It may only be April, but I've fully shifted into summer reading mode. It probably helps that most of my go-to authors have been releasing thrillers that sound too good to pass up. After being disappointed with author Peter Swanson's last novel, I was eager to see if his latest effort would be a return to form. I decided that Nine Lives would be the perfect book to read as I set sail for a celebratory birthday cruise this week. His publisher was kind enough to send an advanced copy of the novel my way last month, but I knew I wanted to save reading it for the perfect occasion. I should have known better! A couple of days ago I allowed myself to read just the first chapter, and that was it. I couldn't stop reading!

Nine people, each with vastly different lives, have just received a mysterious envelope. The contents of this envelope are identical. Inside, they find a single sheet of typewritten paper containing their name and the names of eight strangers. There is no context for the list. The recipients recognize their own names but not the names of the others. At first, they mostly ignore the list. Why worry about something so inconsequential? But then the first person from the list is murdered. Shortly thereafter, another name is killed. For the seven remaining strangers, one thing is clear. Any one of them could be the next to die.

Peter Swanson has devoted his career to writing stand-alone thrillers. His ability to deliver a read that has compelling characters, an original plot and an unputdownable pace has made him one of my favorites. Nine Lives takes its inspiration from Agatha Christie's classic tale And Then There Were None. Swanson adds to the challenge of Christie's locked room mystery by placing his victims at different locations across the world. So intriguing was the setup of this mystery that I couldn't help but read the entire thing in a single sitting. My only complaint was the short length and large cast of the novel made the characters little more than surface-level stereotypes. There wasn't a single person whom I could latch on to. Character depth aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this modern take on a literary classic. The only problem now is that I have to pick a different book to read on my vacation!

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it through the mail, no postage or connection to one another. Most of them simply disregard the letter, until one by one they start dying. FBI agent Jessica Winslow is on the list, and determined to solve the case.

This is basically a retelling of Agatha Christie’s classic novel And Then There Were None. Easy to read with short chapters, I liked meeting all nine of the characters and looking for the similarities between them. There was some suspense wondering who would survive.

It was entertaining, but I wanted more clues and trails to follow. You don’t get to know the characters well so it was hard to connect or care about them, and I thought the epilogue should have been left out. Although this wasn’t my favorite by Peter Swanson, I’m still a big fan and love his writing style.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow Publishing for sending me an ARC!

Peter Swanson is one of my auto buy authors so I always look forward to a new read by him!

“Nine Lives” was such an interesting concept and storyline, I really enjoyed it!

This book kept me guessing, which is needed for a great thriller!

This is the second Peter Swanson book that also mentions Agatha Christie novels, which as a thriller lover I am shocked to say I have never read one of her books, so I am going to take this as a sign and read one soon!

There were a lot of characters in this book and it took me till about halfway through to get them all straight! Luckily there is a character list at the front and I was constantly flipping back to it for reference.

Overall it was another great read from Swanson! 💛

Thank you HarperCollins Canada for the advanced copy! Nine Lives is out now!

This book was a wild ride, as nine names appear on a seemingly random list that has put them into someone's target. I wish we had gotten a little more development on some of the characters, but the central mystery was fantastic as it slowly unraveled.

This was a highly anticipated ARC from Netgalley for me, because I can't tell you how much I love Peter Swanson's books. I loved the premise of this, I found it completely intriguing. Peter Swanson always gets me on the first page. It took most of the book to find out who was doing the killing and why, as well as, did the victims have anything that connected them to each other. There were several plot twists right up until the end. I would describe this book as a slow-burn mystery. At first, I did struggle with keeping all of the characters straight. The chapters were short and focused on each character at a time and then would revisit them in later chapters. Some of the characters were likable and some were not. The ending was not expected at all as the how and why became clear. As always there is great character development and plots cleverly written that are never predictable.

Thank you @WilliamMorrowpublishing and @Netgalley for sending me a digital arc for an honest review.

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it and one by one they die…

I really enjoyed this one. It was fast paced and full of suspense. At the end of each chapter a new character was murdered so it was a hard to put the book down. I loved the short chapters and couldn’t wait to find out who the murderer was. The twist was good, but I thought the motive was just ok. Overall, it was a good thriller and I recommend! If you’re looking for a fast read thriller, then this is it.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publsiher for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Nine Lives continues the literary murder mystery theme found in Swanson's Eight Perfect Murders. This time, it draws inspiration from and references Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None. Since the book revolves around a mysterious list of nine people, there is a LOT of character introduction, and it can be difficult to keep track of everyone at first. Luckily (?) the characters start getting knocked off pretty quickly, so it gets easier to remember who is who as you get further into the book. The twist was fun and unexpected. A great read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars on this one. This one definitely kept me intrigued wanting to know what was going to happen. I love the suspense and twists of Peter Swanson's books, but this one wasn't one of my favorites. I'm still not sure how I feel about the ending. Not quite what I expected, but didn't disappoint.

