Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to read this advanced copy of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson.

This is the fourth book I have read by Swanson and I have enjoyed them all. In this book Swanson once again draws inspiration from a classic of the murder mystery genre. In this case specifically from one of my favourite books ‘And Then There Were None’ by Agatha Christie. Like the original source material this book is very fast paced, has an interesting cast of characters and a variety of different murders. The only down side was because I am so familiar with ‘And Then There Were None’, I did see the twist at the end of the book coming. It didn’t stop me from enjoying the book though and I sped through the book in less than a day.

I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys murder mysteries, whether you are new to this genre or someone who is familiar with many of the great mystery novels of our time.

Nine people receive a list with their name on it.. one by one they are murdered. The reason why is a little weak in my opinion. I usually like Peter Swansons books more than this one

This is a very enticing mystery, with the author taking you by the hand into the intrigue and keeping a firm grip. It’s a clever, complex plot with multiple points of view which works extremely well in this skilled writer's hand, and it flows seamlessly from one to the other.

Nine complete strangers all receive a list with their name plus 8 others. Suddenly some of the people start to get murdered; who is responsible and how could they be connected?

This was a very quick read with nice short chapters from the characters point of view, having nine characters doesn’t really give you great opportunity to get to know or sympathise with them.

I really enjoyed how the last few chapters bought what tied the characters together and a nice twist that had kept you guessing.

Reading the book, I anticipated 10 characters in total with the murderer and 9 on the list…..but I was wrong!. The story flowed from one chapter to the next from the different characters point of view. Each character was quite different so I wasn’t confused who was who, even though I had made my own list to begin with.

It was an enjoyable read, completed in less than four days that kept me page turning late into the night. I’d give it 4 stars as just a few too many characters for my liking. But would definitely recommend a read.

Really enjoyable read. Stayed up into the early hours to finish this one. Loved the mystery and the countdown from nine names on the list as they are picked off one by one. Obvious parallels to an Agatha Christie which is mentioned throughout. Real page turning quality. Think this is my favourite of Peter Swanson’s.

The story starts with nine strangers all receiving a list with nothing in it but a list of nine names, including theirs. The author gives you some background on the list members and you relate to some, dislike others. When The first person on the list is murdered, the FBI agent on the list starts to investigate. The first part is exciting and feels dangerous but I felt let down by the end which drew its on parallels with the Agatha Christie novel, And Then There were None but pales it comparison. Thanks to Netgalley for an ARC.

Very much enjoyed this though I wasn't sure at the start that I would. However, I soon got into it and could hardly put it down. The different strands and points of view were intriguing and I soon developed ideas about who I'd like to be the next victim and who I didn't want to become a victim at all. Certain shocks arose in that area!

The final revelation was cleverly done. Even though I had inklings, it was still surprising.

And the final scene was a relief.

Excellent.

💭 ᴍʏ ᴛʜᴏᴜɢʜᴛꜱ:
This was a very quick read and with the short chapters it held a good pace. However, there is a thing as too many POVs and this was it. I found it very confusing in the beginning. Although I did enjoy the different storylines, I felt like nothing happened until 230 pages in. As there are barely any hints dropped, it felt like there was no room for your imagination to run wild with suspects. I did end up kinda liking the end (I’m still not too sure), but is was definitely too rushed. I’m 100% sure that if it was blended into the first 230 pages more it would have been a great one.
⭐️⭐️⭐️

🤓 ʀᴇᴀᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ʟɪᴋᴇ:
Short chapters
Mysteries

ꜱʏɴᴏᴘꜱɪꜱ:
𝘐𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶'𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘥𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘩. 𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘶𝘯𝘳𝘦𝘮𝘢𝘳𝘬𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘯 𝘢𝘥𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴 𝘢 𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘭𝘦, 𝘧𝘰𝘭𝘥𝘦𝘥, 𝘴𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘵𝘦 𝘱𝘢𝘱𝘦𝘳.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘱𝘦 𝘥𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘢𝘪𝘭 𝘴𝘭𝘰𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘵. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘪𝘵 - 𝘦𝘢𝘤𝘩 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘨𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘯𝘢𝘮𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘰𝘸𝘯, 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘭𝘪𝘴𝘵 - 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘐𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘴𝘵, 𝘢𝘴 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘣𝘺 𝘰𝘯𝘦, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘦𝘯𝘥. 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘺?

