Firstly a big thank you to NetGalley for an advanced copy of "Before She Knew Him" in exchange for an honest review.

I LOVED Swansons first novel - The Kind Worth Killing but have been underwhelmed with the follow ups...until now! I feel like this was Swanson back to his best, with a really deep plot line and interesting and absolutely crazy characters.

I will admit I figured the plot "twist" way before it was revealed but that didn't takeaway from the excitment and drama of the story. I mean what would you do if your neighbour told you he was murderer but noone, even your husband believed you?

What a thriller, I could not put it down till the end. It is this suspenseful. Can you kill people who have done seriously wrong but did not get punished by law? What if you report a murder but the police think you are crazy? This crime novel deals with these themes in a new and twisted way! This novel is worth a sleepless night, I highly recommend it.

5* Crazy Psycho Stars

This was my first read by Peter Swanson and I thoroughly enjoyed the crazy ride he took me on!

I went into the story blind and I was glad I did because I did not know what to expect and when the twists and turns were revealed they were suspenseful and very engaging.

The book is told from alternating POV’s being Hen and Matthew who are new neighbours to each other. The characters in the book are fascinating and intriguing.

I highly recommend this well written psychological thriller.

I would love to see this book made into a movie; it will be thrilling and chilling!

Many thanks to Faber and Faber Ltd and NetGalley for my copy to read and review.

3.5 stars
I'm normally clueless in terms of twists when reading psychological thrillers and let authors shock me with unexpected turns of events. Peter Swanson's latest thriller was fun to read but I figured out the twist too early on. I still enjoyed the book and found it fast paced and gripping, but I do feel that we've seen the twist too many times before.

Many thanks to Faber and Faber for my review copy in exchange for an honest review.

I've read several book by this author and they are always excellent. This one is no different. A gripping read!

Fast paced, exciting and just enough twists to keep it thrilling but believable. The characters are engaging. This is the second Peter Swanson book I have read and I'm now a firm fan. A gripping, thought-provoking thriller.

Wow! Peter Swanson does it again!

Let me start by saying I am a huge fan of Peter Swanson's books. The Kind Worth Killing is one of the books I recommend the most to friends and has been featured on my page as it is an incredible thriller with a massive twist! I was worried with Before She Knew Him my excitement and anticipation would have built it up to a point where no book could live up but instead I was thrilled!

The story (no spoilers here) is about Hen and Llyod, a couple who move into a quiet suburb outside of Boston and have dinner with their new neighbours to get to know them better. However, as Hen gets to know the quiet and observant Matthew, she sees something that convinces her he's a killer. Problem is, Hen has had a past of psychotic episodes... one that even led her to harming another person. How can she convince people she knows who he truly is?

There were several times I was convinced I knew what was happening because Swanson gives us so much information in the beginning that we think we have the story figured out! But as is never the case with Swanson’s gripping writing, twists abound and the relationships between the characters become even more complex with the reader just along for the ride. You can't help but picture how you would handle yourself in the situation! I'd love to say more, but the hardest reviews to write are always for the best thrillers because you never want to give too much away!

This book was unhinging in the best possible way, so I highly recommend!

Review was posted on Goodreads and on my WatchThisReadThat Instgramm Personal Blog

This book had such promise, I was really looking forward to reading about a woman who has suffered with mental illness and who then believes that her neighbour is a murderer when she spots what she believes to be an object belonging to a victim whist in the neighbours home. However, I’m afraid I found the writing style overbearing and the plot thin and obvious and overall it was a difficult read.

Others seem to have enjoyed it and it may be that it just isn’t for me. Thanks to Netgalley, Faber and Faber and the author for the opportunity to preview this book in exchange for my honest review.

