In the book Nine Lives by Peter Swanson, nine strangers across the United States are presented with a small printed piece of paper with names on them, including one of their own. Most individuals treat the paper as junk mail and toss it to the side. Others talk about it to their friends and ask if they’ve ever experienced something like this before with no luck or information. For the next few weeks after they receive the mail the 9 people’s lives seem fairly normal until very bad things start to happen to the people on the list. Traveling all over the U.S.A a killer begins to kill them all one by one in different ways.
My reaction to this book was surprising as I did not realize going in how in-depth nine characters could be made in one book but I was presently surprised how Peter Swanson was able to make his characters unique and interesting. The murders that took place in this book would clever and unique without feeling over the top. This gives the book a feel for reality as the characters deal with a murderer on the loose with their names as targets. I also enjoyed Swanson’s ability to make the different settings in the book feel very tangible with increasing tension as the book goes on. Altogether, I was pleasantly surprised with the ending from the point of view of the killer which was not something that you conventionally see in these types of murder mystery novels.
For new readers of Nine Lives, I would suggest paying attention to the characters as it can occasionally get confusing who is who as the chapters switch. Thankfully, the author adds images before each chapter of the list with names slowly getting crossed off to help the reader (and killer) keep track of the remaining targets. I, overall, greatly enjoyed this book and thought the unraveling twist of the murder mystery was very realistic and plausible in the real world. Peter Swanson does a great job making a fun read and a deep killer makes the ending of the story feel very refreshing for readers.
Word Count of Review 366
Brody Salbato
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