The Kind Worth Killing is one of my favorite books. I was extremely excited to read an ARC of Peter Swanson's newest book, but unfortunately I found it almost painful to read. I had zero interest in Thom & Wendy who are both awful characters. I pushed myself to keep prodding forward waiting for it to get better.

Peter Swanson knocked this one out of the park! I loved the roller coaster of the plot with the twists and turns. Similar to his ‘Kind Worth Killing’ series, this book is based in New England and makes it all the more relatable as I’m a native Mainer. Navigating the plot as it was told in reverse was a fun switch up to the normal thriller.

Thank you to #netgalley and #peterswanson for sharing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I haven't been a fan of Swanson since TKWK but he is back with his newest! Told backwards, I didn't know what to expect but LOVED the unique storytelling.

Peter Swanson has been an immediate go-to author for me through the years. I have always enjoyed his books. I was thrilled to be approved for this. I dove right in. I just wasn't connecting with this book like I did with his others. I think the reverse storyline and me just didn't mesh. I still love his writing, and will definitely continue to read his future novels.

Amazing book and so twisty. I enjoyed seeing the downfalls and why this marriage had taken its toll. The timeline was easy to adjust to

I liked the way this was written in reverse order but found the ending to be a little anticlimactic! I do like his writing style though

This is such a unique twist on the classic murder mystery--the story is told in a reverse timeline, and I couldn't put it down! Wendy and Thom are 50-something academics who have been married for over 25 years, and their marriage is feeling the strain of their shared history. Their relationship has gotten so stale, in fact, that Wendy thinks she just might like to murder her husband. She decides that the perfect place to commit the act is the spot where they shared their first kiss, many decades ago. Each chapter goes back in time to an important event in the couple's shared history, revealing their many secrets. I loved the way everything tied together in the last chapter, and I had to reread the first chapter to confirm my suspicions about one of the characters. Highly recommended for fans of smart character studies--be sure to add this one to your summer reading list when it releases in June! Thanks to Netgalley, William Morrow, and author Peter Swanson for the librarian preview copy.

Man, every sub-3.5 GR review for this uses “slow burn” like it’s some sort of group project. Makes me remember why the only actual use for GR is to win ARCs. Though I won this one through Netgalley.

Anyway, Swanson’s hit or miss for me, but this is a hit. It’s constructed perfectly and assumes the reader is intelligent, always a risk when looking at places like GR, of course. The premise: In the present day, Wendy Graves, a middle-aged woman, has grown to resent her English professor husband, Thom, prone to affairs and blackout-level alcoholism. When she learns that he’s writing a mystery novel that might reveal dark secrets from their past, decides to kill him on a trip to Georgetown by pushing him down the famous Exorcist Steps, where they shared their first kiss forty years prior.

We then start going back in time, each chapter taking us to previous key points in Thom and Wendy’s lives, from the death of Thom’s boss to the birth of their son to the start of Thom’s first affair and further. Swanson doles out new information without ever making the earlier chapters feel like he was cheating, and getting both Thom and Wendy’s viewpoints on different issues (including secrets the other isn’t aware of) allows the revelations to come across organically. It’s only by the end of the novel — set on the night of that first kiss — that every secret is revealed, and the last paragraph does a brilliant job of actually resolving the book and letting you know what’s going to happen in the present day.

It helps that Thom and Wendy are genuinely interesting characters, and seeing how their love blossomed after knowing how things end adds a nice sense of irony to the telling of the story. A fun one-night read.

This was a really good book! I loved how the story went backwards in time to help convey where all of these feelings really stemmed from. I think it was well written, very thrilling, with lots of twists and turns!!!

Thank you to NetGalley, to the author, and to the publisher for this complimentary ARC in exchange for my honest review!!!

Really good but definitely had to pay attention. Kept reminding myself we were going in reverse. I love Peter Swanson, I’ll read anything of his and once again this didn’t disappoint. So unique! Thank you NetGalley for this Arc

Peter Swanson has done it again. He’s quickly become a must read for me, and this continues his streak. I love how he writes strong, cunning female characters and weak men. I also like how we get to witness the demise of this relationship. And that subtle twist ending!!!!!! I gasped!

3 stars.

The story of Thom and Wendy Groves is told in reverse. They’ve been married for twenty five years and live an erudite life in Massachusetts. They share Jason, their adult son and Wendy is a published poet while Thom teaches English literature at the local university. Oh, and Wendy wants to murder her husband.

Why? We go backward in time to find out and visit the couple’s important moments. A joint 50th birthday party, buying their home, Jason’s birth and then a singular event that results in thoughts of killing Thom.

“The happiest people are the ones who are able to forget their past. Don’t be sentimental about people.”

