Peter Swanson | BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM

Plot (via Goodreads):

Hen and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is an illustrator and works out of a studio nearby, and has found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. Finally, she’s found some stability and peace.

But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she spots a familiar object displayed on the husband’s office shelf. The sports trophy looks exactly like one that went missing from the home of a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen knows because she’s long had a fascination with this unsolved murder—an obsession she doesn’t talk about anymore, but can’t fully shake either.

Could her neighbor, Matthew, be a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college, when she became so consumed with proving a fellow student guilty that she ended up hurting a classmate?

The more Hen observes Matthew, the more she suspects he’s planning something truly terrifying. Yet no one will believe her. Then one night, when she comes face to face with Matthew in a dark parking lot, she realizes that he knows she’s been watching him, that she’s really on to him. And that this is the beginning of a horrifying nightmare she may not live to escape. . . 

Review:

Peter Swanson captivated my thriller-loving heart the minute I read his debut, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart and I haven't stopped since. Every single year when Swanson releases a new novel, I am so anxious to have it in my hands that at times, I lose sleep over it. I wonder before reading the novel how things are going to happen, what the characters are going to be like, and how twisted the ending is going to be because that is what you think about when you are a fan of Peter Swanson novels. Well, here were are on book number five and I have yet to be disappointed.

Before She Knew Him is already my second favorite Swanson novel (nothing can beat The Kind Worth Killing) and I loved how with this one, Swanson stayed true to his dark and twisted storylines, brilliant characters, and a jaw-dropping finale that both frightened and amazed me. The plot to this one began really dark and addictive and before I knew it, I was hooked. I couldn't stop rapid reading the pages, enjoying all of the sensational characters, and gobbling up their backstories. I will say, with this one it definitely had hints that reminded me of both The Kind Worth Killing and the TV show Dexter. Without spoiling too much, there are definitely some major twists and turns that begin within the very beginning of this novel in pure Swanson form and do not hold up until the bittersweet and glorious finale that only Peter Swanson could pull off. I was captivated early, held hostage within the pages for the majority of the novel, and on pins and needles as I read the ending. This one definitely goes into the books as one of my favorite novels by Swanson and easily one of the best of 2019. Go check this one out!

Special thanks to William Morrow for this copy in exchange for my honest review.

Rating: 5/5