Criminal Element

Book Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

By john valeri.

book review nine lives by peter swanson

Peter Swanson is the Boston-based author of eight novels of suspense. His name has appeared on both the Sunday Times and New York Times bestsellers lists and his books have been honored with awards and recognitions including the New England Society Book Award ( The Kind Worth Killing ), an NPR Book of the Year ( Her Every Fear ), and a Kirkus Reviews Book of the Year ( Eight Perfect Murders ). His newest standalone, Nine Lives , is out now .

The book opens with a list of—you guessed it—nine names, each accompanied by a short character description. Then, we meet Alison Horne, the young mistress of Jonathan Grant, who has a standing Wednesday rendezvous with her paramour; she inhabits Grant’s one-bedroom apartment in Gramercy Park. It’s here that Alison receives a non-descript envelope, sans return address, that contains a single sheet of paper with the aforementioned names printed on it. Despite the seeming innocuousness of it all, she senses an implied threat. Eight others will receive similar notes and feel varying degrees of apprehension.

Things quickly escalate as bodies start turning up, the only apparent commonality between them being their inclusion on the list of names. Jessica Winslow, an FBI agent in Albany’s field office, is determined to put a stop to it before she meets a similar fate—though her involvement is complicated by the fact that she is among the targeted and therefore cannot work the case officially. Meanwhile, Detective Sam Hamilton—who grew up on a steady diet of Agatha Christie novels (which he rereads as inspiration for crime-solving)—is working a related death outside a resort in Kennewick, Maine. He’s convinced the pieces will fall into place…eventually. But will there be anybody left standing when they do?

Swanson alternates points of view with alacrity, unleashing a varied and vibrant ensemble—from the respectable to the reprehensible and everything in between, ensuring that readers will find somebody to love…or loathe. This allows him to show the true range of (potential) victims, from age, gender, and sexual orientation to careers, interests, and locations. Indeed, it’s a cross-country caper in which authorities are not only in a race against time but distance—not to mention the wits and whims of a criminal mastermind. It’s heady stuff but grounded by the sobering notion that you can be going about your life when some transgression from the past—and not necessarily your past—resurfaces with a vengeance, threatening to destroy you.  

Peter Swanson is the king of the high concept thriller, and Nine Lives marks yet another ambitious addition to his collected works. An ode to Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None , it expands on her premise by moving the killing grounds from an insular island setting to America at large. Sure, there are some improbabilities, but this is fiction, after all—and it’s terrifying enough in premise that you may not want its execution too realistically done…

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Peter Swanson is one of my go-to authors, and he keeps getting better with each new book he writes. His latest effort, NINE LIVES, is no exception. Not only is it a terrific mystery/thriller that keeps you guessing right up until the last page, it just happens to be inspired by one of my all-time favorite novels: Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

The premise is chilling: Nine strangers whose names appear on a list that is mailed to them are being murdered one by one. None of them recognize any of the other eight names. Caroline Geddes, an English professor, instantly thinks of Muriel Spark’s novel, MEMENTO MORI, in which characters receive a note stating, “Remember you must die.” Which is very prophetic, considering what’s to come.

"I will not spoil any of the mastery that Peter Swanson spins together here, but he does come up with a backstory that connects everything in such a way that your head will be spinning."

Readers slowly get to learn about each person on the list as one of the targets, Jessica Winslow, happens to be an FBI agent. This at least gives her the advantage of researching each name and running database searches for any connections that may exist among the nine of them. It also provides a point person who can contact the others and assign an agent to each of them, especially when the first victim, Frank Hopkins, is forcibly drowned to death.

Detective Sam Hamilton works the Hopkins case and then becomes deeply invested in it when he learns about the list. Winslow personally contacts Arthur Kruse only because his name sounds familiar and she wants to know if his father might know her father, who she believes used to mention an Art Kruse. However, it ends up being a dead end. Two other individuals on the list correspond with each other --- the aforementioned Caroline and struggling musician Ethan Dart, who have poetry and songwriting (to an extent) in common. They even make plans to meet for a weekend rendezvous at a hotel where they quietly die in each other’s arms after having their wine poisoned.

I especially liked Hamilton, who instantly sees the correlation between what is happening and Dame Agatha’s novel. So much so, in fact, that he actually reads the book twice while working the case. He is even astute enough to recall its two original titles, both of which were scrapped for being racially insensitive, and the role it plays in the story itself.

I will not spoil any of the mastery that Peter Swanson spins together here, but he does come up with a backstory that connects everything in such a way that your head will be spinning. At the same time, you will appreciate his generous nod to classic mystery tales when the denouement is revealed. I already know that NINE LIVES will be near the top of my “Best of 2022” list!

Reviewed by Ray Palen on March 18, 2022

book review nine lives by peter swanson

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

  • Publication Date: February 7, 2023
  • Genres: Fiction , Mystery , Suspense , Thriller
  • Paperback: 336 pages
  • Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
  • ISBN-10: 0062980084
  • ISBN-13: 9780062980083

book review nine lives by peter swanson

StarTribune

Review: 'nine lives,' by peter swanson.

This is not the first time that Peter Swanson has given a tip of the cap to mystery writers of old. His 2020 novel, "Eight Perfect Murders," bases each murder on a plot from a classic old novel. In his newest, Swanson borrows boldly and openly from Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None," in which 10 people find themselves on a deserted island and then, one by one, are murdered.

