Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

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.

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....

Kobo Edition, 320 pages

Published March 15, 2022

 by William Morrow

2.5/5 stars

This is my first time reading a Peter Swanson book, it had quite the buzz on IG where I caved to peer pressure and grabbed a copy via CloudLibrary.

As the title implies this book starts with 9 people being introduced. With a digital copy it’s hard to flip back pages for a refresher on who’s who. I wish I’d kept a cheat sheet.

This is a murder mystery with some unsavoury characters and no clue what was going on. The story at times goes off in tangents that just aren’t relevant to the story - almost like filler. I was bored at times, even contemplating dnf'ing, but being somewhat curious I continued.  While the story was slow paced, the chapters were short and it turned into a quick read.

Part of my problem was there really wasn't any main characters that played central to this story, no one to rely on, which I think might have held this together. The investigation to these crimes lacked and honestly the big reveal came a little too late for me. Maybe if the back story was dispersed throughout the book that would have brought about of a more satisfying end for me.

Like I said this is my first Swanson book, I might try another one or I might not.  I'm not in any big hurry at the moment.