This is maybe my second ot third book by Peter Swanson and I'm mad it took me so long to dive into his books because omg. This was like nothing else.

“Kill Your Darlings” is Peter Swanson’s newest psychological thriller. It starts in the present with a seemingly normal couple in their 50s, Wendy and Thom and works backward in time to their first meeting 40 years before. The main twist happens at the beginning of the novel and then the reader learns why this event has happened and the secrets the two have kept from each other. I thought it worked better as a character study than a thriller, but still enjoyed it.

I love Peter Swanson, but this book just didn’t do it for me. I liked the story well enough, but found Thom and Wendy’s characters dull and unlikeable. I found myself skimming through the last 30% just trying to finish the book. It was just ok.

3.5⭐️ thank you netgalley and william morrow for the arc in exchange for an honest review!

huuuuge peter swanson fan so my expectations were pretty high! i really did enjoy this, although it was quite different from his other books. this one is told in a backwards timeline, each chapter going back in time.

i thought swanson did a good job writing this unique style of mystery/thriller, but it wasn’t super captivating because there weren’t any huge twists or suspense. however there were a few neat little details we found out as we went back in time that were interesting (especially the last page….)

Clever story about a marriage gone wrong by one of my favorite authors. This one's a bit of a different take for Swanson as the entire story is told in reverse order, starting when a wife is thinking about ending her husband's life. Wendy and Thom are a long married couple with a grown son named Jason. They live a comfortable life near Boston and both are employed by a local college, Thom is a professor and Wendy an administrator. Wendy published a book of poetry a long time ago and Thom is still trying to write the great American novel. This is not a likable couple; Thom drinks heavily, cheats on his wife and is very needy. Wendy is snob and a cynic, convinced she is smarter than everyone else and disdainful of any sort of belief or positive thoughts others might have. In some ways they are meant for each other, so why does she want her husband to die?

As we go back in time we see the decisions the couple made including some murders, and we see how they kept drifting towards each other since they met in eighth grade. Wendy initially was attracted to Thom and his desire to make her happy no matter what the cost; but as the years went by she begins to see him as a weak man who is constantly drinking and succumbing to his desire for other women. Thom is constantly troubled by his past and feels compelled to stay with Wendy although he also feels trapped by her knowledge of his actions. The ending of this novel was very clever and I thought it was a perfect little twist! Thank you to the NetGalley and the publisher for a copy of this ARC for review.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the free eARC!

The gimmick here was that the story was being told in reverse. This had me intrigued, but in the end, it ended up being a positive and a negative. The main fireworks happen very early on in the book, so the rest of the time, you’re waiting for some big twist that just never materializes.

The story focuses on a married couple, Wendy and Thom, who have some secrets, and on top of those secrets, their marriage is falling apart. The story goes backward to reveal what caused them to get there, but it just gets kinda boring by the end. It really could have used a couple flash forwards back to the present, or at least done something at the end…some kind of epilogue.

If you have nothing better to read, sure, give it a whirl. It can be read in a few hours. A few tweaks, and this could have been something way better.

Wow! Just... wow!

This is probably my favorite book that I've read in a long time.

Kill Your Darlings is set in reverse chronological order. It opens with the end of a marriage and slowly goes back in time to the beginning. I love when books switch things up, and Peter Swanson was a master of it in his latest novel.

This book tells the story of a couple bound by secrets, and completely hooks you from the first sentence. Once I started it, I finished it in less than 24 hours. I had to know how it ended!

Thank you, Net Galley, for the early read!

I am a huge fan of Peter Swanson and I’ve loved everything I’ve read by him so far. Unfortunately, this one fell a bit short for me. With the timeline working backwards, the reader knows everything up front so there are no huge twists or “Aha!” Moments. This book was an enjoyable leisure read, but didn’t hold my interest intensely like his other books. Still definitely worth the read, though!

Thank you to Peter Swanson, NetGalley, and William Morrow for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

"Kill Your Darlings" is a riveting read with a unique twist—the story unfolds in reverse chronological order! This intriguing format keeps you on your toes, constantly guessing how the narrative will wrap up. The tension and suspense build up masterfully, making each chapter more compelling than the last.

I was completely captivated by the way the author managed to maintain coherence and depth, despite the unconventional storytelling method. And the ending? It did not disappoint. It tied everything together in a way that was both surprising and satisfying.

If you're looking for a book that challenges traditional narrative structures and delivers a powerful story, "Kill Your Darlings" is an absolute must-read.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for allowing me access to this book!
Kill Your Darlings is the new release by Per Swanson, it'll be released June 10th.
Thom and Wendy Graves' seemingly perfect marriage hides a dark secret: Wendy wants to murder her husband.
Told in reverse, the story unravels pivotal moments in their lives, revealing a terrible act they conspired to commit in their twenties.
As their shared secret begins to unravel, they must decide if their bond is worth preserving—or if it's time to let their secrets die with one of them.
It was very intriguing but I struggled to stay focused on the story, it was too slow for my attention span!

Peter Swanson's latest novel, Kill Your Darlings, is a slow burn murder mystery told in reverse. It traces Thom and Wendy Graves' marriage back in time, to allow the reader to uncover the dark secret the couple shares. Oh, and also- Wendy wants to kill her husband.
Thom and Wendy have been married for over 25 years, and they live in a beautiful Victorian home on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom is an English literature professor. They have one son, who is now all grown up. Their story is told in reserve, so this may lead the reader to believe they know the big secret early on. However, we move backward through key moments in their lives, including their 50th birthday party, buying their home, their son's birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague... and eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early 20's, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave.