So, I get where Wendy is coming from. She’s a psychopath, sure, but I understand. Interesting book.

Kill Your Darlings is a twisted love story packed with supreme suspense and drama all unfolding in reverse, crafted superbly by Peter Swanson as one of a kind thriller.

What a diabolical story! Loved the change of pace with telling the story in reverse. I really enjoyed Wendy’s character arc and will read anything Swanson writes. 3.75 stars

I received a free eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I’m a sucker for a Peter Swanson mystery. I’d been saving this for a plane read, but it ended up being a snow day read instead. This time I did make damn sure it wasn’t secretly part of the continued dull adventures of Kimball and Kitner. And unless one of them made a cameo that I missed, I’m happy to say this is its own stand alone story.

I’m wavering between 3 and 4 stars for this one, because although I found it really entertaining and hard to put down, I can’t decide how much heavy lifting is being done just by the timeline shenanigans. Like…if this were a linear story, would it still be just as interesting? Or is the gimmick (the fact that it’s told in reverse) all there is? I’m not totally sure it’s worth it just for that reveal in the final line.

Our protagonists are a married couple - Thom and Wendy Graves. When we meet them, they’ve been together 25 years, and although they no longer seem particularly in love (or even to like each other that much), it’s hinted that there’s a Terrible Secret that binds them together, and it means that they're stuck with one another for good. The story progresses backwards through time, as we see Thom and Wendy’s relationship develop in reverse, and eventually the aforementioned Terrible Secret Which Binds Them. It’s nearly impossible to go into too much more detail without giving stuff away, but the story all felt very surface - like a treatment for a TV series rather than a fully fleshed out novel. Also both of these characters are kind of obnoxious. Wendy’s a bit of a sociopath (or at the very least seems to lack an empathy chip), and Thom is one of those annoying self-pitying sad sacks. I didn’t really feel much sympathy or empathy for either of them, and Swanson doesn’t do much to *build* any sympathy either. I can’t decide if that’s deliberate or if it’s just how he rolls. Like, there’s an opportunity to make us understand what Wendy went through with her first husband - what did she see in him in the first place, how did they get together? But we never get any of that. It’s almost like we’re just progressing from one death to another and any chapters that might have given us more character development got left in the cutting room…or were never written at all. But it’s an entertaining popcorn read, and that’s really all I’m looking for from this particular author!

Thank you for the opportunity to read this ARC - Peter Swanson has become an auto-buy and definitely doesn't disappoint with this latest offering. I enjoyed his lyrical prose and flew through this in just two sittings. Fascinating and non-formulaic as usual.

Well holy cow! What did I just read? And I loved it! Another fabulous book by this talented author. I look forward to each new book and love them and I loved this one too. I’m still smiling over that ending which was so unexpected and so brilliant.

The characters were so well written, pretty sure I didn’t like any of them which made the story even more fun. This was just a pure enjoyment, “watch the craziness of people and truly hope it’s all fiction” kind of book.

I recommend this book to lovers of good psychological suspense, and those in need of a take me out of my life moment and let me see the craziness of someone else’s life. This is exactly that book.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.

The format of this book was unique in that it starts in the present and works its way to the past. It ends with how Thom and Wendy met and started a relationship as kids on a field trip to D.C.

Thom and Wendy have both been hiding a secret that has cemented their relationship for years. Wendy, is diabolical character and I wondered what lead her to be the way she is. As you go back in time you see the things that happened and how she became the person she is at the beginning of the book.

This is a slow burn but I was hoping for more at the ending.

3 stars - I am a huge fan of author Peter Swanson's & have read every one of his books, however, "Kill Your Darlings" was a miss for me. While I liked the plot device of reverse chronological order, I just expected MORE and I did not. connect with either of the main characters, Thom & Wendy, who are awful, and was just not invested in the big secret, either, which was a let-down. It's also rather a slow burn, and I struggled at times to keep reading, though it did have it's moments here & there. It's cool though, not every book is for every reader and I'll still be following the author and eagerly waiting for his next thriller. My thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for the advance readers copy - I sincerely do appreciate the opportunity to review this title and author.

How did Wendy and Thom end up here? On the brink of falling apart. After everything they’ve been through? The two of them have kept a deep dark secret, for years, that has haunted Thom ever since. They say love conquers all, but I’m not so sure that’s the case here.

I have a love/hate with this book (mostly love). The story is told in reverse timeline order and it is actually incredible. I just wish I realized that’s what was happening sooner! It tells the story of how the couple first met, and how they would do anything to be together forever … but backwards. It’s wild to see how Swanson fits the pieces together for the reader. I could not get enough! DEFINITELY recommend this to anyone who enjoys his other work.