This is my first Peter Swanson book and will not be my last. I loved every moment of this fast-paced mystery. I was hooked from the beginning and did not see the end coming. I love that each chapter was told from a different character's POV. The characters are well developed and likable with an unbelievable twist at the end that connects all of the dots!

Aside from The Kind Worth Killing, I usually find myself disappointed by Peter Swanson, but this one was a fun and pleasant surprise.

A modern spin on And Then There Were None, Nine Lives is a solid hybrid of modern thriller and golden age mystery.

The killer picking off a mysteriously connected group of people one at a time is one of my favorite mystery tropes, and Swanson gives us a tense, intriguing version of that here.

I guessed the killer a bit earlier than I would have liked to, but the solve is a good one and doesn’t require an irritating info dump at the end in order to make sense.

As is always the case with Swanson’s work, the book has excellent pacing and a great sense of eerie tension. It’s also better plotted than his last few novels.

This book was great! I love a mystery that has a twist and just the right amount of small clues spread within. I definitely recommend this to others.

Thank you to William Morrow for an advanced copy of Nine Lives. This book is very reminiscent of Agatha Christie's 'And Then There Were None'.

A list of 9 names is mailed out to each person on the list and slowly people are killed on the list. The ending ended up being sad as the real reason for the list and killings are revealed.

I really enjoyed Swanson's latest book as it was fast paced and easy to keep all the characters straight.

I am a huge fan of Peter Swanson and his thriller novels. Nine Lives is a homage to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie. In this novel, people receive 9 names on a list. One of the names is FBI agent Jessica Winslow, and she automatically considers the list to be evidence. When one of the people on the list is the victim of a murder, Jessica realizes that her suspicions were correct. She and other agents begin searching for a connection between the names. Several of the people are in their 30s-40s, and others are closer to 70-80. No one seems to know the other names, but Jessica thinks she knows of a connection.
As more and more people die, the FBI knows that they need to move quickly to discover why this group has been targeted.
I enjoyed this super fast read, finding out about the targets, and why they were chosen. It was a sad tale of righting a wrong, and there were a few additional deaths along the way.
I thought Swanson did a good job of paying tribute to Christie's masterpiece. Still a big fan!
Thanks to #NetGalley and #HarperCollins for the ARC. All opinions are my own and freely given.

If you received a letter in the mail with your name and the names of eight others who you never met, would you think anything of it? Would you toss it in the trash or reflect on it?

If I received a letter like that, I’d wonder who sent it and why my name was on it. Then, I’d likely toss it in the trash and dismiss the letter as a joke.

With the flair of Agatha Christie’s “And Then There Were None”, Nine Lives is told through nine POVs. Everyone named in the letter tells their story. Managing nine POVs is no picnic. If you didn’t care for And Then There Were None, I don’t recommend this book. The story in Nine Lives is parallel to the classic Christie novel. I do appreciate that Peter Swanson doesn’t shy away from that either. I was surprised by both the murder and the motive.

If you do not like multiple POVs, I can recommend the audiobook. It is wonderful and truly helped me keep up with the stories. For fans of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, I recommend this quick mystery, thriller. Consider Nine Lives is a modern day And Then Were None.

Thank you to Netgalley, William Morrow and Peter Swanson for the opportunity to read review Nine Lives.

Wow this book kept me on the edge of my seat the whole time. I read this book all in one weekend. It was my first book by Peter Swanson and it didn't disappoint. It was a fun read and very detailed. It's a very fast-paced story that kept me intrigued from start to finish. It was fun learning about all 9 characters. That ending was very good, I wasn't expecting that.



Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow and Custom House, William Morrow for a copy of this book.

This story begins with a mysterious list of 9 different names showing up in each of the named stranger's mailboxes. We are introduced to everyone on the list and then slowly they started to die one by one and authorities are left wondering how everyone is connected and why seemingly normal people are being targeted. Characters are left wondering if what's happening to the people on the list is just random or if everyone on the list is somehow related to a deadly secret.