In "Nine Lives," nine people receive a typewritten list of names in the mail, their own name among them. The list appears random — no one on the list recognizes anyone else — but of course it is not. And then, again, one by one each is murdered. Swanson might struggle a bit with the drama — if everyone is dead, where's the tension? — but there's enough mystery to keep you reading. And if you know the Christie novel, you'll enjoy observing how he follows her template almost exactly, but with his own spin.

Nine Lives By: Peter Swanson. Publisher: William Morrow, 336 pages, $27.99.

Freelance writer and former Star Tribune books editor Laurie Hertzel is at [email protected].

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book review nine lives by peter swanson

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Nine Lives by Peter Swanson (Review by Stacie Kitchen)

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson (Review by Stacie Kitchen)

book review nine lives by peter swanson

Rating: 4.5/5  ⭐

Ah Peter Swanson…he makes my heart happy. In his latest thriller,  Nine Lives , Swanson gets back to what I love about him the most, his nail-biting suspense. As in  Eight Perfect Murders , Swanson interweaves classic mysteries into this novel. There is a touch of the familiar mixed with new characters and scenarios that keep you on your toes and guessing for the whole book.

Despite my immediate guess that Nine Lives  had something to do with cats (it does not), the premise involves the lives of nine individuals. On the same day, each of these individuals receive a list in the mail that includes their name with those of eight other people. All of these people live in a different area of the United States and as far as any of them remember, they recognize no one else on the list. An FBI agent, former author, college professor, etc. the people on the list seem to have nothing in common. Then one by one, each person on the list begins to be murdered. Even with police protection, the list keeps dwindling down.

I kept thinking to myself, that I could not possibly summarize this book in a few paragraphs, as this book has nine main characters. What surprised me with so many main characters, was that Swanson was able to give me a good glimpse into each of their lives and personality. Even though each character only had a few chapters each, you still felt their emotions and sympathized which each one. I liked that the chapters were short and left little cliff hangers throughout the whole book. I couldn’t put the book down and wanted to know how these nine people were connected and why they were being killed. This book reminded me so much of Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None  where you knew who would die, you just need to figure out who and why they are doing the killing. Great quick thrilling read!

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book review nine lives by peter swanson

Book Review | Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Nine Lives

An unremarkable envelope drops into the mail slots of nine different people, containing a single white paper with a list of their names. These nine strangers don’t know each other. But one by one, they meet their end. Who is sending these letters and why are they targeting them?

It was the most interesting piece of mail that Arthur Kruse, having just returned from physical therapy, received that morning. He opened the envelope, not expecting anything of note, and was surprised to find a short list of names, including his. He didn’t recognize any of the other people on the list. 

Nine Lives tells the story of nine strangers who receive a mysterious letter with a list of names, including theirs. But they don’t know the other names. One by one, the people on the list are being killed.

Like the author’s previous books, this one is fast-paced and made it hard for me to put down. The characters are varied and interesting; there’s a suburban father, an FBI agent, a gay widower, a singer-songwriter, and an English professor among others. I was even disappointed when a couple of characters I really liked ended up dead. The storyline is suspenseful because I had no idea who’ll die next. There’s an Agatha Christie influence here – in fact, one of her books is mentioned on page by one of the characters. But the story does stand on its own.

I did find the killer’s motive a little unsatisfying. The core of it is basically the person wants to get justice for something that happened in the past but it comes across like them taking out their issues on unrelated people. So this could have been a fantastic revenge tale but the execution could have been better. There’s also a random chapter from the POV of a character who was never seen again. That didn’t feel necessary to me.

Though I had issues with the overall execution of the plot, I still ended up enjoying this book. I’m happy to add Nine Lives to the plus column!

I received a copy from the publisher and Times Reads for review purposes.

book review nine lives by peter swanson

About the author: Peter Swanson

Photo by Christian Lue

book review nine lives by peter swanson

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Jen Ryland Reviews

Find books. Read books. Talk books.

Review of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

04.11.2022 by Jen Ryland // 4 Comments

“If You’re On the List, Someone Wants You Dead.” Yikes! I’ve enjoyed other Peter Swanson books, so what did I think of this homage to And Then There Were None ? Check out my Review of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson.

Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Original photo of a copy of Nine Lives held in front of a rippling body of water

Published on March 15, 2022 by William Morrow. Thanks to the publisher for providing a review copy, which I accepted in accordance with FTC guidelines.

I really enjoyed Eight Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson, which was an homage to classic mysteries. By a killer, haha. But also by Swanson, and I love that he is inspired by the greats. I was not as much of a fan of his Every Vow You Break , which got a pretty weird at the end. My Spoiler Review of Every Vow You Break is here.

Nine Lives is also inspired by a classic: And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie , something that the characters in the book remark on. I have read And Then There Were None , but of course can’t remember what happened except that it was a book about a group of people killed one at a time.

I think And Then There Were None had more of a locked room aspect, while in Nine Lives the people on the list are spread across the country and get picked off one by one. The first murder occurs at a seaside resort in Maine, where Detective Sam Hamilton wonders about the strange list of names that the victim was holding. FBI agent Jessica Winslow also receives the list and learns from a colleague that someone on the list got murdered.

The book moves around and around among the POVs of all nine potential victims, plus Sam Hamilton, who is not on the list. I thought this approach had pros and cons. The pros were that Swanson was able to paint a little portrait of each of them. The con was that the narrative bounces around a lot and ends up being just one person being murdered after the other.