I love Peter Swanson's books and was SO excited to receive an advanced copy of Kill Your Darlings. This one did not end up being my favorite of his, but is definitely one for the fans of The Kind Worth Killing, which IS my favorite. It has a similar slow burn and twists that surprised me until the very end. It was a quick read and I was just dying to know how it ended.

Everytime I see Peter Swanson has a new book coming out, I immediately add it to my TBR. I was over the moon excited to receive an ARC of this one as he’s one of my favorite authors.

I really enjoyed how this story was told backwards (from present to the past) - it was super unique and different than anything I have read before. There were tons of OMG moments throughout this book and was filled with tons of twists. Although I thought it was a good story and kept my interest throughout, it wasn’t my favorite by him. Part of me wishes at the end they circled back to the beginning because I felt I was left wanting more. But the other part of me doesn’t think it would have been such a strong ending if he did circle back.

Overall, I did enjoy this one although it wasn’t my favorite. Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of this!

The format of this story was very unique. It's told in a sort of backwards timeline. The thing with this, for me, that I didn't totally love is that you know the "big secret" early on in the story, so I lost that excitement of the big climax that you come to expect at the end of a thriller story. There were other small twists sprinkled throughout the book that were really clever, and worked well with the story, however, that somewhat made up for it. This is a slower burn story, and I thought it worked well with the reverse format. There's lots of character development throughout so I was really able to connect to the characters.
Overall, a fun read. I would rate closer to a 3.5 for uniqueness.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read and review!

Seeing this story unfold in reverse was quite a treat. While the characters are not the most likeable, you don't mind as you get to see them get the just desserts.

I'm a Swanson fan and will jump at the opportunity to be an advanced reader for Kill Your Darlings. It pains me to say that this book did not meet my expectations. Swanson begins his story of a crumbling marriage in the present tense and then takes us backward. The reverse chronological order did not work for me as a reader as the text heavily hints at what we will discover in the past. There is a dissatisfying twist and then the book ends. While I was reading, I was consistently eager to return to the original timeline to find out what happens next, but we only learn what has already come to be, and that made the book feel unfinished.

Kill Your Darlings follows a couple, Thom & Wendy - in reverse chronology - and their devolving marriage, as well as the dark secret they share from their past. As you progress through the book, you learn more details about that dark secret and what has led to the troubles in their relationship.

I was excited to receive this ARC, as I have enjoyed Peter Swanson's books in the past. Unfortunately, this one left me rather disappointed. It is much more a character study and study of a marriage than it is a thriller. If that's what you're looking for, it may deliver. Personally, I was expecting more twists and turns - and I really, really disliked both of the main characters, so it made it hard to want to find out more about them.

Thanks for the advance copy, NetGalley and publisher!

A fascinating exploration of a couple who are tied together by a murderous history. However, as the story progresses backwards through their relationship, the reader discovers that there are multitudes of secrets to uncover between the two that date back to their time together as middle schoolers on a school field trip to D.C.

The format of this book was a bit hard for me to wrap my head around at times and I found myself needing to go back and re-read chapters to made sure that I understood the order of events correctly. There were also a few characters that were introduced who felt a bit superfluous to me - for example Emily in 2023 - but perhaps I just missed the way they were supposed to tie into some of the later chapters.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced digital copy.

Man, I love Peter Swanson, and this one was something very different and delicious from him. It starts out very literary and thoughtful, like maybe a Raymond Carver story about an older married couple who are in a troubled relationship and whose love for eachother may be exhausted. The book begins in 2023 and you can see the wife, Wendy, is at the end of her rope with her cheating, boorish husband Thom, who also happens to be a hack writer while Wendy is a genuinely talented poet. Then, slowly, the story turns into something out of a film noir, and you learn that 1) the couple has a dark secret, and 2) somebody may have to die soon. But it takes some time to find out the what of the secret and the why of the death. So from there, we reverse in time, and the story becomes darker and more noir as you go along, year by year, learning about the couple: More and more dark secrets and crimes are revealed, but the literary tone and the focus on the relationship continues, so that at some point the book becomes Double Indemnity meets John Cheever. Things get progressively more noir and twisted right up to the positively delightful (in an evil way) ending.

I loved the backwards timeline of the book, starting out with an older couple set in their ways at the beginning, and progressively reversing through the years to watch them get younger and more in love. And of course, to find out the secret they gave shared for years. And some of the secrets they don't share with eachother, too.

The most fun I had with this book -- which I recommend -- was reading the beginning chapter again immediately after I read the last chapter. There are a couple of great Easter eggs in there that you won't have understood the first time reading, but that you'll get once you've gotten to the end, and one of them is truly shocking.

Another five-star read by Peter Swanson, who for my money is not only one of the best mystery plotters but also one of the most literary and thoughtful thriller writers out there. Now I begin the wait for his next book!

An excellent read for any and all readers! Author comes at you with both barrels and knocks you out of your shoes! Great job fleshing out all the characters. I give this book FIVE stars! Definitely recommend!

I love everything Peter Swanson writes and this was no exception. It was quite the love story. I’m still not sure if I liked how it was written from end to beginning. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book like this before. It was very interesting to see the relationship between Thom and Wendy sort of self destruct and then go backwards through the evolution of it. I’ll be thinking about this book for quite a while.