I find this book kinda hard to review because I’m not really sure how I felt about it. Swanson has become a go-to thriller author for me even though he’s had a few misses. This one is definitely for the Kind Worth Killing crowd as it follows a similar storyline about a couple, I don’t wanna reveal too much because it’s best to just let the story unfold. The thing about this book is that it’s told in reverse, which is a very tricky tactic for a thriller because it’s hard to be truly surprised - and I think that’s why I wasn’t fully on board with this book as a whole but the FINAL chapter wrapped everything up so perfectly (the last sentences are the best reveal of the whole book) and then I understood the point of doing it this way. It does make for a kind of confusing read at times though because you have to keep reminding yourself that it’s a backwards timeline.

Writing a story backwards is such a cool idea and I was curious to see how it would work. It was definitely an interesting way to tell a story. Kill Your Darlings starts out great and has a brilliant ending, but I did find it a bit dull and tedious in the middle. Mostly I found this book depressing. As you go further back in time, you see how happy, connected and in love Wendy and Thom used to be, and it was just sad knowing how it eventually ends. I did wonder how a book that ends in 1982 could provide any sort of closure to a book that begins in 2023. Peter Swanson pulls it off though in a very clever way. I can't say this is my favorite Peter Swanson book, but it was a cleverly told, unique portrait of a marriage poisoned by its start with a fabulous ending. 3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC!

With a clever premise and backwards storytelling, #KillYourDarlings starts off with a bang and hooked me right in. Then about halfway, it got tedious. Thom was SO wearisome, with his existential angst, his insecurity, and drinking. I got bored and no ending, however much of a mic drop, could make up for the SLOWEST middle.

P.S. thanks to #netgalley for the ARC.

Peter Swanson has become one of my favorite authors. This new novel, Kill Your Darlings, is excellent (just like his other books I’ve read). I usually don’t like stories told in reverse, but it works for this perfectly constructed novel. I’ll be recommending it to my friends who like “unputdownable” fiction books.

This one was not for me. The storyline didn’t flow well and I could not connect with the characters.
****Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review****

This hit the spot for the kind of thriller I’ve been DYING to read. This was one of the most cleverly executed books from the first page straight to the last. I actually gasped at the last page. Absolute perfection 👏🏻

Kill Your Darlings begins with Wendy wanting her husband Thom dead. The first chapter ends with a bang and we then go back in time throughout their relationship to find out how everything led to this.

I knew this had to jump the line on my TBR the second I was approved. This was twisty, exciting, brilliant - I could go on and on. I think I’m gonna have to go back and read every Peter Swanson book I haven’t read to chase this high.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

Smart, addictive and five-star stunning! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Just when I thought I might never feel crazy absolute love for another mystery/thriller Peter Swanson drops this brilliant gem, and I fell hard for it. Kill Your Darlings has well developed characters, a creative plot that had me giddy with each turn, pulled together with streamlined writing that is everything I love in a novel. The slight tinge of noir the atmosphere held added the perfect edge to the overall story.

A twenty-five-year marriage is bound to have seen its share of ups and downs, with some long-held secrets and momentous occasions thrown in the mix. For Thom and Wendy Graves, the weight of their shared past is throwing a wrench into the present. The timeline begins with scenes of their current life and travels back through the history of their relationship. Uncovering the layers of milestones the pair had experienced separately and together kept me turning pages long into the night.

Going into this one blind made for an amazing read. The finish with a flourish was reminiscent of a mic drop.

All The Stars!! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I am giving my longest applause—at least an 8-minute ovation! I adore the brilliant writing style and incredibly smart, creative mind of Peter Swanson! I mostly rate each of his books with five blazing stars, and this book may deserve five stars plus one. This is a toxic love story with a great tribute to "Double Indemnity" (the author's deep knowledge of classic film noir always perfectly feeds his plot lines).

We're reading a couple's dysfunctional love story that consists of many ugly secrets, especially one that binds them together even though they want to go their separate ways. They cannot separate because if one of them talks, they both get ruined. There is so much at stake: a wealthy, beautiful life, their powerful appearance as a power couple in society, their son—everything they've built could be destroyed in a second.

Thom, an English literature teacher in his mid-fifties, is an alcoholic, cheater, and self-pitying individual who dreams of writing a bestseller but instead becomes depressed, drinking himself into oblivion to forget. His beautiful, smart wife Wendy is a published poet, more pragmatic compared to Thom's sentimentality. She has built her life on the inheritance from her first husband, who died in an accident. Unlike Thom, she doesn't cheat or indulge in vices like alcohol. Recently, however, she has been trying to get rid of her husband. She even attempted to kill him once, but her plan failed. She detests the person he has become.

Why does she want to kill him so passionately? Why does Thom drink so much, as if punishing himself? Weren't they childhood sweethearts, each other's first kiss? What happened to ruin them? What is the deadly secret they share until death parts them?

Want to learn the whole story? You'll need to go back step by step to understand where things began. An interesting fact about the book is that you'll never learn how their story ends before reading the last chapter, which reveals how they first met. We'll move backward in time until we reach the moment they share a kiss in Georgetown, D.C.—the same place where the priest from "The Exorcist" fell down the stairs. Sometimes you find romance in the most horrific epic places, don't you agree?

When I read the last words, I laughed hard. Well done. I loved how things pieced together backward, reminiscent of the "Memento" movie style, and I adored the heart-throbbing conclusion. This is definitely one of the best thrillers of 2025 and one of Swanson's most amazing works—I couldn't recommend it more.

Many thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for sharing this fantastically intelligent thriller's digital reviewer copy with me in exchange for my honest thoughts.

Is this my new favorite by Swanson? Cleverly written. Told in years starting from end to beginning. No, I’m not confused. From the start we meet Wendy and Thom. They have quite a different marriage. Wendy isn’t happy anymore and basically wants to kill Thom. However, there all a lot of secrets that are about to be revealed as we learn more about these two. We meet them as middle aged people and end with how they met. A destiny awaits. Highly entertained by how clever this was.

This book was very different from what I was expecting! I truly enjoyed it , a refreshing take on a thriller that took me back.