The story drew me in from beginning to end, keeping me entertained and guessing throughout. The twists didn't feel forced, the story flowed nicely and the characters were intriguing.

This man is one of the most brilliant authors.
This is one of the few books that I want to read over and over again.
It has the most amazing twist in the later stages of the book which comes as a complete surprise.
Excellent book

As always with Peter Swanson, we have another thrilling and fast paced book. He is great at making you think one thing is happening and that you know the outcome and then bam out of no where... plot twist after plot twist. Did not see this ending coming at all and was truly happy with the ending which isn’t always the case with thrillers but he comes back with another great book again!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an advance ARC in return for an honest review.

Hen (short for Henrietta) and Lloyd move to the suburbs and meet their neighbours Matthew and Mira. On the tour of the house Hen notices an object (a fencing trophy) belonging to a young man who was killed two years ago. Hen appears to have a fascination for unsolved murders and her mind goes into overdrive. What is her neighbour Matthew hiding?

The novel does not take the usual Psycho Killer approach though, as Matthew certainly doesn’t hide the fact from Hen that he is a psychopathic murderer. He is comfortable in the knowledge that Hen can do little about it, especially due to a history of mental illness, and false accusations. This makes a very fast plot line told from both Matthews and Hens point of view.

Matthews brother comes on the scene, and he is as psychopathic as Matthew, and the pair of them go rampaging through the town.

Though not together.

With Hen helpless to do anything about it. This aspect I loved, Hen is terrified, and isolated in her knowledge of what exactly goes on in Matthews mind. Matthew on the other hand is attractive and charismatic which makes him very believable as the “man next door”.

Then the book goes over the edge with Matthew’s psychopathic mind and goes hurtling to the end. Leaving Hen to pause for reflection in her studio with an ending that sent chills up my spine, and my hackles on edge.

This for me was a hidden gem that I definitely recommend. The only thing for me though is the title – I don’t know if it’s before Hen knew Matthew, or before Mira knew Matthew, or before Hen knew her husband Lloyd, or if it was someone else completely.

Peter Swanson is an author you can depend on. I had picked up the "twist" from the beginning and yet the story wasn't ruined in any way. in fact it made it even creepier. 5 stars from me.

An unusual friendship is the feature of this dark domestic noir and psychological thriller. It is between a serial killer and his next door neighbour, who is bipolar and therefore unreliable. So when she tells the police that her neighbour murdered a local singer, no one believes her.

It is a rather ridiculous premise, plus the idea that mental illness and childhood experience shapes events to such a degree. However, this book is a fairly easy read. It is told from five points of view, but mainly the two central characters. None of them are likable so there's nobody to root for, which is a pity, as there is no suspense and at times the story is quite mundane.

Sadly, the big twist at the end - I had already guessed, much earlier.

A little too long but not a unpleasant read.

#BeforeSheKnewHim #NetGalley

Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson is a brilliant read that had me completely and utterly engrossed from the first page. The novel unsettles the reader from the very start, and this delicious uneasiness does not loosen its grip until long after the shocking conclusion.

When Hen and Lloyd Mazur move to a new neighbourhood, they soon meet Mira and Matthew Delamore, and the two couples seem to have something in common, being the only childless couples on the street. When Mira and Matthew host a dinner for their new neighbours, Hen is stunned to discover a fencing trophy in Matthew's study, which she is certain is linked to the homicide of Dustin Miller, a case which she has been following. Hen, we learn, has previously been under psychiatric care relating to bipolar disorder, so her reliability is immediately called into question. As Hen doggedly pursues her investigation of Matthew, the dark secrets of both the pursued and the pursuer begin to emerge. Who, in fact, poses the greatest danger in this terrifying and twisted game of cat and mouse?

This was the first novel by Peter Swanson that I have read, and it will certainly not be the last. This is an addictive and compelling read that will give you goosebumps. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for this fabulous ARC.

This was brilliant, really hooked me right from the beginning.
It’s a slightly different kind of thriller than I’m used to as we know all the players right from the start, we know who the bad guy is and what he has done and what he plans to do. I was reading it wondering where it could go as so much is divulged right from the start but trust me it really takes you by surprise. I did not see the end coming at all. I found myself going through everything I’d just read to see if there had been any clues and there wasn’t. It was so well done. It’s been a while since I’ve been taken by surprise like this and that for me gets it five stars!
Hen is a loose cannon because of her bipolar and makes her really intriguing, is everything that is happening, really happening? Or is she having a manic episode and taking us, the readers, along for the ride? I loved the idea of her artwork and would love to actually see some. I liked the detail it went into of the processes that she deployed to create her masterpieces. The detail wasn’t over the top, though, so you aren’t trudging through lots of description. It was just the right amount interspersed with the story.
The bad guy, for a murderer, is really likeable. I don’t know why, but I was rooting for him, and that’s crazy, he’s the bad guy. He just seemed so genuine in his reasons and what he was doing.
The story develops quite slowly but at enough of a pace that keeps you turning the page to see where this will end. Overall, an excellent read that went by so fast it was really gripping!

