Interesting story, I loved the kill for me kill for you vibes but I also felt like it could’ve gone a tad deeper

I usually don’t like books told in reverse but Swanson has a knack for pulling you in.

Wendy and Thom have been married a good long while. They are middle school sweethearts that went their own separate ways for awhile, but found their way back to each other. They have a grown son and are navigating life together as they age. Thom still loves Wendy, but he has affairs. Wendy still loves Thom, but she wants to murder him.

This story told from the end to the beginning unfolds in a way that explains the events that unfolded years before that lead to a dead Thom. So…this book was good. It was fine. I want to love Peter Swanson books because so many of my book lover friends just rave about him. However. Every time I read one of his books, there is just a little something missing that makes me not love it. This was the same. I’m not sorry I read it, but it just came up short for me.

Love the idea of this one…reading the story in reverse but I don’t know if I liked the characters enough! The story was interesting, just didn’t connect with the characters as much as I wanted too!

While I had a fun time with this read….give me an epilogue.

I needed way more closure at the end! I feel like there’s this entire huge aspect to the story that is just missing and I need to know what’s going on. Of course the journey was a fun one and I thought the way it was organized was unique and original. I enjoyed the book. But that end! Epilogue, please.

Thank you to the publisher for the gifted ARC

Peter Swanson does it again!! I loved this. I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about reverse chronological story telling but he made it work. I couldn’t put this one down. The ending got me too. Swanson is always a must read for me.

"From the New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders comes an inventive, utterly propulsive murder-mystery in reverse, tracing a marriage back in time to uncover the dark secret at its heart.

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well…except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom's marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple's lives - their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason's birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague - all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early twenties, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave."

Murder looming as trust frays? Oh yes.

This has a very unique premise in that the plot is told in reverse chronological order. I have only read one or two other books who followed this format and it creates an abundance of intrigue and suspense. The story centers around a couple who have been married for many years. The beginning of this alludes to an event that took place years ago but readers are not privy to this information until the very end. The plot held my interest but wasn't my favorite by this author. Nevertheless, I think fans will enjoy this because it is something different.

Kill Your Darlings- Peter Swanson
Pub Date - 6/10/25
Rating - 3/5
Thoughts - Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow for this gifted eadvanced reader copy in exchange for my honest review. Peter Swanson is one of my favorite crime fiction authors who never seizes to shock me with his books. This story is written backwards with the most recent chapter starting in 2023 and the book ending in 1984. It explores the relationship between Thom and Wendy who fell in love in the 8th grade, drifted apart for 7 years, and found their way back together. After over 20 years together, Wendy wants to kill Thom and the reason for his murder stems from their past.
What I liked:
- storytelling is done very well in classic Swanson style
- the uniqueness of telling the story backwards

What I didn't like:
- the chapters were LONG and I felt like I had to force myself to get through this book because parts of it DRAGGED
- when things were revealed, I had to go back to certain parts in the book where that character was first explained - the backwards telling confused me a little - maybe because my brain needed to learn to be told a story this way?
- there weren't....any real shockers in this - we were told what was going to happen, just explained how it happened in later chapters

Overall, it was okay. Not my favorite by this author.

I have loved everything I have read thus far by Peter Swanson. This was not my favorite. The book goes in a reverse timeline and while I like the concept, it was hard to remember little details that led to other things happening in the book.

This is the story of a marriage and a secret past shared by the unlikeable couple. Starting in the present, each chapter is further back in the past until secrets unravel. Interest way to tell a story..

In this darkly twisted tale, Thom and Wendy’s 25-year marriage is built on love, secrets and… murder. The author’s backward timeline of the chilling exploration of loyalty, betrayal, and the deadly price of secrets make this novel an easy read.

I have loved The Kind Worth Killing and Saving so I was so excited to get this one. However, I have to be honest. This one didn’t completely work for me. The beginning and ending were good and kept me going but the whole middle I spent bored and not wanting to pick up the book. While this one didn’t really work for me, I can definitely see how lots of people could love it!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for an eARC of this book in exchange for my honest review.

