A Peter Swanson novel is always a great read and this was fast paced with an element of Agatha Christie added. Interesting, well written characters plus a good hook at the start to draw the reader in. Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for the arc.

Wow! I had so much fun with Nine Lives. I found it unputdownable and pretty much devoured it in one go.

Enjoyed this fast paced thriller and the characters I found interesting too, not the best I have read but it was OK.

The synopsis of this story really intrigued me and I enjoyed the setup.
The middle and end unfortunately didn't live up to the beginning for me

“Inside was a single piece of paper, computer printed, the font Courier, like the mailing label.
Matthew Beaumont
Jay Coates
Ethan Dart
Caroline Geddes
Frank Hopkins
Alison Horne
Arthur Kruse
Jack Radebaugh
Jessica Winslow”

Drawing inspiration from the Agatha Christie classic, 'And Then There Were None' aka ‘The ABC Murders, in Nine Lives, Peter Swanson’s eighth novel, nine individuals each receive a list of nine names that includes their own.

Most dismiss the odd letter, but FBI agent Jessica Winslow submits the list she received for analysis. She’s surprised when the next day she’s alerted to the murder of a Frank Hopkins. Discovered on a Maine beach below his resort hotel, clutching a torn envelope containing the same list of names, seventy two year old Frank had been forcibly drowned in a tidal pool. Reaching out to the other names listed, spread across the United States, with seemingly nothing in common and no obvious connections, Jessica wonders if Frank’s murder is simply a coincidence, until Matthew Beaumont is shot dead while jogging.

Unusually there is no real central character in Nine Lives, the story unfolds from multiple perspectives, some of whom only have a brief role. I thought this narrative frame worked well, and Swanson ably established distinct characters within these limitations. Those named on the list react with varying levels of concern to the assumed threat on their lives, but whether they underestimate the threat or not, it seems the killer is not to be dissuaded from his mission. The suspense builds as each body drops and I found the loss of some characters more affecting than others.

I deduced some elements of the mystery fairly early on, but overall I thought the plot was well crafted, with the requisite scattered clues and misdirects. There’s some information given near the end of the story that seems to have been overlooked by some readers, but which I think helps what appears to be a somewhat weak motive make more sense.

I enjoyed Nine Lives, finding it to be a clever and tense tale of revenge.

Wow! I loved the premise of this book and it did not disappoint. It drew me in from the first page and was so perfectly written that at the end of each chapter I just had to know what happened next. Needless to say I stayed up way too late to finish it.

~~3 Stars~~ The Set-Up... Hooked! The synopsis was wow and completely enticed me to read this. It had everything, a cool premise and synopsis, the promise of a great twisty and turny mystery, and a respectable author behind it.
The Plot...I had high expectations but was let a little down. The book was a great easy read and the short chapters kept the story going - I enjoyed how a death/murder wasn't detailed to the ground to drag out the word count, it kept up the thriller/mystery theme. Sprinkled into each character's subplot was a little life lesson/issue that kept things relatable, the overarching theme and ending theme was kind of eh to me but was natural to the tone of the book. Honestly, I don't think the realism of this book gets enough credit, (I mean bar the serial murder part) we saw all the different ways people reacted when they received the mysterious mail, honestly, I too would throw it away and forget all about it. A prominent reference either spoiled or helped me predict exactly how this book was going to go, reading this book wasn't a case of 'How will this end?' it was more 'Oh, I know what is gonna happen how will Swanson do it differently' - Read below for the Agatha Christie thing.
The Characters...I found each character really interesting, the short descriptions of them were enough to grasp their personalities - There was some diversity between them, as much as you could get. Although in any book that has nine main figures and then adding in the side characters there were a lot of people to think about, we switched character perspectives and hero/heroines which for me kept it interesting. I enjoyed how the nine interacted with each other in different capacities, and there were some interesting personality traits. However, there were one or two characters who were basically irrelevant to the plot - a character pretending to be another character and then just disappearing. IMO the characters were fleshed out nicely considering the number of people we are introduced to, we weren't necessarily following anyone so the deaths weren't a real shock and kept the story flowing easily.
The Agatha Christie thing... Now I enjoy a reference here and there to AC within modern thriller/mystery books. However, my biggest issue was how much "And Then There Were None" was mentioned. From knowing ATTWN, the ending felt underwhelming and predictable, I felt spoiled without even reading a spoiler - if it's a retelling then the book was great, if it's not, it should be.
The Ending... I don't have any strong feelings about how this ended, the above points clarify this. The justification for the murders was questionable and I would have liked more reasoning behind it. The connection reveal was okay but did need more fleshing out - we basically heard nothing from the people who we needed to hear from. The biggest surprise for me wasn't even the ending but a towards the ending reveal that really baffled me, its one of those right there in front of you but you just don't see it experiences.
Overall, I did enjoy my reading experience with this book. I wasn't too baffled by the plot and the reveals weren't very exciting. The set-up for the book was there and completely had me hooked but the actual end product wasn't living up to the hype. I will read more of Swanson's book though as I did enjoy the writing style.