Maybe two-thirds or three-quarters through the book, the killer’s motive starts to become clearer. And, well, I had questions.

I can’t ask them here because they involve spoilers, but you can come to my Spoiler Discussion and Plot Summary for Nine Lives where I will give you my questions about the book and you can answer my questions or ask your own!

You can also try Peter Swanson’s 2023 Christmas novella, The Christmas Guest!

Have you read this? Are you a Swanson fan? I’m going to read The Kind Worth Killing , as everyone seems to love that one!

About Jen Ryland

Over 12 years of book blogging and reviewing, I have read over 1500 books. A fair and honest reviewer who loves book discussions, I'm here to help you find a book you'll love to read AND give you a place to talk about it and ask questions. Find me on Instagram and Pinterest as @jenryland!

Didn’t they adapt And Then There Were None for TV? I feel like it was a BBC drama but at this point I don’t even remember, I’m not a huge Agatha Christie fan. Either way, it sounds interesting to see a book inspired by I’d be interested to see if it stands up against the original it was inspired by.

I’m sure they did! the difference with this is that it didn’t have the locked room element. I think in the book they were all trapped on an island? In Nine Lives the people on the list are scattered around the US.

I haven’t read this but it sounds really good. I love a story like this.

I hope you try it and then come join the spoiler discussion!!

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NINE LIVES by Peter Swanson: Book Review

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An homage to And Then There Were None , with a bit of The List of Adrian Messenger added, describes Peter Swanson’s latest thriller, Nine Lives .

Nine people, seemingly unknown to each other, receive an envelope with a single sheet of paper inside.   On the paper is a list of their names in alphabetical order:  Matthew Beaumont, Jay Coates, Ethan Dart, Caroline Geddes, Frank Hopkins, Alison Horne, Arthur Kruse, Jack Radebaugh, and Jessica Winslow.  There is no return address, only a Forever stamp on eight of the envelopes; it appears that one of the envelopes was hand-delivered.

The recipients of the letter, if one can call a single sheet of paper with no salutation or signature a letter, have different reactions.  The majority choose to ignore it, treating it as if it was possibly meant for another person with the same name, while the others throw it away.  What no recipient does, at least at first, is to pay attention to it and regard it as a threat.  A mistake.

Those named are a disparate group in age, ethnicity, profession, and geographic location.  Beaumont is a married father of three in Massachusetts, Coates is a wanna-be actor in Los Angeles, Dart is a singer/songwriter in Texas, Geddes is an English professor in Ann Arbor, Hopkins owns a hotel in Maine, Horne is the mistress of a wealthy older man in New York City, Kruse is an oncology nurse in Massachusetts, Radebaugh is a businessman in Connecticut, and Winslow is an FBI agent in upstate New York.  They range in age from their thirties to their seventies, two are mixed-race, the other seven are white.  So what is the connection?

The first victim is Frank Hopkins, the owner of the Windward Resort in Kennewick, Maine.  Although it was a resort hotel decades ago, it’s now more of a run-down bar/motel and a place for him to drink without anyone looking over his shoulder.  Frank is taking his morning walk along the beach when he sees a white envelope on top of a rock, with a smaller stone on top of the envelope to hold it down.  As he gets closer, he sees his name on the envelope, and when he opens it he’s looking at a list of nine names, with his name one of them.

As Frank turns around to see if there’s anyone near him, he’s pushed into the sand and then the water.   As his head is being held under water, the murderer asks, “Do you know why you’re going to die?”  Although he answers in the negative, part of him thinks he does.  “It had to do with the jetty, didn’t it?” is his last thought before he stops breathing.  Thus Frank Hopkins becomes the first of the nine to die.

Peter Swanson has written another novel that is almost impossible to put down.  Nine Lives is a clever twist on a familiar trope, one that is both horrifying and, and in a macabre way, understandable.

You can read more about Peter Swanson at this website .

Check out the complete Marilyn’s Mystery Reads at her  website .  In addition to book review posts, there are sections featuring  Golden Oldies ,  Past Masters and Mistresses,  and an  About Marilyn  column that features her opinions about everything to do with mystery novels.

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Book reviews, book chat – basically anything books , nine lives by peter swanson – book review.

Title : Nine Lives

Author : Peter Swanson

Genre : Mystery

Publisher : Faber & Faber

Publication Date : 1st March 2022

Rating : 4.5/5

book review nine lives by peter swanson

If you’re on the list you’re marked for death… The envelope is unremarkable. There is no return address. It contains a single, folded, sheet of white paper. The envelope drops through the mail slot like any other piece of post. But for the nine complete strangers who receive it – each of them recognising just one name, their own, on the enclosed list – it will be the most life altering letter they ever receive. It could also be the last, as one by one, they start to meet their end. But why?

I’ve really enjoyed Swanson’s books in the past so I was excited to read this twist on a classic mystery and it did not disappoint! The story follows nine people, each of whom receive a list in the mail with their name on it – plus eight other names they don’t recognise. Then these people begin dying, or rather getting murdered and it becomes a race against time to find the killer before the next death.

I like classic mystery, à la Agatha Christie, but what I like even more is an interesting or fresh perspective on the genre and that’s exactly what Nine Lives is. It’s one of those books you can easily fly through in one sitting, due to the propulsive, race against time nature of the story and it’s likely you will because it is very difficult to put down. The chapters are short and snappy, and each character feels fully formed and intriguing, despite the brevity of some of their appearances. It plays around with the concept of Christie’s And Then There Were None whilst still feeling very much like an original take in its own right. I also loved the clever inclusion of other famous books, both children and adult. If you are looking for a smart, fun, concise and endlessly compelling mystery then I highly recommend giving Nine Lives a read!