This was such a unique read.
It reads in reverse, so you experience the end at the beginning and the beginning at the end. I loved it.
The story is more of a slow burn suspense than a fast paced thriller.
Wendy Graves wants to kill her husband, Thom.
But their relationship wasn’t always this toxic. Or was it?
Swanson doesn’t disappoint. If you need something different and interesting, this is the one.

Peter Swanson’s stories are always awesome mental exercises in evil, lust and greed and Kill Your Darlings is no exception! With a reverse timeline the story becomes more and more bizarre. A captivating, thrilling read!

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this ARC.

"𝑺𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒆𝒄𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒆𝒆𝒑 𝒔𝒄𝒓𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒂𝒑𝒉 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒃𝒐𝒐𝒌, 𝒆𝒏𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒐 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝑻𝒉𝒐𝒎 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒘𝒓𝒊𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒐𝒎𝒆 𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒊𝒓 𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚, 𝒂 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒂𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒂𝒏𝒚𝒐𝒏𝒆. 𝑨 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒘𝒐𝒓𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘."

Special thanks to @petermswanson @williammorrow and @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

👉🏼 swipe for synopsis ➡️

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I find myself so confused, but very intrigued. Why are they the way they are and what secret do they refer to at the beginning.
[I probably should've read the synopsis instead of going in blind. But i wanted Peter to wow me, and he did. The back building was immense throughout this book.]
🔪 Lots of gas lighting
🔪 Marital murder plotting
🔪 Reverse multiple timelines

✨️I love the mention of Richard scarry books for Jason. Those were some of my favs as a kid. Super nostalgic moment for me.✨️

This one is a whirlwind of a messed up murder lol. Grab this one asap!

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
June 10, 2025

ℚ𝕆𝕋𝔻 ❓️⁉️❓️ If you wrote a book, what would it be about? What genre?

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#mysteryandthrills #thrillersandsuspense #thrillerfriendsunite #thrillerlover #thrilleraddict #thrillerjunkie #thrillergirlie #bookbuzz #upcomingthriller #peterswanson #williammorrow #killyourdarlings
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I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Kill Your Darlings.

I remember loving Peter Swanson's books when I was younger but this one fell kinda flat for me. The ending redeemed it but only marginally.

The last page tho 👀

This was really slow and dull for the most part, with no sparks or explosions. Nevertheless, it was quite an insightful and introspective look into marriage, relationships and how they change over time. I also enjoyed some of the ~deep~ conversations between Wendy and Thom, even though I didn't particularly warm up to either of them.

I forced myself to keep going and the book took me forever to finish, but have to say the ending was really worth it 👊

Thom and Wendy met in their budding years and have built a life together.

In this cleverly reversed timeline spanning from 2023-1982 we visit intimate moments, the key events that begin to braid dark ties that have twisted these two lovers into a relationship that becomes more like bondage than marriage.
I highly recommend this novel to those who enjoy crime fiction, flawed characters, and slow-burn psychological suspense.

I thank NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of Kill Your Darlings for my unbiased evaluation.  4 stars

Wendy and Thom have been married for 25 years and all seems good… except Wendy wants to murder her husband.

This is a very unique read. It’s a slow burn but you are invested to see why what happens in the first chapter happens. Because you know the ending up front you have some mini twists, but not any typical thrilling ones.

This story feels more like a character evolution told in reverse. Like how these pretty unlikeable characters turned out the way they did, which I thought was pretty interesting. And because of that and the story being told from their POV, all other characters aren’t evaluated or explored too much. Which also made it interesting, because it showed you that it seemed like they were only really invested in themselves.

It was almost sad towards the end seeing what their love story was like at the beginning. I also really liked the ending/the beginning and the full circle moment.

I enjoy Swanson’s writing and always appreciate that he is better at writing women characters more than most male authors I read. This one felt so different than his other books I’ve read, but I still enjoyed it.

Thanks to William Morrow and NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book!

We meet a long married couple Wendy and Tom whose marriage is hiding secrets. A story told in reverse as we learn more and more about how this couple came together and all that they have done together. A thrilling murder mystery with the truest sense of the literary term “kill your darlings”. Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Collins publishers for an advanced copy for an honest review.