Before She Knew Him: A Novel - Couverture rigide

“Mr. Swanson unfolds this creepy story with the assurance and economy of a master. Surprises follow one another with inevitability, until the final electrifying jolt.” (Wall Street Journal)

“[A] neatly knotted suspense story.” (New York Times Book Review)

“Plenty of suspense and surprises... This intense and sinister thriller builds to a shocking conclusion as the bizarre relationship between a woman and her killer neighbor plays out.” (ShelfAwareness.com)

“There’s a neat twist at the end, but the real surprise is the way characters are allowed to grieve their losses, a luxury not always allowed in stories of this type. For a fast-paced thriller, Before She Knew Him achieves an impressive significance in its pauses.” (BookPage)

“In trademark style, Swanson’s ingenious plotting throws up tantalising clues and then slowly unravels them through a series of shocking revelations, leaving readers confused, bemused and racing to the last page. Compelling, creepy, and psychologically astute, this is stylish thriller writing at its very best.” (Guardian (UK))

“A wicked thriller that does not disappoint... Another gem that pulls the reader in and never lets go, even as the story comes to a close. This is a book that will keep you up at night and haunt your thoughts. A fun, chilling read.” (Manhattan Book Review)

“Woven into this twisty-turny murder thriller is mental illness and the instability it causes. Maybe worse than not being able to rely on yourself is that other people might not believe you. How can they be sure you’re not being paranoid, or manic, or obsessive?” (The Big Thrill)

“What would you do if you began to suspect your next door neighbor was a serial killer? That is the dilemma faced by artist Hen - and the jumping off point for this very contemporary thriller that will keep you gripped through every elegant twist and turn.” (Sunday Mirror (UK))

“This acutely perceptive writer has become a master of psychological chills and thrills, transforming what appears to be ‘cosy domestic’ into something infinitely more dangerous and deadly... A sizzling slice of his unique brand of domestic noir... Tingling with tension [and] brimming with menace.” (The Guardian (UK))

“In Peter Swanson’s expert hands, one woman’s discerning observation at a quiet suburban dinner party unfolds into a gripping, twisty, psychologically complex thriller.  I could not put it down.” (Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Wife)

From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes an exquisitely chilling tale of a young suburban wife with a history of psychological instability whose fears about her new neighbor could lead them both to murder. . . .

Hen and her husband, Lloyd, have settled into a quiet life in a suburban house outside of Boston. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and has set up shop in a nearby studio, where she can forget the world and focus on her craft. After a few exhausting years of trial and error she has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace to do what she loves—create.

But when they meet the couple next door, that calm begins to erode when she spots a familiar object in the husband’s office. It looks exactly like something connected to a killing that happened years ago—one of very few pieces of evidence in a disturbing and baffling case. Hen recognizes it instantly because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either.

Could her neighbor Matthew be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered in college, when she became so consumed with a friend’s guilt that she ended up hurting someone? The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face-to-face with Matthew in the dark, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she really is on to him. And that this is the start of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape. . . .

With the highly seductive suspense and shocking twists that are his trademark, Peter Swanson once again delivers a tantalizing story of obsession and manipulation, sure to please fans of the modern classics by Ruth Ware, Paula Hawkins, and Gillian Flynn.