I kindly received a copy of the book from the publisher. My review is entirely my own honest opinion.

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Book Review: Nine Lives

book review nine lives by peter swanson

If you’re on the list, someone wants you dead.

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke — until very, very bad things begin to happen to people on the list.

First, a well-liked old man drowns on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine.

Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts.

A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list? And who sent it?

FBI agent Jessica Winslow is on the list herself, and is determined to find answers.

Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the random work of a murderous madman?

As the mysterious sender stalks nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off the list next . . .

book review nine lives by peter swanson

Peter Swanson is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Kind Worth Killing and Her Every Fear , which have been translated into more than thirty languages. In addition, his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in a variety of publications, including The Atlantic Monthly and The Guardian. Swanson earned degrees from Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, and lives in Massachusetts with his wife and cat.

Swanson is known for paying homage to great mystery writers in his novels, which are sometimes reimaginings of the originals. In Nine Lives he draws from Agatha Christie’s classic, And Then There Were None , to craft an intriguing and absorbing story of nine perfect strangers, all of whom find their names on a cryptic list delivered to them via mail. None of them recognize the other names and all of them are baffled as to the list’s origin and meaning, and why their names have been linked with the others on the list. Swanson’s diverse cast of characters are Matthew Beaumont, a suburban father in Massachusetts; Jay Coates, an aspiring actor in Los Angeles; Ethan Dart, a singer-songwriter in Texas; Caroline Geddes, an English professor in Michigan; Frank Hopkins, the owner of the Windward Resort in Kennewick, Maine; Alison Horne, a married man’s paid mistress in New York City; Arthur Kruse, an oncology nurse in Massachusetts; Jack Radebaugh, a retired businessman who recently returned to his childhood home in Connecticut; and Jessica Winslow, an FBI agent in New York.

The story opens with the death of Hopkins at his Windward Resort in Maine. When his body is discovered, he is holding a torn envelope addressed to him and containing the list of names. Detective Sam Hamilton, Kennewick’s only police officer, knew Frank for many years and immediately begins investigating his suspicious death. A few hours later, Jessica learns about Frank’s death and his possession of the same list she received the prior day. Swanson devotes short, successive chapters of the book to introducing his characters and describing their respective receipt of the list. Some of them simply toss the list into the trash without giving it another thought, convinced it is just junk mail, while others immediately begin searching for any available clues about its significance. Swanson details Jessica’s contact with or efforts to make contact with them in an attempt to piece together any possible connections. Some characters are immediately more sympathetic than others. Caroline Geddes, the lonely, unattached professor who lives alone with her cats in a two-bedroom cottage in Ann Arbor, immediately thinks, “It’s a list of death. Someone has marked us for death,” just as she thinks every telephone call will bring news of a tragedy. She allows for “personal interpretations of literary works” in her own life. But then there’s Jay Coates, a would-be actor going to auditions and callbacks in Hollywood, but having little success in the entertainment industry. He is jealous and spiteful about his friend’s success, and stalks random women, fantasizing about abusing or killing them.

Arthur Kruse’s name rings a bell with Jessica. She seems to remember that her father, Gary, had a friend named Art Kruse whose lake house he visited. Arthur is still mourning his husband, Richard, and has had no relationship with his father since Art rejected him when Arthur came out. Even so, she asks Arthur to question his father about that tenuous connection. Jessica has a very personal stake in the outcome of the case, obviously, and works to learn more about Frank Hopkins and identify each person listed. The Windward Resort also sounds vaguely familiar to her, perhaps because her family vacationed on the southern coast of Maine when she was thirteen years old.

The recipients of the list also search for any connection they might have to the others. Ethan and Caroline can only discern that their grandparents came from the Boston area, but they strike up a friendship born of the presence of their names on the list, as well as their mutual love of the works of a particular poet. For Caroline, it is exciting and breaks up the monotony of her solitary existence and Ethan finds himself drawn to Caroline, as well. They soon make ill-fated plans to meet.

When the second murder occurs, it is no longer possible to write the list off as a coincidence. Rather, Jessica likens it to the morning of September 11. “I remember watching the news after the first plane hit, and the world just thought it was a terrible accident. Then the second plane hit, and everything changed.” She and her supervisor agree that the second murder is the equivalent of that second plane, and it is time for the FBI to provide protection to everyone on the list. But one by one, the nine continue dying, their deaths coming about in distinct and sometimes horrific ways, despite the security measures employed. Sam and Jessica proceed with their investigations, and Sam also becomes convinced that there is nothing accidental or coincidental about the order in which the deaths are occurring. Frank received the list first and was the first to die, and Sam suspects that finding out about his past is crucial to solving the crimes. Sam turns to his grandmother’s collection of Agatha Christie books, and recalls reading And Then there Were None with its original, racist title as a child. He still has that valuable edition of the book that he re-reads yet again, convinced that Frank Hopkins and the other “unlucky souls” on the list somehow resemble the characters and plot of that novel.

At one point, Swanson injects an anonymous hit man into the mix, further complicating matters with a pulse-pounding game of cat and mouse. But who hired him? And why?

