Before She Knew Him
by Peter Swanson
320 pages
William Morrow Paperbacks; Reprint edition (February 25, 2020)
Catching a killer is dangerous—especially if he lives next door
From the hugely talented author of The Kind Worth Killing comes an exquisitely chilling tale of a young suburban wife with a history of psychological instability whose fears about her new neighbor could lead them both to murder . . .
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.
My Rating:
Favorite Quotes:
“I was sure it was schizophrenia,” her mother said, driving Hen back to upstate New York, “because of your uncle. But turns out you’re just batshit crazy like everyone else in this family.” She’d laughed, then apologized. It was what she did.
Matthew tried hard to discern if he was actually handsome, but found it hard to do. All men looked alike to him. They either had fox faces or pig faces.
He walked the short distance to the steps that led to Hen’s porch, then stopped. “Can I come up?” he asked, and Hen thought of vampires, how they needed to be invited in.
My Review:
Holy arboretum, Batman - that was a gnarly and dreadfully diseased family tree that made the roots of my contaminated ancestry appear glossy with vitality. This tautly written missive was my introduction to the twisted and formidable brilliance of Peter Swanson and I was absorbed, enthralled, riveted, and transfixed. The little pea in my brain was on fire with wild synapses firing and misfiring in all directions while I conjured my paltry theories.
I must confess to my cranial inferiority and bow to the master as I never could have put this ingenious plot together. What a clever trickster! The duplicitous Mr. Swanson took me down a dark and convoluted road, although I don’t seem to mind being made a fool. In fact, I’d do it all over again, and plan to, as soon as possible. Mr. Swanson seems to have a rabid fangirl on his hands.
I was provided with a review copy of this diabolically clever thriller by HarperCollins and TLC Book Tours.
Peter Swanson is the author of five novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and his most recent, Before She Knew Him. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine. He lives outside of Boston, where he is at work on his next novel.
Find out more about Peter on his website and follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
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