Having recently read “Rules for Perfect Murders”, I was looking forward to reading another Swanson novel. However, there was much repetition of themes and frequent mentions of identical books and comments on them that were described in Rules… This really diminished my enjoyment of the book and I found the constant similarities annoying and laboured.

Nine Lives is in itself fairly interesting. It sets up a cast of characters that the reader can keep track of by virtue of the list that’s included at the start of the chapters. It took me a while to work out who everyone was but I got there. There wasn’t a huge amount of character development, but the book is more plot-driven.

There were clues as to what was happening and why, but still plenty for the reader to think about. I didn’t find the denouement particularly satisfying, as it felt a bit forced. I also don’t enjoy clunky exposition and “here’s a letter telling you why this happened” is one of my least favourite tropes.

Overall just a three star read for me. Didn’t love it but I enjoyed it enough to read through to the end.

Thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber Ltd for an advance copy.

This is a well-written pacey book that keeps you in the dark while feeding you information bit by bit. Characters are developed nicely with details, for example, a singer/songwriter mulls over what to play, eventually choosing side 2 of a Joni Mitchell album.

Although I found the ending clever, I thought the story behind the culprit a bit fantastical.

Nine Lives is still a good easy read.

⭐️⭐️⭐️

“If you’re on the list, someone wants you dead.” 

Nine lives is the story of nine strangers who receive a list with their names on it in the mail - including FBI agent Jessica Winslow. None of the nine people have met, but they all have one thing in common - they are about to be murdered.



I was a huge fan of Eight Perfect Murders, however I feel like Nine Lives fell flat. There were some really great moments - the first half really had me hooked but the ending left me feeling deflated. It was a clever and complex plot and follows multiple POVs which for the most part worked well, however, I found at times I got confused about which character we were with.



I loved the book references weaved throughout the novel but struggled with the believability of the plot in the end. Still absolutely a worthwhile read if you’re a mystery and thriller fan! Peter Swanson is an incredible story teller and I look forward to reading his next work.

Thank you to @NetGalley and #faberandfaber for providing me with a review copy!

A clever and intriguing revisit of a Christie classic, Nine Lives brings together nine strangers with nothing in common - except they've all received a list of nine names, including their own, in the post. Oh, and they're being murdered, one by one...

I find Peter Swanson's prose incredibly readable, and his characters engaging and, if not always likeable, at least compelling. I devoured this book happily over a couple of days, but the characters definitely lived on in my head for longer. Swanson's great skill lies in making them all believable, well rounded and interesting people in their own right, quite apart from the mystery they are involved in.

With it being a (sort of) reworking of another classic novel, inevitably certain aspects of the mystery itself became a little predictable, but there were certainly enough twists to keep me reading and wondering.

Highly recommended for a fast, fascinating read with memorable characters.

An excellent, easy read, to keep you guessing right to the end. Nine lives, seemingly unrelated but entwined in forgotten ways. One quest for justice, hidden deep until now. I really enjoyed this book, harsh though it was at times. I appreciated how the author brought everything together in a final twist to explain it all. Thank you to Netgalley for the advance reader copy of this book.

I've come to expect good things from Peter Swanson. It is clear he has been strongly influenced by Agatha Christie and all of her macabre murder mysteries, in this case And Then There Were None. Nine Lives revolves around nine seemingly random people who have been sent a list with nothing but their names on it. There are no dates or reasons and slowly, each character is introduced and unceremoniously killed off. I have only the base knowledge of the Christie book and was sure I knew who the killer(s) was but not the why. I'll admit, I drifted off somewhere in the middle, thinking some of the background character info was pointless filler but Swanson pulled it all together in the end and I was sorry I didn't pay more attention in some parts.
If you like your characters stalked, shot or poisoned, this is the book for you. Recommended.

4/5
Peter Swanson never fails. I've been a fan of his work for many years. In my opinion, the crime/thriller world won't be the same without him and his work. Nine lives is a compelling, thrilling and twisted story. It proves once again why Peter is once of the best authors in the genre out there.
The pace of this book was excellent, the twists were mind blowing and the characters were phenomenal. I couldn't put this book down because i was immersed into the story. I needed to know what was happening next and without a doub it's one of the most addictive books i've read so far this year.
I can't tell much about the plot because it's better to go in blind and not knowing much but if you love mysteries, suspense and thrillers with lot of twists this book is for you.

One By One…
Well plotted, elegantly paced whodunnit with a wholly credible cast and an edge of seat premise. The reader is drawn into the plot from the off and kept dangling as the author races through characters whilst leading up the the deliciously penned denouement. A successful homage to the Golden Age of Crime but with a very modern edge. Superb!