The concept of this book really intrigued me, and I loved the ‘And Then There Were None’ element of the story. I found it super interesting and loved the anticipation and suspense as you slowly watched the characters being killed off. That being said, at the start there were a few too many characters, it was hard to keep track of who was who and what was going on and a few characters definitely faded away and I had to check the character list at the start of the book a few too many times. Also, reading the same scene of nine characters each getting a list with their names on was perhaps not the most exciting way to start a book!

Whilst a few of the characters seemed to blend together, there were definitely a few really distinct characters who stuck out and caught my attention. I really loved that one of the points of view was an FBI agent, and that we got to read along with her as she tried to figure out the case. I think that without that element it would have gotten quite stale quite quickly as she was the only real way that we were finding out information about the case and what was going on. It was so fun to read and you were really routing for her to figure it out before it was too late.

There were a few twists at the end that I didn't see coming and that I really enjoyed and whilst the ending was not necessarily something that you could have ever predicted, until evidence was revealed right at the end, it was a fun and quite satisfying twist, although I could have done without the rambly letter explaining why the murderer had done what they had done (although I get that that was another tribute to Christie).

Finally, there was a lot of derogatory language used throughout that was absolutely not necessary and I didn’t enjoy and didn’t even serve any purpose in the book.

It was a really good retelling of And Then There Were None and if you enjoyed that then I’d definitely recommend giving it a go. The chapters are short and it’s very fast paced with some fun twists!

This is the third book by the author that I’ve read. I enjoyed his previous book, Every Vow You Break, so much that I knew I’d want to read whatever he brought out next.

Nine Lives has an intriguing premise. Nine apparent strangers are all sent a list of names in the post. They are each names on that list and, one by one, they start getting killed. One of the names is FBI agent Jessica Winslow who, along with a local cop from the scene of the first murder, sets out to work out what links the nine, and what motive there may be for their murders.

The intrigue here really kept me reading. I did have to refer to the helpful list of characters provided at the start a few times to make sure I knew who was who, but got there as the book progressed. Much like Rules for Perfect Murders, a previous work of Swanson’s, there are literary references littered throughout this book which was fun.

The only downsides here for me were that I did find I hadn’t quite gotten really attached to the characters, which is not necessarily surprising given the number of them at play. This meant that some events didn’t quite effect me the way they were perhaps intended. I was also torn as to whether the epilogue should have been included or not. It was nice to have it in someways, but I also felt it took away from previous events somewhat.

Those things did not take away from the fact that I throughly enjoyed this book and couldn’t put it down. It really cemented Swanson as an author to go on my list of must reads.

Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson.

9 people on a list. No link. Well, no obvious one anyway. Some old, some young. Some murdered… some alive… for now anyway.

I have mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the premise and the writing style. But I felt the ending was pretty rushed and didn’t fit with the rest of the story well enough. I’m not sure how I wanted it to end but it seemed quite abrupt. But on the whole a reasonably enjoyable read. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

I've read most Peter Swanson books, and found all of them gripping. This one didn't disappoint - riveting from page one, with enough twists and turns to keep me turning the pages long past my bedtime. Thanks to NetGalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This was a good story but didn’t quite live up to expectations.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for my review.

3.5 rounded up to 4 stars. This was a good thriller, not ground breaking, but interesting enough to keep me reading. The premise is simply 9 characters all receive a list with their names. There’s some one out to get them and it’s down to us as the reader (if we wish) to put our detective hat on to find out why, and who would want them dead, and what is their link.

I found the author created distinct characters that made it easy moving through each perspective. I did not get confused and each character had a back story that made it easy to know which perspective we are following.

I have read previous works of Peter Swanson and one thing I know for certain is that it is clear he is a Agatha Christie fan, and in this book there were many references to ‘And Then There Were None’ and this may be where the inspiration came for this story as there are similarities.

What kept this book from getting 4/5 star is the ending. I thought this ruined the suspense and it was a boring and under whelming reveal. I hoped the author could’ve went a more shocking direction, and aspects of the ending/reveal were predictable. I still enjoyed this book as I like the authors writing and will continue to pick up his work.

Thanks to Faber & Faber Ltd and Netgalley for my ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This premise of this book really intrigued me, it sounded so dark. You get a letter with nine names including your own. Then people on the list start dying!

It sounded dark and chilling but what resulted did not quite live up to that mark for me.

That said I enjoyed the writing and some of the characters. Others I hated (which is still a sign of a well written character). It was at times confusing how fast we moved from one character to another but slowly I separated them all out.

The underlying story was disappointing, it was sad and made sense but didn’t have the grit I was expecting.

It made for an unusual book that is worth a read but it was not quite the thriller high stakes book I was expecting.

