day has been wonderful.

You'll have to excuse any misspelled words or typos; my hands are frozen.  In the land of housewifery all is not well.  Our hot water heater has a bunch of corrosion on the pipe that exits, bringing steaming hot water to the house...too hot if I'm being honest.  Fortunately, hubby noticed the pipe's decline while spraying for bugs, another wonderful house duty, luckily not mine.  Anyway, getting a plumber in this small town has been like getting a book from Dan Brown, difficult.  They are all so busy, even the guy we always use.  Although hubby swears it isn't necessary, I have been curtailing my use of hot water. Washing dishes in frigid winter water has left me feeling like I have been paddling a boat with my hands in the artic. Yes, we have a fantastic dish washer but some things I don't trust to its practically acid like soap and blasting spray (that's a compliment not a complaint).  Plumbing has nothing to do with today's book, but I just knew you would want to know every single detail about things going on in our basement. Yes, I'm being sarcastic, no I haven't lost all of my mind but I'm working on it, thanks for asking.

I recently read Nine Lives by Peter Swanson. This is the story of nine people who are strangers from all over the country.  Each of these characters receives an envelope with no return address, inside is a piece of paper with a list of nine names, nothing else.  Each recipient has the unfortunate surprise of finding themselves on the list.  Several discard it as junk mail.  Some people think it's a joke.  It becomes clear that the list is trouble once people on the list start being murdered, one by one the list is getting smaller as the FBI races to track down and protect the remaining survivors.

This book is exactly what a thriller should be, full of anticipation, dread, curiosity, and page flipping fun.  This is aided by the fact that this book is told in a unique way.  It is told by a countdown.  Yep, when the next chapter comes you know that someone else will be dead as we count down from the nine strangers. Further, the major twist is something I've never seen done before and I read a ton of thrillers.  Order take-out and ditch Netflix, this book will hold your attention all night.

An evil thought: if you have a book club reading this, it would be so creepy to send them each an anonymous single sheet of paper with all their names on it.

Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

Hello everyone.  I hope you are enjoying your day.

When you got married did you have a nice honeymoon?  My sister went to one of those islands...one of the "amas" or "ini" places off the coast of Florida.  I can't remember where but I'm certain she had a nice time.  For me, I got one night in Scranton, PA.  Now if you're from Pennsylvania don't get your drawers in a twist.  I love the state, lots of my family came from PA.  However, as far as exotic, seductive locales go, the Hilton in Scranton doesn't exactly blow up your skirt.  Okay, between us buddies, it was cool.  It was an old train station that we got to explore, but as far as brag-ability it isn't great.  "Oh so your sister went to the islands.  Where did you go? One night in Scranton???"  Hubby said not to tell you this story lest you think he's cheap.  In his defense, we purchased our first house thirty days before our wedding and we used our honeymoon money for a down payment.  But if he asks, yes, I think he's cheap and owes me a trip to Europe at the minimum!

I recently read Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson.  This is the story of Abigail and Bruce. They are getting married.  First Abigail is attending her shower, only not the kind where you get a toaster, the kind where you and your friends go to a resort. While at this resort, Abigail meets another man who wonders if she loves her husband-to-be as much as she thinks she does, especially after she sleeps with him.  Of course, once home and during the final preparations for the wedding, she tells Bruce nothing about what happened on the trip.  Panic sets in when she sees the man she slept with and when he starts emailing her.  She kindly refuses his advances and proceeds with the wedding.  After the nuptials, Bruce whisks his new bride away for a lovely honeymoon, but guess who shows up? Oh yes, it's deliciously evil.  If you want more, you'll have to read it.  This book has got great pacing and an even better setting.  Lots of fun with this story and a nice escape!

After reading Every Vow You Break I'm a little more grateful for my single night in Scranton, but I'm gonna tell people it was Scranton, France.

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

Hello everyone.

Have you ever seen someone you thought you knew but it wasn't that person? Awkward to say but you know what I mean. Of course you have, everybody has. My husband told me about how they were on vacation when he was a kid and were 2,000+ miles away from home, and his sister thought she saw someone from her elementary school class riding their bike. When I lost my parents, I swear I saw each of them everywhere. I still often think I see my dad, he just had one of "those" faces and heads, especially from the back...you know...dad-ish. In the case of grief, I am sure it is very common especially shortly after your loss. Otherwise, I am sure someone has caught your eye. Some of us have a good memory for faces.

I recently read Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson. In this story, a woman, Hen (short for Henrietta) and her husband, Lloyd, have moved into a new house. They have dinner at the neighbors house directly across the street. A pretty normal and pleasant thing to do. While they are being given a home tour Hen sees a trophy that reminds her of a murder case. Although she doesn't know the murderer's face like I was yammering about earlier, Henrietta knows the trophy. She remembers the murder of years ago so clearly because she lived on the street where it happened. The trophy, for fencing, was taken by the killer as a grisly souvenir. Although their charming host has a perfectly logical explanation for having the award, Hen has a sense that all is not well. As they story progresses we find out not only did Hen live on the street where the murder was committed but has had mental health issues in the past. When she becomes absolutely positive that she is now living on the street with the killer, she goes to the police but who will believe her with her past? Even Lloyd doubts his wife, fearing another mental break. Ahhh, I've given you plot which I vowed not to do, you've likely already read the book jacket. I just couldn't help myself. This story is just what a thriller should be, twisty. It leaves you on the edge of your seat, flipping pages like a mad woman. It forces you to eat frozen pizza for dinner! Oh yes, gasp you should, this book is too good to even contemplate time away from it to make dinner...and the resulting dishes...forget about them!

Do yourself a favor, get your favorite take out pizza, some paper plates, and this book. You will savor them all!