Swanson’s telling of the story is meticulous and methodical. As it proceeds, the substance of his imaginative plot gradually comes into focus, and he reveals more details about his characters’ backgrounds and histories at expertly-timed junctures while he accelerates the story’s pace. He endears some characters to readers, making their inevitable demise nothing less than crushingly disappointing. Swanson returns to And Then There Were None as Sam closes in on the truth and the killer’s identity is revealed, along with the motive, via an old-fashioned, full explanation, delivered by the killer. It’s a description of a decades-long obsession with retribution and revenge in response to grievous behavior that resulted in unspeakable loss and a lifetime of guilt. The conclusion is satisfying, especially given that readers will most likely be unable to pull together all the threads of Swanson’s complex and intricate plot on their own.

Nine Lives is an entertaining and masterfully constructed homage to Christie’s original work that will keep readers guessing up to the very last chapter, and rewards them with a shocking but delightful ending.

Excerpt from Nine Lives

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 14, 5:13 P.M.

Jonathan Grant, unless he let her know ahead of time that he couldn’t make it, always visited on Wednesday evening. His wife had a standing “girls’ night out” on Wednesdays — occasionally in the city, but usually in New Jersey — so Jonathan would leave the office by five and be at Alison’s one-bedroom apartment in Gramercy Park by five-thirty at the latest.

Alison Horne was ready when the doorman buzzed up to let her know Jonathan was on his way.

She met him at the door, and he presented her with a bottle of Sancerre, a Bulgari scarf she didn’t think she’d ever wear, and that day’s mail that he’d picked up from the doorman. She started to flip through the mail, but he stopped her and led her to the bedroom. She was in a white satin robe—it was how he liked to be greeted—and she slid back onto her bed while he undressed. He looked great for a man in his early seventies, full head of hair, fairly trim, but the muscles in his chest and arms were beginning to sag. He slid next to her on the bed, already erect, and with the red mottled skin on his face and neck that was a telltale sign he’d taken some kind of ED pill as soon as he left the office. Sometimes he took it just after he arrived, in which case they’d drink the bottle of wine first while the pill kicked in.

Afterward, while Jonathan dozed, Alison took her second shower of the day, then dressed as though they were going to go out for dinner later, although that hadn’t been confirmed. She opened the wine and poured herself a glass, then looked through her mail. Two catalogues, an Amex bill, and an envelope with no return address. She opened it, curious, and pulled out a single folded sheet of paper, and stared at a list of names.

Matthew Beaumont Jay Coates Ethan Dart Caroline Geddes Frank Hopkins Alison Horne Arthur Kruse Jack Radebaugh Jessica Winslow

She frowned and pressed the sheet of paper flat onto the coffee table, telling herself that she’d show it to Jonathan. A shiver went over her skin, and she shook out her limbs to make it stop. There was something vaguely threatening about receiving a list of names with no explanation. It occurred to her that it just might have something to do with Jonathan, currently dozing in her bedroom. Although she knew relatively little about him, considering the time they spent together, she did know that he had a lot of money. And people who have money usually have enemies. It made her wonder if he would recognize any of the names on the list, besides hers.

He emerged from the bedroom fully dressed, accepted a glass of wine, then looked at the sheet of paper Alison handed to him. “This mean anything to you?” she asked. He shook his head.

“What is it?”

“I just got it, in the mail.”

“Was this all?”

“Yeah. Strange, huh?”

“Strange.”

He handed the list back to Alison. She asked: “We going to dinner?”

“I would if I could, but I got roped into dinner uptown with some hedge fund guys. Sorry, Al.”

She shrugged. When they’d first begun this relationship — a year and a half ago — she used to make a fuss when he had to leave her. She did it for him, mostly, till she realized that he didn’t need those kinds of reassurances. He was in it for the sex and the company, and she was in it for the money, and, she supposed, the sex. Before he left, he gave her a pre-paid Visa card, telling her it was an anniversary gift, in case she didn’t like the scarf.

“How much is on it?” she asked. Again, something she would never have asked when they were first together.

“I’ll let you be surprised. Don’t try to buy a car with it, though.”

After he left, Alison Horne called her best friend, Doug, and asked if he’d like to have dinner that night. On her.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 15, 10:05 A.M.

It was the most interesting piece of mail that Arthur Kruse, having just returned from physical therapy, received that morning.

He opened the envelope, not expecting anything of note, and was surprised to find a short list of names, including his. He didn’t recognize any of the other people on the list.

There were three hours in the day before Arthur was due for his shift as an oncology nurse at Cooley Dickinson Hospital in Northampton. He’d just begun reading A World Lit Only by Fire by William Manchester. Since reading A Distant Mirror over the summer, he’d found he didn’t want to leave the Middle Ages. Something about those past lives, the constant suffering, the search for God, acted as the only balm to Arthur’s state of mind since the car accident, nearly a year ago, that took the life of his husband, Richard, their cocker spaniel, Misty, and most of the function of Arthur’s left leg. He couldn’t quite believe it had been a whole year. Joan, his minister—and Arthur’s closest friend—told him it would be at least two years until he began to feel some semblance of normality, of happiness, of a return to his life, but Arthur wondered. The past endless year felt like it was just going to be repeated ad infinitum. Nothing helped. That wasn’t entirely true. Medieval history helped. He gingerly slid into his reading chair and picked up where he’d left off in Manchester’s book, not nearly as good as Tuchman’s. He read two pages, then drifted off, waking an hour before he had to be at the hospital.