A really enjoyable murder mystery that swerves into thriller territory at times, Nine Lives wears its influences on its sleeve (Agatha Christie nods abound), but creates a group of engaging characters who must work out their mysterious connection before they all fall prey to a sinister murderer. More elegant than Swanson's previous work and both hobbled and helped by its denouement, Nine Lives is a fun whodunit that establishes Swanson as one of the better mystery writers penning books today.

This is a pretty clever take on 'And Then There Were None' by Agatha Christie. I enjoyed each of the the characters and the way their stories unfolded. It is a good, easy read overall.

Loved this book. Large cast of characters, due to the premise, but all the characters were beautifully drawn, and I was sad, as each of the nine lives came to an end. They were all so interesting. Loved researching some of the characters likes (Valerie June’s songs, Philip Larkins poems) and found the interaction between them well written. Looked up other books by Peter Swanson, and will be ordering them soon. Highly recommended.

Nine names, nine different people all receive an envelope with a note listing nine names including their own....what on earth can it mean? Possibly a joke? As they start to die FBI agent Jessica Wimslow decides to investigate, especially as her name appears on the list!!!! Is there a connection between the people on the list? Time is of the essence. Such a great read, the author draws you in with exceptional writing, if you enjoy Agatha Christie, this is definitely for you. The pace doesn't stop twists and turns on every page. I loved it !!!

Nine Lives is a retelling of And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and in my opinion it was pretty heavy-handed in its approach. It honestly threw me off how many times the book was mentioned and how much it felt like reading something I'd already read before. I had not realized this would be a retelling - they don't usually work for me, so it's no surprise this one didn't work much for me either. Still, I was actually loving the first half... and then it kind of went downhill

For the first half you're basically being introduced to all the characters and then the murders start. It was chaotic and confusing and the reader has no idea what's going on, which I actually enjoyed because it made me think about all the possible ways the story could go. But as more people get murdered and the reveals start happening, I was very let down by it and some of the deaths actually upset me with how outlandish they were. The ending was kind of unsatisfying for me as well. The whole book just felt a little too forced, unconvincing and frustrating.

Not everything was bad though - I did have a great time on the first half and sometimes the book got really intriguing and fun to read, but these were such momentary experiences and my final impression was not very positive overall. If you're looking for a quick, entertaining read and have been looking for a And Then There Were None retelling, you might enjoy this! I will definitely still read other books by Peter Swanson because I enjoy his writing style and I loved The Kind Worth Killing For, but this was a flop.

This psychological thriller by Peter Swanson was an excellent read, it was full of suspense and twists and turns that you don’t see coming.. The characters and the plot were great and the style of writing was perfect. I have read many books by this author and this one doesn’t disappoint me. I will continue to keep my eye out for more books in the future by this author. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys reading this genre.
Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for a honest review.

I would like to thank the author, the publisher and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read an ARC of this book. I really enjoyed it and I will be recommending it to my friends.

I thought this was excellently written and had a great high-concept premise. I found it very readable but the ending slightly disappointing - I felt the revelation was just 'told' at the end rather than discovered in any way through more gradual clues, and that it was also quite predictable from about 50%. Still, he's always a good writer who I will continue to read.

Nine Lives is the latest mystery thriller by Peter Swanson,and always it's something a little different and a bit more cerebral than the average "whodunnit".
9 people receive an identical letter, a list of 9 names,including the recipient's ,and nothing else.. 8 of them get the letters through the mail, 1 letter has not been posted but is found next to the body of a drowned man.
It soon becomes apparent that the people on the list have been selected to die but why? They don't know each other,they're not related ,2 are elderly ,the rest relatively young. As the bodies pile up the police are in a race against time to discover who is behind the murders and why.
Peter Swanson is very obviously a fan of Agatha Christie and like his previous book, "Rules For Perfect Murders" the venerable Queen of the Detective novel is an inspiration,and gets a name check.
The plot is very clever,as always, and the action rattles on relentlessly until an ending that I doubt many will see coming.
Peter Swanson has become a favourite author of mine,his books are never formulaic and always entertaining.

This was a surprisingly easy read for me, as it starts with nine different characters I worried I would struggle to keep track of them however each day they are mentioned it’s a snapshot of their day and really easy to both read and follow. I didn’t find this edge of my seat stuff but it was very engrossing and I was eager to find out who would be the next victim and how, not to mention the overall reason of why these nine people were chosen. This was well paced and an interesting read and I loved the twist at the end. 9/10

What a fabuloustheme based very loosely on an Agatha Christie novel but set in the States. The nine characters, or should I say ten, were all brilliantly portrayed. It was a fast paced read with a very original story line, I was gripped to the end. The inclusion of a possible tenth victim was an excellent twist in the tale. Highly recommended.

Peter Swanson is one of my favourite authors and this new book didn't disappoint, I sped through it in a day.

Inspiration and reference to Agatha Christie was spot on, the story was fresh and engaging, and the many surprises throughout was brilliant!

A fantastic mystery, which had me hooked right up until the end
Excellent!