I love Peter Swanson's work and I have loved all of his novels so far. I did enjoy this one, but in my personal opinion, I found the ending to be a bit far fetched for me, but that is not to say that I didnt enjoy the novel.

The novel has all the makings of a great psychological thriller, it is suspenseful and I wanted to read it and find out what happened.

I will look for more of Peter Swanson's work in the future.

Thanks netgalley and publishers formthsi advanced copy
I like this author and believe I’ve read nearly all of his.
This is a story that has a fairly good concept ,I liked fact for once wasn’t a case of Is he isn’t he a murderer ,is she is she not paranoid or unwell .
This we know within the first few pages
Then I wondered if this was going to be a cat and mouse game
Nooe this was interesting due to the fact that they sorta both recognise they need one another ,him to off load and share his actions ,reasons etc and her to be believed .
I wanted more of other conversations ,their relationship to maybe grow , I had my own ideas where this could go ,however it kind of whent by very quickly and I wanted deeper levels
We were introduced to the idea of them meeting and then seemed like two scenes later bam the twist bam the end .
At times I thought it was written a,little bit clunking but that sort of makes sense in a way as maybe he cdnt truly expand for giving the game away but with more time maybe we dv have had a very deeper layered psychological novel that was deeply gripping ,just felt a but underdone ,and quick.
I didn’t get the twist and I’m very surprised I didn’t !? Like was a real why did I not get that moment ?.yes been done before but hey still enjoyable ride and I will read this author again
He has real potential but can go either way ,always ok just would like him to get to great

Before She Knew Him is a classic psychological thriller, where nothing is as it seems and nobody is completely truthful. Dark, well-written, with great characters and plenty of surprises this book has everything that the fans of the genre can expect and hope for. I, personally, can't wait for Peter Swanson's next book.
Many thanks to Netgalley and publishers Fabrer & Faber for the advance copy.

BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM is a brilliant psychological thriller by bestselling author Peter Swanson. His previous outstanding novels include THE KIND WORTH KILLING and HER EVERY FEAR. I was really looking forward to reading this book. I have to admit this is the second book I have read by this author, but I have his debut book “The Kind Worth Killing”, still to read.

Hen (short for Henrietta) and her husband Lloyd have moved to West Dartford, a suburb outside of Boston, Massachusetts. Hen (short for Henrietta) is a children’s book illustrator and works out of a studio nearby. She suffers from bipolar disorder, but being on the right medication, allows her to be in control of her life. Lloyd commutes to Boston for his job in public relations.

Hen and her husband, Lloyd are invited to a neighborhood block party. Hen isn’t really interested in going but Hen agrees to go as a favor to her husband.

But when they meet the neighbors next door, Matthew and Mira, that calm begins to erode as Hen 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, Dustin Miller, 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.

Matthew teaches at Sussex Hall, a private high school, where Dustin Miller went to high school.

Is her next-door neighbor, Matthew, a killer? Or is this the beginning of another psychotic episode like the one she suffered back in college.

Hen is obsessed with finding out the truth…and confirming her theories. She starts following Matthew and observing his activity. She suspects he is up to something! No one believes her. And he is watching her…Will she be able to escape this terrible nightmare?

I loved this book and couldn’t put it down! A gripping plot with outstanding well-developed characters, and twists and turns to hold your attention to a shocking ending.

Many thanks to the author, Faber & Faber via NetGalley for my digital copy.

Many thanks to NetGalley, Faber and Faber and Peter Swanson for an ARC in exchange for an honest review. My opinions are 100% my own and independent of receiving an advance copy.

What we have here is a good old fashioned psychological thriller that finally lives up to the hype. I’m late in the game for Peter Swanson books but now that I have read this one, I’m checking out all his other books. Wow, can he write. Great characters, clear storyline with lots of surprises and a build up of suspense that propels you forward until the end. You almost want to slow it down, draw it out because even though you want to know what happens, you don’t want it to be over.

There are lots of places you can read a recap of the story, and they do a much better job than I would be able to do so please go and check those out. I’m just going to lay it out a bit differently. You have the main character Hen. She is an artist who makes really creepy art, which ties in with her fascination with death and all things morbid. She also happens to be bi-polar and has, in the past, experienced manic episodes. Once she ended up hospitalized after she became obsessed with a neighbourhood boy’s murder. With her meds corrected and a move to a new area, she and her husband, Lloyd, are looking for a fresh start. I didn’t much care for Lloyd’s character, his personality didn’t seem to stand out one way or the other. He seems to be this perennial nice guy, that does everything right, supportive, loves his wife and has stood by her through her mental health issues. Then you have their neighbours, Mira and Matthew. Mira seems a little desperate to make friends, a little uncomfortable with her husband, and a lot insecure. Matthew is the other main character and Hen suspects him to be a murderer. We get to learn a lot about Matthew and what makes him tick.