His leg was always at its worst after midday napping, and he found himself limping to the kitchen to put on hot water for a cup of tea. While waiting for the water to boil, he looked out the window over his sink and caught a glimpse of the fox—the one he’d named Reynard—skirting the edge of his property. It was moving fast, and just before it ducked into the trees, it turned its head and Arthur thought he saw something—a small rodent maybe—in its jaws. It inexplicably made Arthur happy for the moment. The last time he’d seen Reynard he’d been worried about how skinny and ragged he looked.

The day was overcast, and the willow tree down by the brook had just begun to exhibit a yellowish cast. He drank the tea at his computer and thought of the list he’d gotten in the mail. What had it meant? Some strange automatic mailing, a computer screwing up somewhere in the middle of the country and sending out some random names. It was a possibility. Ever since Richard’s passing he’d taken to giving small amounts of money to multiple charities, ensuring that his name was on about a hundred different mailing lists, probably specified as an “easy touch.” That was okay. There were worse things to be, and getting mail was actually something he looked forward to. He’d been one of those children who sent away for catalogues just to receive them, until his father found out and put a stop to it.

He finished his tea, returned an email to Joan to let her know he was available to do the flowers for church that Sunday, and prepared to go to work.

Excerpted from Nine Lives by Peter Swanson. Copyright © 2022 by Peter Swanson. Excerpted courtesy of William Morrow, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. All rights reserved.

Disclosure of material connection: i received one electronic copy of nine lives free of charge from the author via net galley . i was not required to write a positive review in exchange for receipt of the book; rather, the opinions expressed in this review are my own. this disclosure complies with 16 code of federal regulations, part 255, “guides concerning the use of endorsements and testimonials in advertising.”, related posts.

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Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.

First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it?

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next…

I loved Nine Lives. Swanson's sharp and insightful characterization brought to life a fascinating premise. The whole resolution is beautifully worked out.” Ann Cleeves
Swanson neatly riffs on Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None in this taut thriller...Swanson makes the plotline plausible, despite radically transforming the setting from Christie’s isolated island with its closed circle of suspects, to the entire continental U.S. This is a well-crafted page-turner.” Publishers Weekly
Swanson again takes the idea of fiction as homage to deliriously vertiginous new heights. What seems initially to be a fairly straightforward take on Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None turns out to be much, much more...Naturally, there are many surprises in store for both readers and characters, and while the tension mounts deliciously as we wonder if there will be any survivors, the real fascination here is the explanation itself—and what it reveals about the cancerous effects of guilt and obsession. Old-school mystery, certainly, but delivered with a wonderful new-school sensibility.” Booklist

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Nine Lives: A Novel

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Peter Swanson

Nine Lives: A Novel Paperback – February 7, 2023

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“[A] smartly entertaining reimagining of Agatha Christie’s classic  And Then There Were None … Swanson cunningly plays with readers’ heads as we hope so-and-so gets it next.” —  Washington Post  

If you’re on the list, someone wants you dead.

From the  New York Times  bestselling author of  Eight Perfect Murders  comes the heart-pounding story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it—and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances.

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.

First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it?

FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next…

  • Print length 336 pages
  • Language English
  • Publisher William Morrow Paperbacks
  • Publication date February 7, 2023
  • Dimensions 5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
  • ISBN-10 0062980084
  • ISBN-13 978-0062980083
  • See all details

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Editorial Reviews

“The mysterious letters that arrive for the unlucky folks in Peter Swanson’s terrific Nine Lives are all identical… The plot is an ingenious puzzle… Forget trying to solve the mystery yourself. But be aware that if you look closely, you may spot the murderer… hiding in plain sight.” — New York Times Book Review

“[A] smartly entertaining reimagining of Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None … Swanson cunningly plays with readers’ heads as we hope so-and-so gets it next… In addition to the suspense — who’s doing this, and why? — there’s lots of literary wit.” — Washington Post on Nine Lives

“Swanson honors genre traditions by arousing expectations only to subvert them—and then subvert them again. Some of the surprises are so unexpected, readers may be doing mental backflips to keep up. The author of Nine Lives has surpassed his own high standards.” — Wall Street Journal

“Swanson again takes the idea of fiction as homage to deliriously vertiginous new heights… While the tension mounts deliciously as we wonder if there will be any survivors, the real fascination here is the explanation itself—and what it reveals about the cancerous effects of guilt and obsession.” — Booklist (starred review)

“Swanson ( Every Vow You Break ) neatly riffs on Agatha Christie’s classic  And Then There Were None  in this taut thriller… [A] well-crafted page-turner.” — Publishers Weekly

“I loved Nine Lives . Swanson's sharp and insightful characterization brought to life a fascinating premise. The whole resolution is beautifully worked out.” — Ann Cleeves, author of The Heron’s Cry

“With economical strokes of his pen, Peter Swanson presents us with a clever homage to the Golden Age of Mystery and keeps us guessing right to the end.”  — Peter May, author of The Blackhouse

“Gosh, Nine Lives is good. Incredibly so." — Winnipeg Free Press

“Swanson is emerging as the king of the classic mystery revival. His last two books, Every Vow You Break and Eight Perfect Murders , were deservedly bestsellers and received many awards… Nine Lives lives up to all that and more. This is his best book yet. The premise is near perfection.” — Globe and Mail (Toronto)

