Peter Swanson is an author that I love to recommend to people and then watch as they are mind blown by his plots and twists. A Talent for Murder won’t be any different. Lily Kitner is back and as always, she’s completely engaging. She’s the main focus this time and that made the book move so fast. She can be so unpredictable, I was constantly holding my breath. This is the third in the series and I feel like it helps so much with context to read the first two. Prepare for many, many surprises and an unforgettable read.

Oh Peter Swanson you have done it again! I cannot get enough of his books, seriously, if you have not read this author what are you doing with your life. He has been an auto read for me for a very long time now, The Kind Worth Killing one of my all time favourite thriller books. He is just so clever at getting the reader hooked and thinking that they know what is going on and then bam! Plot twist that changes everything. I love it.

Not only is this a Peter Swanson book, it is a Lily Kitner and Henry Kimball book!! i thought getting a sequel to A Kind Worth a killing last year was exciting, but now we have a book 3!! And it is perfect. These 2 characters are just brilliant, together and on their own. I had so much fun reading this, with a smile on my face from start to finish. I did binge it in a few hours, not seeing the need to put it down.

This time, Lily is contacted by an old school friend, Martha. Martha has serious concerns about her travelling salesman husband, and is starting to think that he might be a serial killer. Lily is the only person she can think of that might take er seriously and help her. And so the fun begins.

Reading a Peter Swanson book is just a delight. You need this book and characters in your life… your can thank me later.

Thank you so so so much to William Morrow for my advance copy of A Talent For Murder. Published on June 11th, this is a must read.

Thank you William Morrow and Peter Swanson for the advanced copy of A Talent for Murder in exchange for my honest review!

This is probably my favorite book in the series, which definitely says something considering the first two were fantastic. Something about this one completely hooked me from page one, and in typical Swanson fashion nothing was as it seemed.

I don't want to spoil any details of this but loved that we got to see Lily back in action again. I certainly would not be mad if this series continued!

A Talent for Murder pub date is June 11!

I thoroughly enjoyed this twisted thriller and the return of Lily Kinter and Henry Kimball. The characters are smartly written and I liked the parts that shocked me just when I thought the plot was getting predictable. The story is constructed differently, flowing from one character to the next, and it works well for this gripping page-turner. Highly recommended.

ARC was provided by NetGalley and William Morrow in exchange for an honest review. Expected Pub Date: 11 June 2024
#NetGalley, #ATalentForMurder, #PeterSwanson

I am a HUGE Peter Swanson fan so I was delighted to get my hands on an arc of his upcoming thriller. Swanson always delivers and the premise of this set my heart a flutter with anticipation.

First of all there is a librarian. That alone enticed me. That the said librarian suspects her traveling salesman husband of being a serial killer… well I was hooked. This one was a home run for me. Swanson is the master of the surprise twist and in thisv novel that talent is on full display. There were a couple of times he left my head spinning with the wild unexpected directions the story took. If you are a fan of Swanson’s books you will find something familiar here and all I could think was he did it again. It takes a bold and confident writer to make the choices that Swanson does and once again they pay off enormously. Pre-order this one immediately! Thank you to @netgalley and @williammorrowbooks for this arc.

Peter Swanson is an auto-read for me now, and this latest Lily Kinter and Henry Kimball book was my favorite so far! Both characters have matured in this one and the story was well paced.

Martha's husband is a traveling salesman, attending conferences throughout the country, and possibly killing women he comes in contact with. With no one to confide in, Martha calls the one long lost friend she can count on, Lily Kinter. Little does she know the whirlwind of events that would follow.

Startling and Rapid, this Thriller will hold your attention from start to finish.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for an eARC of this book to read and review. Pub date July 4, 2024!

Just as expected, this was so clever and twisted! We follow a librarian who believe her husband may be a murderer. Maybe you never truly know someone.

Peter Swanson can be very hit-or-miss, thankfully this was on the better side. I enjoyed the story, it flowed like a really fun movie. Fans of the genre will be happy.

The third book in the author's series but it could be read as a standalone. I enjoy every one of Mr. Swanson's books. His writing style grabs you and keeps you turning the pages. This was definitely another really good read.

A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson
Pub date: July 4, 2024

I’ve been reading Peter Swanson for a long time but none of his characters has captivated me quite as much as Lily Kintner. She’s a mystery and a hard nut to crack - her sense of justice is the chef’s kiss in every story.

Lily’s college friend, Martha, is newly married after thinking she’ll most likely spend her life alone. But when she meets traveling salesman, Alan, she marries him even though she doesn’t really know all that much about him. He makes her laugh and has a sweet nature about him even if he’s a bit odd at times.

When Martha notices a smear of what appears to be blood on the back of Alan’s work shirt, she begins to question if maybe he’s getting up to a little more at these conventions he attends six-months out of the year then just selling merchandise. Her suspicion leads her to a little digging and what she finds has her calling her old friend, Lily, to confide in.