Well, this book hit the ground running, held me captive throughout and didn't let up until the very end. To say I really didn't know how it was all going to pan out would be an understatement.
We meet Hen and Lloyd who have recently moved into a new house. Hen is an illustrator and has a studio nearby and is managing her bipolar disorder with meds. Things are ticking along quite nicely for her until a tour of her neighbour's house after a dinner party sends her reeling. She sees, or thinks she sees, a familiar object in Matthew's study. A sports trophy that looks identical to one that went missing from the scene of a murder. She knows this key detail as she is a bit obsessed with the still unsolved crime, having lived nearby the victim. Matthew knows she has seen it, knows that he might be in trouble. But he also knows about her health issues... And so begins a bit of a cat-and-mouse game between Hen and Matthew. Her trying to prove he is a killer and him trying to prove she is suffering a bipolar episode and delusional. What lengths will Hen go to prove her suspicions, and what will that personally cost?
Wow! This book seriously messed with my head with all its twists and turns and directions it raced off, mostly at tangents. But, in amongst all this racing about, the story flowed so smoothly and, when it all wrapped up, it came together very well. It's told from the pov of both Hen and Matthew, two very distinct and different voices, so I got to know them very well as characters along the way. Both had their endearing points as well as their negative ones and I did connect to the both of them pretty much right from the off which is important to me; makes for a better read.
As more and more backstory came out, the plot became rather bizarre and, maybe, a little over the top but, at the end of the day, it worked, it really did! The twists were extremely well crafted and, with the benefit of hindsight, never felt like they came out of left field. The way that certain things were exposed at certain points made the book go in a direction I really wasn't expecting. I can't explain this as it would be a bit spoilery but I will just say that the race to the end was both mind-blowing and jaw-dropping. Don't forget to breathe!
The ending - well - all the way through I was trying to figure out how on earth the author would manage to wrap it all up to my satisfaction. With every shock he delivered I adjusted my thoughts until I eventually gave up and just went with the flow. And he did not disappoint, leaving me completely satisfied at the book's conclusion. Great job, well done.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This book begins with Hen, and her husband Lloyd, going over for dinner at their new next door neighbours house. While there they're shown a small tour around their home where Hen spots a familiar trophy in the office. The trophy is familiar as it looks like the one that was taken from a man's home after his murder but it can't possibly be the same one, can it? Hen starts to become obsessed with finding out everything about her neighbours after this, convinced that the husband is a murderer and scared that he may decide to take another life.

Hen has an incident in her past though, one that makes her an unreliable narrator. In fact, everyone in this one is unreliable. There is not a single trustworthy person in this book which makes it so good, I had no idea what to think of anyone!

This was so gripping, I could not put it down. It was one where I found myself desperately reading on trying to work out where exactly it was going because I had no idea. I feel like it's been a while since i've read a thriller that really shocked me but this one definitely did! I flew through this one. I picked it up one night planning to read just a couple of chapters but before I knew it I was already halfway through.

Peter Swanson's writing is absolutely incredible, I couldn't get enough. If you like psychological thrillers then this is one that you won't want to miss.

I love Peter Swanson’s characters. They are so beautifully drawn, full of layers and always highly intriguing.

So it is here, with our main pair Hen and Matthew who form a kimd of twisted bond after she decides he’s a murderer. So the scene is set for a lyrical, literary cat and mouse chase as Hen determines to get someone to believe her and Matthew tries to avoid being scrutinised too closely..

There are lots of little twisted nuances as you read and the author keeps you guessing as to the eventual “winner”. There’s an exploration of mental health which is quite matter of fact, especially in the way Hen views her issues. It is clever and extremely engaging.

I loved it. Nobody does a plot quite like Peter Swanson. Roll on more is what I say.

Recommended.

I don't know what i expected from this book but it was not this!
I've read Peter Swanson's books before and always enjoyed them but had never been blown away by them.
This one however. totally exceeded all of my expectations and was so clever and fluid in its execution that the plot twist left me reeling.

I loved the characters and thought they were really well written, especially as they were all so different from one another.

I flew through this book as i found it strangely addicting and just wanted to get to the end so i could see what happened. This was a great read

All I could think of while reading this is that the Neighbourhood Watch would've had a hell of a time in this community.
I sat down to read 50 pages of this book before bed, and completed it all in one sitting. The story begins with a neighbourly couple's dinner, ending with Hen noticing a fencing trophy in Matthew's study, the presence of the trophy leads Hen to conclude Matthew is connected to a cold case of murder she was trying to solve as an armchair detective.
That's enough plot discussion, as it's always better to go into a mystery knowing a minimal amount. I highly recommend this story for anyone looking for a great domestic thriller.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for a review. This is no way influenced my opinion.

Always twisty, Peter Swanson writes clever books where you keep thinking you have guessed what is going on, only to be surprised again. However damaged his characters they are always plausible and bizarrely sympathetic. His books have a Hitchcock feel about them and this is no exception. Thank you to Netgalley and Faber and Faber for providing me with this free copy and very enjoyable read.

I am a huge fan of Peter Swanson’s past books and couldn’t wait to get my hands on this one. It started off rather slow giving you a chance to get to really know the characters, but eventually it picked up and had me hooked. I ended up reading the second half of the book in one sitting, however I did find the storyline quite unbelievable. The twist wasn’t something I had predicted beforehand but I felt as though the book was filled with these strange “coincidences” and seemed a little too far fetched. Nevertheless it was an interesting read and I would recommend it to anyone who’s looking for a psychological thriller.