“[Swanson] has earned a reputation for ingenious plotting and a clear, precise writing style — and “Nine Lives” is no exception. And this time, he tells readers just enough about the lives of the nine people on the hit list to make readers care what happens to them.” — Associated Press

“Swanson creates a rollercoaster for readers.” — BookPage

“Echoes of Agatha Christie reverberate through  Nine Lives  as Peter Swanson… brings a fresh, contemporary approach to the classic  And Then There Were None . [Swanson’s] intense storytelling energizes  Nine Lives.  Swanson delivers a surprising but believable resolution that ties together all the characters in this solid thriller.” — Shelf Awareness

“Peter Swanson is one of my go-to authors, and he keeps getting better with each new book he writes. His latest effort, Nine Lives , is no exception. Not only is it a terrific mystery/thriller that keeps you guessing right up until the last page, it just happens to be inspired by one of my all-time favorite novels: Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None .” — Bookreporter.com

“Swanson alternates points of view with alacrity, unleashing a varied and vibrant ensemble…Peter Swanson is the king of the high concept thriller, and  Nine Lives  marks yet another ambitious addition to his collected works. An ode to Agatha Christie’s classic  And Then There Were None , it expands on her premise by moving the killing grounds from an insular island setting to America at large.” — CriminalElement.com

"‘Deliciously ingenious… With twist upon twist, and false clue upon false clue, this is superb, elegant crime writing with more than a nod to the genre’s past.’" — Daily Mail (UK)

“Diving into the plot of a Peter Swanson novel is rather like getting involved, if not quite in a game of chess, then in a particularly sharp game of checkers. Swanson’s earlier bestselling “Eight Perfect Murders” qualified as a solid book of this type. “Nine Lives” is even better.”  — Toronto Star

“Hitchcockian chills and thrills abound in Swanson's latest mystery, a twisty tale of survival and deception. "  — O, the Oprah Magazine on Every Vow You Break

“Swanson specializes in writing mesmerizing thrillers that subvert readers’ expectations. The author works his particular magic once again with  Every Vow You Break … Swanson’s shape-shifting saga is reminiscent, by turns, of such foreboding films as Vertigo [and] Fatal Attraction .” — Wall Street Journal

“Just when we think we have an idea of what Abigail is up against, Swanson pulls the rug away from under us. Strange events give way to sinister revelations... The last act cranks up tension to the breaking point. Sit back, suspend all disbelief, and watch those pages fly by.” — Minneapolis Star Tribune on Every Vow You Break

“With mounting tension and fraying nerves, it careens to the final stunning conclusion. A true tour de force.” — Lisa Gardner on Eight Perfect Murders

“ Eight Perfect Murders  creates expectations it then subverts, presents suspects only to eliminate them, and in general has its own way with the tropes of the mystery thriller—including that genre mainstay, the unreliable narrator.” — Wall Street Journal

“A devious whodunit” — New York Times Book Review on Eight Perfect Murders

“In Peter Swanson’s expert hands, one woman’s discerning observation at a quiet suburban dinner party unfolds into a gripping, twisty, psychologically complex thriller. I could not put it down.” — Alafair Burke on Before She Knew Him

“A fun read, full of switchbacks and double crosses… With classic misdirection, Swanson distracts us from the details - changing up murderers and victims fast enough to keep us reading. And, implausibly, rooting for the cold-blooded killer at this thriller’s core.” — Boston Globe on The Kind Worth Killing

“Chilling and hypnotically suspenseful … could be an instant classic.” — Lee Child on The Kind Worth Killing

The Kind Worth Killing is not your ordinary murder mystery; it is an extraordinarily well-written tale of deceit and revenge told by a very gifted writer. Peter Swanson takes us on a harrowing journey through the hearts and minds of a cast of characters who seem normal on the outside, but are deliciously abnormal on the inside. The twists are not just in the plot; they are also in the heads of the plotters.” — Nelson DeMille

About the Author

Peter Swanson is the New York Times bestselling author of  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  Eight Perfect Murders,  a New York Times bestseller, among others. 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 on the North Shore of Massachusetts, where he is at work on his next novel.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (February 7, 2023)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 336 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0062980084
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0062980083
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 9.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.31 x 0.76 x 8 inches
  • #4,173 in Women Sleuths (Books)
  • #6,513 in Literary Fiction (Books)
  • #8,952 in Suspense Thrillers

About the author

Peter swanson.

Peter Swanson is the author of nine novels, including The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award, and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, and Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year. 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.

A graduate of Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, he lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts with his wife and cat.

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COMMENTS

  1. Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke - until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood ...

  2. Book Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    Peter Swanson is the king of the high concept thriller, and Nine Lives marks yet another ambitious addition to his collected works. An ode to Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None, it expands on her premise by moving the killing grounds from an insular island setting to America at large. Sure, there are some improbabilities, but ...

  3. Book review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    Peter Swanson's new mystery, Nine Lives, provides a perfect example of this sentiment as it doles out a series of inexplicable murders. Nine individuals, ranging from an actor to a professor, from a father to a nurse, receive a cryptic one-page letter in the mail containing a list of their names. None of the people on the list are familiar ...

  4. Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson. Publisher: William Morrow. Published: March 15, 2022. Source: Netgalley via Publisher. Summary: The story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it - and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances. Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail.

  5. Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    Undoubtedly one of my favourite books of 2022 so far, and highly recommended for fans of Peter Swanson's previous thrillers, fans of classic mysteries, and readers looking for an outstanding page-turner to get sucked in to. Nine Lives is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore.

