Book Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

My Rating:

⭐⭐⭐

Nine individuals receive a list of nine names printed on a sheet of paper in the mail. One of the names on the list is their own and the remaining eight are names of random strangers - the present owner of a family-owned inn, an FBI agent, the mistress of a rich man, a struggling actor, a suburban dad, an English professor, a retired businessman, an oncology nurse and a singer-songwriter- two of whom are female and the remaining seven male, each of whom reside in different locations across the country and have no apparent connection, either personally or professionally.

Junk mail? Advertising gimmick? A harmless prank? Apparently not.

When one of the people on the list is murdered quickly followed by another, it becomes clear to FBI Agent Jessica Winslow (whose name also features on the list) that the list is essentially a hit list - every one of those nine people is marked to be murdered. The FBI tries to locate the remaining potential victims and provide protection which proves to be a difficult and time-consuming task with nothing to go on but their names. Even those who are identified and provided protection are not safe with a killer on the loose who will leave no stone unturned in finishing off his intended victims. Though the FBI is heading the investigation, Detective Sam Hamilton of Kennewick, Maine (the location where the first murder took place), who also knew the first victim, has some theories of his own which he diligently pursues.

Is there any connection between the victims? Is this the work of a serial killer? Will they be able to catch the perpetrator before he/she is successful in accomplishing what he/she has set out to do or will it be too late?

The narrative follows the potential victims and gives us a glimpse into their lives and how knowing they are on a killer's target list impacts them. With multiple PoVs (thankfully the chapters are short and concise) and an engaging narrative, though a bit disjointed between chapters, Peter Swanson’s Nine Lives is an interesting read. Chapter numbers in descending order was an effective narrative device. It is admirable when an author pays homage to another author especially one as prolific as the Queen of Crime, Dame Agatha Christie. However, even if you haven’t read the Christie novel mentioned in the narrative, in light of Detective Hamilton drawing parallels between the case and Christie’s works of fiction (more than once in the narrative) and using the plot points to unravel the mystery behind the murders and the identity of the suspect, much of the eventual reveal feels anti-climactic. Was it absolutely necessary to spoil the suspense for readers who are yet to read the Agatha Christie novel in question and considerably diminish the suspense in the present novel in the process?

What also bothered me was that despite the FBI taking over the investigation, there really isn't much mention of the FBI's investigative efforts directed towards catching the culprit beyond a certain point, with the narrative focusing mostly on the lives of the victims and the acts of murder. If you carefully follow the narrative from the very beginning, you'll notice some not-so-subtle hints that are very revealing, even before the first murder takes place. It wasn’t difficult to guess the identity of the culprit and the logic linking the murders was not quite convincing. This was my first Peter Swanson novel and while it has its merits, overall I found it to be an average read and a tad disappointing in the suspense department.

I won an ARC of this book in a Goodreads Giveaway and would like to thank the author and publisher for the opportunity to read and review the same . All opinions expressed in this review are my own.