So, there were at least a couple of times that I though I had this story figured out. At first I almost didn’t finish it because I thought “Uch - here is one of those books where Hen will slowly descend into crazyville, no one will believe her because of her past, the murderer will play mind games with her and it will take the whole book to figure out that either Matthew or Mira is the murderer. But just when you think you have this book figured out, zup, left turn. Swanson takes us in a new direction. I so appreciated being kept on my toes. I figured out the last twist but it didn’t detract from the experience. It was dark, scary and thrilling. I found the main characters fully realized and complex and you get a sense of them as a whole person.

As any good psychological thriller should, there was lots of suspense and fast paced action to keep you interested right to the end. Do yourself a favour and pick this one up. It is a really great read and something a little different than the normal fare, which is so refreshing. I really enjoyed it.

Full of suspense and definitely with a different twist from a regular thriller. The plot carried me through and kept me engaged from beginning to end.

WOW. What a dark twisted story with weird, crazy characters. I did not want expect the turn the ending took.
If you love thrillers this book is right up your alley.
This is my first book from this author and it will not be my last.
Thank you netgalley, the publisher and Peter Swanson.
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Brilliant. Full of suspense and gripping from the start. I did not see the twist coming. This is a very well written story that will keep you on the edge of your seat the whole way through.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I’m going to make this short and sweet because I hate reading long reviews. This was an interesting read, but not one of the best thrillers that I have come across lately. However, it was enjoyable. I was excited to begin this novel because I really like this author, but I feel like it’s missing something. To be quite honest, I only finished it a week ago and I’m having trouble remembering some of this novel. I’m a little disappointed because I think Peter Swanson is a very talented author, and because of that I was hoping for more.

I had high expectations for this but I was quite let down. There wasn't anything particularly wrong with it but it just wasn't anything special.

You follow two couples living next door to each other. Mira and Matthew invite Hen and Loyld over for dinner and its then on a tour of the house that Hen saw something which bought up something uncomfortable from the past.

I didn't really like any of the characters and the plot wasn't very interesting. There were points in this book where there wasn't anything compelling me to read on.

However, saying that I really liked the writing style. It was a very quick and fast paced ending.

Hen has bipolar disorder although I don't think the representation was particularly good, it was just okay.

Even though I didn't see the ending coming it didn't blow me away. It wasn't something I wouldn't expect to happen.

Overall, it was an okay thriller

Thank you net galley for the arc

This psychological thriller was a real page turner. I really enjoyed reading this book, I have read all books by this author so I was expecting it to be a 5 star.. the twist at the end you didn’t expect at all. The characters were interesting especially Matthew. I couldn’t put this one down. I will definitely recommend this to anyone that likes reading this genre.. excellent
Thank you netgalley

Before She Knew Him is the latest release from a favourite author of mine, Peter Swanson, and was published by Faber Books on 7th March 2019.  I received a free ARC of this book which has in no way influenced my review.

Peter Swanson is a must read author for me.  If you haven't read The Kind Worth Killing then you're really missing out.  It's one of the books I recommend ALL the time when asked.  Swanson's other books are equally as good.  Check out my reviews for Her Every Fear and All The Beautiful Lies by clicking the links.  When I heard Faber & Faber were about to publish Before She Knew Him I dropped everything else I had scheduled to read it!

Before She Knew Him is another example of what a master Swanson is at writing characters.  The book is all about Henrietta (or Hen to absolutely everyone) and her new neighbour, Matthew.  Both characters have 'something' about them which immediately intrigued me.  I wanted to know what was going to happen, what their story was going to be.  Being new to the neighbourhood Hen and her husband Lloyd attend a block party where it is plainly obvious that they are unlike their new neighbours.  They don't have children whereas everyone else does.  There is one other childless couple present at the party though; Matthew and Mina.  Mina invites Hen and Lloyd to dinner one evening and feeling obliged, they go.  Whilst on a tour of the Dolamore's house Hen sees something which takes her breath away.  She knows Matthew's deep dark secret...

Before She Knew Him is a wonderful slow burn of a novel which held my attention from beginning to end.  I felt invested in the characters.  I liked Hen's obsession with the morbid and macabre, how events in her past made her the perfect unreliable narrator.  I liked how polished Matthew's character was and his ability to justify his secret dark side.  I also thoroughly enjoyed how convinced I was by the story.  There is one particular twist in the story which made me gasp out loud.  Before She Knew Him was a very satisfying read.

Would I recommend this book?  I would if you're after a psychological thriller that is chock full of suspense with really interesting characters.  You won't necessarily like them but oh boy, you'll want to see their story through to the end.  An intriguing page-turner of a plot where the characters are everything.  Another blinder from a brilliant author and I can't wait to see what Swanson has for us readers next.

I chose to read and review an ARC of Before She Knew Him.  The above review is my own unbiased opinion.