  6. Nine Lives

    by Peter Swanson. Publication Date: February 7, 2023. Genres: Fiction, Mystery, Suspense, Thriller. Paperback: 336 pages. Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks. ISBN-10: 0062980084. ISBN-13: 9780062980083. Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. None of them know or have ever met the others on the list.

  7. Review: 'Nine Lives,' by Peter Swanson

    Swanson might struggle a bit with the drama — if everyone is dead, where's the tension? — but there's enough mystery to keep you reading. And if you know the Christie novel, you'll enjoy ...

  8. Nine Lives by Peter Swanson: An outstanding crime read

    As always, Swanson challenges his readers with a scattering of clues which help to make the plot not just more vaguely plausible but an entertaining ride as the clock ticks down and those of us ...

  9. Book Marks reviews of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    With his seven previous mysteries, the author has earned a reputation for ingenious plotting and a clear, precise writing style — and Nine Lives is no exception. And this time, he tells readers just enough about the lives of the nine people on the hit list to make readers care what happens to them. Peter Swanson knows how to keep a captive ...

  10. Nine Lives by Peter Swanson (Review by Stacie Kitchen)

    Rating: 4.5/5 ⭐. Ah Peter Swanson…he makes my heart happy. In his latest thriller, Nine Lives, Swanson gets back to what I love about him the most, his nail-biting suspense.As in Eight Perfect Murders, Swanson interweaves classic mysteries into this novel.There is a touch of the familiar mixed with new characters and scenarios that keep you on your toes and guessing for the whole book.

  11. Book Review

    Nine Lives tells the story of nine strangers who receive a mysterious letter with a list of names, including theirs. But they don't know the other names. One by one, the people on the list are being killed. Like the author's previous books, this one is fast-paced and made it hard for me to put down.

  12. Review of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    The book moves around and around among the POVs of all nine potential victims, plus Sam Hamilton, who is not on the list. I thought this approach had pros and cons. The pros were that Swanson was able to paint a little portrait of each of them. The con was that the narrative bounces around a lot and ends up being just one person being murdered ...

  13. Nine Lives: A Novel

    Peter Swanson is the author of seven 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; Before She Knew Him, and Eight Perfect Murders.His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov's Science Fiction ...

  14. NINE LIVES by Peter Swanson: Book Review

    An homage to And Then There Were None, with a bit of The List of Adrian Messenger added, describes Peter Swanson's latest thriller, Nine Lives.. Nine people, seemingly unknown to each other, receive an envelope with a single sheet of paper inside. On the paper is a list of their names in alphabetical order: Matthew Beaumont, Jay Coates, Ethan Dart, Caroline Geddes, Frank Hopkins, Alison ...

  15. All Book Marks reviews for Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    Swanson creates a rollercoaster for readers, offering clues only to upend everything that was supposedly certain moments earlier. And all the while, the number of remaining victims is counting down, from nine to zero. Peter Swanson is one of my go-to authors, and he keeps getting better with each new book he writes.

  16. Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

    Title: Nine Lives Author: Peter Swanson Genre: Mystery Publisher: Faber & Faber Publication Date: 1st March 2022 Rating: 4.5/5 Cover: Summary: If you're on the list you're marked for death...The envelope is unremarkable. There is no return address. It contains a single, folded, sheet of white paper.The envelope drops through the mail slot like any…

  17. Nine Lives: A Novel: Swanson, Peter: 9780062980076: Amazon.com: Books

    Nine Lives: A Novel. Hardcover - March 15, 2022. by Peter Swanson (Author) 4.1 4,267 ratings. Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. See all formats and editions. " [A] smartly entertaining reimagining of Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None….

  18. Mysteries: The Pleasure of a Puzzling Tale

    At the start of Peter Swanson's thriller "Nine Lives," a nonet of strangers, from California to Michigan to New York, receive identical messages: a list of nine names, their own included ...

  19. Book Review: Nine Lives

    Book Review: Nine Lives. Synopsis: If you're on the list, someone wants you dead. ... Review: Author Peter Swanson. Peter Swanson is the New York Times bestselling author of eight novels, including The Kind Worth Killing and Her Every Fear, which have been translated into more than thirty languages. In addition, his stories, poetry, and ...

  20. Peter Swanson

    None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood ...

  21. Nine Lives: A Novel: Swanson, Peter: 9780063210998: Amazon.com: Books

    Nine Lives: A Novel. Paperback - Large Print, March 15, 2022. by Peter Swanson (Author) 4.1 4,283 ratings. Editors' pick Best Mystery, Thriller & Suspense. See all formats and editions. " [A] smartly entertaining reimagining of Agatha Christie's classic And Then There Were None….

  22. Nine Lives Ebook by Peter Swanson

    ebook. ratings. (31) by Peter Swanson. A Novel. From the New York Times bestselling author of Eight Perfect Murders comes the heart-pounding story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it-and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances. Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail.

  23. Nine Lives: A Novel: Swanson, Peter: 9780062980083: Amazon.com: Books

    "Echoes of Agatha Christie reverberate through Nine Lives as Peter Swanson ... "A devious whodunit" — New York Times Book Review on Eight Perfect Murders "In Peter Swanson's expert hands, one woman's discerning observation at a quiet suburban dinner party unfolds into a gripping, twisty, psychologically complex thriller. ...