I really enjoyed it the pace was very fast and kept you on the edge of your seat nine people get a list in the post with nine lives on it nobody knew anybody on the list so what’s the connection Jessica Winslow a FBI detective starts a search for these people as some of them have been murdered but will she be in time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a ARC

I do quite like Peter Swanson's writing style and the genre of his books but I'm afraid this one wasn't up there to his usual standards. Yes, the story outline was interesting but I'm afraid how it unwound felt a little flat, with just the single twist to uncover who the murderer was, and why they were killing the names from the list.

It wasn't a bad book at all, purely average. It hasn't put me off reading future books from this normally 4* author.

I couldn't quite give Nine Lives a 5-star review so it is 4 and a half stars rounded up.
A superb read which never slows or wanders. As usual I tried to work out who and why and for most of the book I presumed there were 10 lives with one being the killer. I'm not saying any more other than, as usual, I was wrong.
There is no single main character as the 9 lives and families take equal priority at times. Who I thought would take a step in front of the rest didn't.
I don't think the solution was hinted at until the book was around 80%-90% complete - clever but no leads (unless I missed them - highly possible!)
I was expecting a twist in the endgame and I was not disappointed
Definitely a book well worth reading

Nine Lives is my fifth Swanson book and it is the only one so far I haven't liked.

I appreciate how the author keeps trying to do new things, experimenting with new concepts and styles, as it makes opening each of his books a bit of a mystery in itself, but a number of things didn't work for me in this one. Many POVs, slow pacing and a disappointing reveal are the main reasons.

For the first time with a Swanson book, I was bored out of my mind. Few authors move successfully through this many perspectives-- nine people who all receive a mysterious list with their names on it and then begin dying one by one. I already know the author is a fan of And Then There Were None (tell me, isn't everybody?) and there's some inspiration from that coming through here, but Nine Lives is no Agatha Christie.

It's probably bad when you feel relief over a character's death because at least it means you get to cut down on some of the jumping between perspectives. It was tiring, dull, and the major problem I almost always find with more than 2-3 perspectives is that it becomes impossible to really get to know any of them or become absorbed in any of the characters' stories. There's not a single memorable character in here.

The slow pacing is also an issue. There's very little investigation or plot progression across the novel. The beginning introduces the problem of the list, we then move back and forth between the many characters' daily lives as they are picked off, then the truth is revealed. And about that...

I was completely unmoved by the reveal of the novel. It seemed like such a lame reason for everything, so I couldn't even say I suffered through it for a "wow" ending.

I don't like giving one star and was going to go with two, but why? I can't think of a single thing I liked about this book. I'll read Swanson's next book, of course, but this one was not for me. If you're new to this author and also didn't care for this book, I highly recommend you try The Kind Worth Killing or Before She Knew Him.

This was the first time I have read a book by Peter Swanson, and it certainly won’t be my last! The drama started from right at the beginning and did not slow down, I loved the twist at the end and did not see it coming at all. Although there were 9+ characters in the book, it was written in a way where you did not get muddled up and it was easy to tell who’s perspective each chapter was from. I can’t wait to read more Swanson now!

I'm not normally a great thriller reader, but I think this one might just lead me down the merry garden path of murders, mystery and mayhem.

One ordinary morning, a list with nine names is delivered to nine people across the United States who seemingly have very little in common. Some are unconcerned, some are bewildered and some, like FBI agent Jessica Winslow, perceive it, quite rightly, as a threat. When the people on the list start to be killed, one by one, despite escalating police protection, the puzzle of how these nine people are linked needs to be solved to help track down the murderer.