Thank you NetGalley, Peter Swanson and Faber and Faber for the free e-book in exchange for an honest review.

Hen and her husband have decided to live a quieter life in suburbia; Hen is bipolar and has finally found the proper medications to control it, finally getting some peace in her life. When they meet the next-door neighbors, the calm that Hen was feeling goes away because she sees something that she can’t let go of. She had an obsession with a murder that remains unsolved of a young man who was killed a few years ago, so when she sees a trophy sitting on the husbands shelf, she knows it is the one that went missing from the young mans desk when he was murdered. Is her neighbor a murderer? The more Hen learns about Matthew, the more scared of him she becomes.

I enjoy Swanson’s work and was so excited to be approved for an ARC of this novel! I found the first few chapters a bit on the slower side as we are getting to know Hen and her husband, as well as the neighbors. I flew through the rest of the novel because it gets incredibly interesting, with a twist at the end that I didn’t see coming! I loved reading this novel in so many different perspectives and seeing how Matthew affects every character differently. I also really enjoyed watching Hen and Matthew’s relationship and how it changes so dramatically over time. I also enjoyed how differently each character is from the other and found it frustrating that yet again, people won’t believe Hen’s stories because she has a Bipolar and has had run in’s with the law in the past. I don’t want to give anything away, so just pick it up! I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend.

Out March 7th!

This book is AMAZING. I mean, this is the best thriller I have ever read. And I read A LOT.

Just at the moment you started thinking, there may not be any other shocker-ending, jaw-dropping thrillers -because, like all the original plots have been done right- there comes Before She Knew Him?
Swanson does something he normally doesn't do and writes a SHOCKER ending. I loved his other books because he always sets the game in first few pages and grabs your attention. I've read all his books so far and really like his cat and mouse psychological games between his characters. I love the way he writes about woman. Thank you Mr Swanson, for making a change and showing the world that not all females need men to rescue them. Enough of Damsel in distresses, right?

This book is the story of Hen, and her neighbour Matthew. I would recommend people to read this book without reading the blurb- it's giving too much information. Hen moves to a new house with her husband. She's got some issues. She wants a quiet, happy life. And one dinner date with neighbours will be enough to destroy that dream.

No one can write as devilishly clever as Swanson. Please keep him happy publishers so we can read another of his masterpieces soon. Loved this book.

Peter Swanson is an expert at writing fantastic thrillers.

This one again, did not let me down.

Hen is a very interesting character. She has done some stuff in her past fueled by her bipolar disorder and this makes her very unreliable. When she sees something in her neighbor Matthew's house that shocks her, she does her best to make the police and her husband Lloyd aware of what happened.
The thing is, because of her past, nobody believes her. Hen is adamant about what she saw and does her very best to catch Matthew.
Matthew of course, is aware of Hen and what she knows. So he is trying escape a shadow of suspicion and cast more shadows over what Hen says.

The conclusion of the book was well executed, though in my opinion, it wasn't anything that had not been done before. I was kind of hoping there would be more to the ending than this.
All in all, I did really enjoy this book.

4 Stars. Would have been 5 if not for the ending.

This book was messed up in the best way possible!

This is my fourth book by the author and I think it's one of my favorites (with "The Kind Worth Killing"!).

The twists didn't feel forced, the story flowed nicely and the characters were intriguing.

Would recommend!

BLEW MY MIND! Best crime fiction I've read in a long time. So clever, so unpredictable, full of twists and turns. I couldn't breathe.
This book is great on so many levels that I don't know where to start. First of all, the writing is amazing. Swanson surely knows how to do characterisation, build a perfect plot, keep you on the edge until the last moment.
Second, I think he's a very confident, daring writer as he chose to let us know who actually the criminal is and turned this into a mind blowing chase plot. It was very original and exciting to follow.
Third, he didn't hide anything from the reader. It was not one of these thrillers that you only have the information to guess the plot at the last minute and the writer wraps it up in a rush. We had everything, but still I couldn't guess.
The twist made my jaw drop open, honestly, I couldn't pull myself together for a while. And it didn't stop there, kept going on and on.
The last thing to mention is, everything was ties up so well, no loose ends. The motives of the people, the character developments, the order and turn of events were just perfect.
I can't really fault it.
This book will be on my BEST books of 2019 list for sure. I can't recommend it enough.

Thanks SO MUCH to Faber Faber and Netgalley for this complimentary copy in exchange for an honest review.