This is the second book I've read by Peter Swanson and I have to say I'm becoming a fan of his writing. I really enjoyed the seemingly effortless way he switched between character's perspectives and gave us a glimpse into each of their lives as they slowly became aware that they were in danger. This was such a quick read that I was able to read in no time because it was such an exciting and fast moving story that had me needing to know what was about to happen in the next chapter to the next character from the strange list. I love the connection we discover about one of my favorite Agatha Christie novels "And Then There Wer're None" and the way in which the murderer is one by one taking people out.

I had a great deal of fun after I wrote down the list of names in the beginning and slowly as they began to die I would cross off their name and I was able to concentrate on the characters left. This story had me at the edge of my seat as a waited to see who would end up dead at the end of the chapter and when they would catch the killer. I would recommend this fast paced book to anyone who enjoys Christie's work or just a fun mystery/thriller in general.

Thank you to Netgalley and William Morrow/ Custom House for the digital copy of this book with me in exchange for an honest review.

The premise for this book had me so interested in reading it. I loved that the inspiration for the story came from Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None". This was an easy, quick read but also frustrating. I think I would have liked this one more if there had been more suspense and more investigation into the list to amp up the tension. There are a lot of characters in this book and we arent really given enough information or backstory for any of them to help differentiate between each one. Made for a confusing read at times. Also the final reveal and reason behind the killings was kind of a let down.

Nine strangers receive a cryptic list with their names on It. Then, one dies under highly unusual circumstances, then another, and then another…..

What a fun mystery thriller! The first page in this book lists the nine characters with a one-sentence bio which I appreciated and referred to when the POV changed. Each section included a death, so the rhythm of the mystery moved methodically but quickly. The count down felt ominously real! What I enjoyed most was Peter Swanson’s character study of the nine strangers - their reactions to the list, especially when people started dying. Thoughts and actions varied greatly depending on life’s circumstances, which created a bit more depth than your average mystery thriller.

4.25/5

I am always entertained by every Peter Swanson book I read and Nine Lives was no exception! This is apparently a bit of the same storyline as an Agatha Christie novel and of course, it happens to be one I haven't read, but with plenty of changes as well. I really liked the format of the book as it counts down the people, although the first part didn't translate perfectly on the audiobook. I also liked that each time someone died the list is restated so you can basically never forget who is on it. I was hooked as soon as I started, and it has very quick pacing which makes it feel super short both for reading and for listening to the audiobook. The audio is a very interesting experience, and the first part was a little weird/hard to understand so I highly recommend having the physical book as well. Once you get past that though it is excellent on audio and I enjoyed both of the narrators, Jacques Roy & Mark Bramhall.

I could not for the life of me figure out if these 9 people were connected or why they were on a list together, and I loved how the viewpoints switched between the majority of them. I especially loved reading Jessica's POV since as an FBI agent she added a bit more of a whodunnit/procedural element. I also thought it was super fun that Lisa Gardner blurbed this book and a character just so happened to mention one of her books. You may think that with so many characters they would be hard to keep track of, but they really aren’t, and the big reveal was harder for me to follow than they ever were. Nine Lives is a fun and pacy read, and yet another winner for me from Swanson!

Thank you to the publishers for my advanced listening and digital copies of this book. All opinions and thoughts are my own.

Nine strangers receive a list in the mail. Nothing is on the list except nine names. None of the people seem to know one another. They don't think much of it, until bad things start happening to people on the list. The first is an old man, a resort owner, who is drowned on a beach. FBI Agent Jessica Winslow--whose name is on the list--is determined to find out how all these names are related. Can she do it before her time is up?

"A horrible thought went through Caroline's mind: It is a list of death. Someone has marked us for death."

This book moves quickly thanks to its short chapters told from multiple points of view. We hear from everyone on the list. At first it is hard to keep everyone straight (a list in the beginning really helps), but as the book progresses, it gets easier. LIVES keeps a descending countdown of people alive, starting at nine, and it really leads to a complete sense of impending doom. I truly would have loved this book if everyone was not dying; you grow attached to these random people and boom, they're dead!

Still, this is a very good and twisty read. Swanson's books are sometimes hit or miss for me, but this one kept me captivated. I felt like I was not on my game while reading, because the mystery really took me by surprise! It was incredibly interesting deciphering the linkage between the names, even it was a bit depressing too.

Overall, this is a fast and puzzling read and filled with a sense of pending disaster.