This is a wonderful read for book lovers in general as book references are scattered throughout, but particularly for fans of Agatha Christie. Her novel And Then There were None plays a key part in helping decipher the crimes and the criminal behind them. Typically I would struggle with multiple points-of-view, and there are more than nine in here, but they are slickly and successful done, so much so that each victim had a very clear identity and a rich emotional landscape.

A clever and compelling crime novel and one that makes me want to read more of Swanson's work

Nine names. Nine random people receive a sheet of paper - a list with just nine names on it - nothing else, no clue as to what the list signifies. None of the nine know the other names on the list, some throw it in the trash, others just dismiss it as some kind of joke.

One of the named people who received the list is FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who has a distinctly bad feeling about it, and she begins a search trying to identify the others, trying to find some connection, some common thread, no matter how tenuous, but she comes up with nothing. However, when one of the names meets an untimely death, Jessica realises that the bad feeling she had, has been confirmed. As a couple more deaths follow, the hunt is on to find a killer, but with nothing to go on, no connection, no motive, it’s looking increasingly impossible!

Told from multiple points of view, ensuring that we got a great insight into each character, Nine Lives is a crazy murder mystery that kept me guessing the whole way through. A great whodunnit with a totally unexpected ending!

Nine strangers, nine names on a list, nine lives! I really enjoyed reading Nine Lives: a novel where it seems nine strangers all receive a list of names thorough the mail. It contains their own and what appear to be eight strangers. Most dismiss it as junk mail until incidents start occurring. Could they be connected somehow? I found this book a really interesting and gripping read. It moves along at pace and captivates you from start to finish. Thank you to NetGalley, Faber and Faber and the author for the chance to review.

What a great read really made me think about what if I was in the same situation and marked to die!! This book really kept me gripped and I could not put it down read within a few days, and way too much time awake when I should have been asleep but it was so worth it.

The first book I have read by the author won't be the last.

Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
Copied to Goodreads.

I count myself as a fan of Peter Swanson’s books, but sadly I was rather underwhelmed by this one.

Maybe it was the lack of characterisation of several of the names on the list, but I didn’t find myself engaging with the majority of the cast. There’s no denying the author’s ingenuity in plotting, and I like his referencing Golden Age crime novels, but “Nine Lives” somehow seemed to me to be rather routine and, dare I say it, dull.

Sorry not to be more positive but nonetheless I’d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read this ARC.

Really enjoyed this book ,it made me wonder how I would feel and what would I do if my name was on the list as if you are on it you are marked to die ! A fast paced well written thriller with a nod to Agatha Christie I loved the ending which I didn't see coming .Many thanks to the Publisher ,the Author and NetGalley for my free copy in return for an honest review .

This was my second book from Peter Swanson, and I was really hoping to be wowed just because I felt like I was the only person who didn’t enjoy ‘The Kind Worth Killing’

Unfortunately, this one fell a bit flat for me too, which is a shame because I was so intrigued by the premise but I was left feeling really underwhelmed.

I actually really liked the characters in here, and even though we spent so little time with them they felt unique and distinguishable. However, this book flips so quickly from POV to POV I felt like I was getting whiplash and as soon as I got invested in one character’s story we were reading about someone else. It meant I couldn’t get as invested as I would have liked with each of the characters because we were moving around so quickly.

It also just felt like there were way too many characters and they didn’t all need to be there. Also I found the multiple references to Agatha Christie exhausting, and I’ve heard this is something of a running theme with his writing. As someone who wants to read Christie’s books I had to skip over multiple chunks to make sure I wasn’t spoiled (I don’t know if the material included definitely was spoiler-y, but I didn’t want to take the risk).

Honestly, this book was a classic case of all tell and no show which just didn’t make it very exciting, and as a result the mystery just didn’t do anything for me. There was no opportunity for the reader to piece anything together, it all just gets given to you which makes me wonder what’s the point?

That said, I’ve become very picky with thrillers recently, so there’s a good chance that most people will enjoy this and it’s just a case of ‘it’s not you, it’s me’