I really wanted to love this book however I felt it was just didnt work for me. The plot was what drew me in first of all, 9 names on a list, a list of a killer, simple as that, however this is where is stopped being simple, there were so many POV's I got lost. I didnt seem to get enough from one character before it was jumping to the next, so I didnt care about any of them. A female FBI officers name is on the list and she investigates it, again I just didnt gel with this character.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel for an honest review. It has been published in March 2022.

"Nine Lives" by Peter Swanson didn't work for me, because there were too many POVs, too many characters to follow, and not enough time to get attached to any of them. I couldn't even remember their names, let alone care whether they lived or died.
It didn't help that all the characters - from the FBI agent in her thirties to the friendly village wino in his seventies - all spoke with the same voice.
The pacing is way too slow to keep the reader's attention piqued, and besides, the big reveal is offered on a silver platter at two-thirds of the book for some reason, making everything that follows pretty much irrelevant and uninteresting. After that, the reading becomes tedious, because you have already figured it out (and you don't care much for the way-too-large cast of underdeveloped characters).
The killer's secret plan, when it is revealed, makes so little sense that it could only be found inside a book. There are so many plotholes (why does the killer only put his plan in motion after all those years? Why does he go after the *wrong* generation of culprits?) Some justifications is offered on-page for each of these plotholes, but those are lame, extremely convoluted explanations, that add little credibility to the plot. My guess is the real reason behind so many weird plot choices is "Just because the author wanted to add one more degree of complication to his novel".
On top of that, there's no real investigation: the FBI agents in charge of the case don't really discover clues or use logical reasoning, they just magically guess new elements, and somehow they always get it right, even when they have so few clues to go by that no real-life detective could ever guess correctly. Every single one of their "deductions from thin air" tastes of deus ex machina.
Definitely not for me.

Thank you to #NetGalley for the advance copy of #NineLives by #PeterSwanson

You receive a letter with a list of nine names, yours is on there but the other eight mean nothing to you so you just disregard it.
Until the FBI come to call.
A great idea and an enjoyable read.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Nine people receive an unusual letter. It is just a piece of paper with their name on it amongst eight others. Some of them wonder what this is about. Others don’t really care. One of them is a FBI agent. It turns out it is a death list. The first one dies immediately when he gets the list because it is delivered in person. Jessica, the FBI agent, soon begins to investigate why her name is on that list.

I am a huge Peter Swanson fan. I think I will read all of his books to come. I enjoyed this one as well. I liked it but I did not love it. The story intrigued me but it turns out that it has not much substance. All of the nine people get a solid and very individual backstory even when we just get to know them for a short time. This is entertaining enough and interesting but it does not much for the pace. Only in the case of Jessica we see some development and that is of course because she is an FBI agent and investigates. The story is at first puzzling but towards the end I figured out who was behind it. The reason why is a bit underwhelming. But it was an easy and quick read.

Nine Lives, the latest book by Peter Swanson, is a tightly written, moreish crime novel. It’s about nine people who each receive an unremarkable envelope in the post containing a piece of paper bearing nine names, one of which is theirs. The nine people have seemingly no connection beyond the fact they are all on the list. None of them have any idea why they have been sent this list. Until one of them dies in suspicious circumstances. And then another. Uh oh.

Its seems that this list contains the names of people who must die. One of these people is Jessica Winslow, an FBI agent from New York who immediately tries to find connections, tracking down the recipients to see if they have anything at all in common. As another person on the list is murdered, it becomes clear that police protection is required and the tension ramps up.

Written from the viewpoints of each of the nine, we come to know and for the most part like them. Swanson creates whole worlds for his characters which we become invested in very quickly, and even though I knew that each of these people were going to be killed as the book continued I found myself feeling a real connection to them. Well, some more than others as one character was particularly vile, but some were very likeable and I found myself hoping that they’d survive.

Peter Swanson has an uncanny knack of writing very readable, absorbing and clever crime books, and Nine Lives, his latest is no different. I absolutely loved this book, reading it in two sittings, just having to know what happened next, and why. He himself says that this is an homage to And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, and not having read that book (or any other Christies, I know, I know), I can’t comment on this, but what I can say is that this does feel like a love letter to classic crime.

It is a very simple premise and a good old whodunnit to boot, but don’t let the simplicity deceive you. This is meticulously plotted, and if you’ve read a Peter Swanson before, you’ll know that he is the master of misdirection. This is a book which sets your brain whirring, trying to stay one step ahead of the killer, and is a real page turner. It’s one of my favourites of his and one of my books of the year too. If good mysteries are your thing then you can’t go far wrong with Nine Lives. Recommended.

Nine people receive a list with names on including their own.
A real good mystery and I loved the characters and the plots as I tried to work out who is killing them all and what the connection was between them.
Could not put this down full of twists and turns .thoroughly enjoyed and look forward to reading more of Peter Swanson books.
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber & Faber Ltd for the advanced copy.