Swanson leads the reader down a merry path of guessing with this one and I loved watching Lily work the case of a brutal serial killer who’s managed to go undetected for years. Told in multiple POV and in different timelines, it gives a unique perspective and varying narratives to give the reader a chance to formulate their own opinions but in true Swanson style, nothing is ever what it seems.

I’ll never tire of Lily and Henry working a murder mystery together. Ever. They’re peanut butter and jelly, Batman and Robin, cheese and crackers …. You get where I’m going, they’re good together.

I thoroughly enjoyed this suspenseful and thrilling story featuring two of my favorite literary characters. I hope to see them again!

Riveting, disturbing, and unforgettable!

I didn't realize this was another Lily Kintner book when I snagged it, but I wasn't upset to realize that. I've read the others and this one was definitely more of the same, but enjoyable nonetheless.

Another great book from Peter Swanson. I enjoyed the twists and turns, as well as the return of Kimball and Kitner. I wasn't entirely sold on this one at the beginning because I did not like The Kind Worth Saving as much as other Swanson books. I ended up being sucked into this story and curious to see if Alan really was as bad as Martha suspected. I look forward to recommending this to my patrons since it could be read as a standalone and would serve as a great introduction to this author. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the digital ARC.

This got better as it went along. I think people will enjoy it. Will recommend to library patrons. ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for a fair review.

I am OBSESSED with jaw dropping twists and this book delivers in spades! Even when I’m totally expecting to be surprised, I’m still beyond shocked when they hit! Swanson has hit the jackpot with this series as every book is solid gold!!!

I have not read any other books by the author which felt like a disadvantage and fun challenge. Fun story. Great characters. Will be reading other books by the author.

Another great mystery from Peter Swanson. Lots of red herrings that will keep you guessing til the very end. Interesting characters and clever plot lines. Will always look forward to his mysteries. An easy sell and will highly recommend.
Thanks to Net Galley and Harper Collins for an advance read.

Thank you Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!
Synopsis: A newlywed librarian begins to suspect that the man she married might be a murderer.
My thoughts: I am probably TKWK & TKWS biggest fan! Getting more Lily in a Talent for Murder was all that I could ask for and MORE! A page turner that I devoured in just 2 days. Swanson always delivers on dark and twisted stories that shock me each and every time. This book could be read as a stand-alone but I definitely recommend reading in order to get all the character background. LOVED this and will 10000% be reading anything else Swanson gives us on Lily/Henry!

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for providing this book, with my honest review below.

I have read the previous books in the Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner series and continue to love Lily Kintner as a character and appreciate that Peter Swanson has stuck with the series. In A Talent for Murder we once again follow Lily as she navigates her life as a sociopath, trying to help her friend Martha suss out of her husband is a serial killer, as one does.

This is a solid thriller and well written. My take for those unfamiliar with the series is to start with this book (you’ll be fine to do so despite this being part of a series) before you read The kind worth killing and The kind worth saving. My take for those familiar with the series, on the other hand, is that while we get more Lily in Book 3 we lose some of the complexity to the plot that results in such satisfying thrills in this book. I feel with every book in the series the plot dulls just a little, but I am hopeful we are being lulled into a false sense of complacency only to be savaged by Peter Swanson in a magnificent book 4. This is a solid thriller, but compared to the other books in the series and the expectations set it lets down a bit. If I were reading this as a standalone I might give more leeway, but as a reader of the phenomenal series, I am rating this a 3.2.

Martha is okay with her uneventful life; she is content with her work as a librarian and her husband offers companionship while also giving her space due to his job. Her predictable life is flipped upside down, though, when her husband returns home from a conference with a bloodstain on his shirt. Soon Martha finds herself questioning who she really married and wondering if her life is as safe as she thought. Will her old friend Lily be able to help her piece everything together in time to save herself?

Fans of Swanson will be happy with this book, as he remains true to form. The story starts off a bit slow and then gains momentum as the reader learns more about how each character is connected. There is a fairly unexpected twist in the first half of the book and it adds a lot to the plot.

This is book three in a series but could mostly be read as a standalone; there are certain elements regarding Lily's background a first time reader will be missing, but nothing too detrimental to the plot.

This book is a bit dark and none of the characters are 100% good, but the gray areas help keep it interesting. Fans of Hitchcock-esque plots will enjoy this one.

✨ My all time favorite book is THE KIND WORTH KILLING and Swanson didn’t let me down for the 3rd book! I loved it. I love how he writes Lily’s character. And of course, our favorite P.I. Henry is back!

This one is about a librarian that begins to suspect her husband is a serial killer 👀

You don’t want to miss it and if you haven’t read the other two, what are you even doing?!!! 😆❤️ Seriously, read them though!