Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an ARC of Kill Your Darlings.

Writing the book in reverse chronological order was an interesting change-up to the usual thriller formula, which I appreciate, but unfortunately it just didn't work for me. The story felt so clunky read backwards and what was supposed to be the big twist at the end (or was it the beginning?) felt underwhelming as a result. The main characters were deplorable and so many random things happened in the story for such a short book. Sadly, a miss for me.

2.5 stars

I've read four of Peter Swanson's other novels and a novella and he has consistently great books. When I saw he had another book out I was excited to read it, and it didn't disappoint! I'm nearly all the way through his back list and he has become an auto-read author for me. 5 stars!

Creative, unique, fresh, exciting, riveting. This book will blow you away. I was not ready for what's in store here. I don't want to give anything away. Just brace yourself.

KILL YOUR DARLINGS was a mind bender of a novel, working backwards in time and twisting the reader’s mind to put the pieces together. The plot was designed perfectly for this type of gimmick, it made sense in reverse order and the author did a great job laying the clues out. I did wish there was one final chapter or epilogue to take the reader back to present time, as there were a lot of unanswered questions yet to be resolved.

Thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review KILL YOUR DARLINGS.

I’m not quite sure how to read this book. I wanted to love it because of the author Peter Swanson is amazing, but at the same time this was also book that I have yet to be sure about. It was written in a manner that I can’t quite convey. This book was insane in the fact that it was written backwards, and the last chapter was insanely creative. I really enjoyed the book but also I was so frazzled with it. Not sure how to have it come across. I rated it so high because I do love this author and it did intrigue me.

Thank you Netgalley and William Morrow or this crazy read!

I am a big fan of Peter Swanson;, but Kill Your Darlings left me with mixed feelings. Written in a reverse timeline, (think Memento) beginning at the tragic end of the long, somewhat arduous relationship of Thom and Wendy. It was a slow burn, but it kept my interest. Richly flawed characters and a well developed plot pulls the reader along, butI feel that this would draw a bigger audience as a movie or Netflix limited series.

I have enjoyed several earlier novels by Peter Swanson. Kill Your Darlings is not one of them. Written in a reverse Memento-style order, KYD tells the story of Thom and Wendy, a middle age married couple with a grown son. After an untimely incident at the end of chapter 2023, Swanson goes backwards, year by year, exploring the evil exploits of the New England couple.
Evil deeds, sordid affairs, and yes, even murder, line their history. But the story just isn’t very interesting.
Thank goodness it’s only a bit over 250 pages.
Kill your reading time with one of Swanson’s other, better novels. You’ll thank me in the future.

I love Peter Swanson and everything he writes but this one left me feeling unsatisfied. I think the premise was great but I don’t think the timeline fit quite right. It peaked very early on and fizzled out from there for me. I kept waiting for something else to happen. It does provide some great character development but don’t expect anything more than that. Overall, not a bad book but not my favorite from Peter.

I didn't love this book and found it to be repetitive. I also thought the timeline told in reverse took away from the overall story. The book centers on married couple Thom and Wendy, starting in the current state where they have been together for decades, and working back to when they met as teenagers. The beginning of the book alludes to a secret they are keeping and how each handles that differently, and the book is a slow burn to get back to the event that changed them.

Neither Thom nor Wendy was that likable of a character, and I often couldn't understand either one of their reasons for making decisions that they made (including one very big one!). I didn't think the character development was that great- maybe it is due to the reverse timeline, but I didn't see any growth in these characters over decades of time. There were also many unanswered questions, which I won't cover in detail here at risk of providing spoilers; I felt like there were some pretty major loose ends that weren't tied up. Though the book was a slow burn, I found that it moved at a faster clip in the 2nd half than it did in the first. I liked the twist on the very last page,

Overall, this wasn't really the book for me and I found it to be a bit of a slog at times. I did like the way the ending worked with the beginning, and thought the reverse timeline was unique, even if it wasn't necessarily super engaging for me. Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

WOW what an interesting concept. Reading a story in reverse. I'll admit, I was hooked from the beginning. You know that something happens, but then we are seeing the story in reverse chunks. It was all very intriguing and kept my attention. Also, knowing the story but watching it unfold - I didn't think I'd have confusing thoughts of the characters but my opinions changed while we went back.

3.5🌟
I’m so conflicted!
I am a devoted fan of Peter Swanson, but this latest left me confused and perhaps a bit disappointed.

Let me break it down…

What worked:
The premise. A long married couple who’ve been holding onto a secret for years. A secret they will be taking to their graves. Mind you, this is not a “happily” married couple. Over the years there’s been an excess of infidelity and drinking. What could have led up to put them in this unfortunate place in their lives?

What didn’t work:
Almost the entire story is told in reverse. It took me a while to get my brain to reverse course to where it began making sense. But in the end, each chapter felt repetitive.

The saving grace:
The ending! Bravo! Well done!🙌🏼

I know authors want to explore new directions, whether it be genres or in this case the format. Sometimes it works…in this case not as much.

Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow

This is a perfect book for a cozy afternoon or in my case a travel day. The characters are quirky and fun and the story is told in reverse order so you don’t really know who did it, what they did or why until the end.

This was an interesting take on a marriage gone wrong, told in backwards time, from the present when Wendy wants to get rid of her husband to their young romance at 14 yrs old, birthday twins. The unraveling is done subtly giving us little clues and most surprisingly the ordinariness of murder being a solution. the rewinding of ordinary people not being so ordinary after all. It is primarily a character study and is smart and done so quietly that you can miss the surprises. 4.5

3.5 stars If you’re the kind of person that reads the endings of books first, this is probably the perfect book for you. Unfortunately, I am not. I liked the beginning, and the end twists were interesting, but between 50-80% it really dragged for me. It felt like parts got repetitive. I also didn’t really like the main characters- they were awful people, but also kind of boring. I just wish the last chapter had returned to the present to wrap things up.

Thanks to NetGalley for my ARC

I don't have much to say about Kill Your Darlings. It was just okay. I didn't particularly care about the characters. Beginning the story at the end just felt gimmicky to me. I did have a good time with a couple of small reveals, but it's ultimately forgettable.

Peter Swanson does it again!

Kill Your Darlings is an incredible thriller. I have read all of Swanson's novels and Kill Your Darlings was so good!

A different type of format which I really enjoyed. The story starts at the end of the relationship of Wendy and her husband Thom.

The story takes place between 1982 and 2023. Yet, the story starts in 2023 and evolves backwards in time.

The characters are well developed, complex and flawed.

The end really surprised me, I mean blink and you'll miss it!

Highly recommend this incredible thriller!

I was lucky enough to receive an ARC from NetGalley for Peter Swanson's newest release.

This was a different format as it brought the reader from present to the past. It was a slow burn for me. Although I admire Peter Swanson, this was not my favorite.

Told in reverse, this book recounts the marriage of Thom and Wendy graves from its demise, to its beginning.
Though the story spans 30 years, it’s fast paced enough to stay interesting without losing its details.
A story of guilt, selfishness, and the things some people will do for love.
I absolutely loved the ending!

The story begins in 2023, with married couple Thom and Wendy. They are both pretty unlikable characters, but they have a good life together as a poet and teacher, and have a lovely grown son. Everything is pointing to a perfect, happy life…. except for the fact that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

The unique part about this book is that the story is told in reverse! Starting in 2023 and ending in 1982, when the couple first met at school. This is a slow burn, that gradually gives us pieces to the story.

I really enjoy Peter Swanson’s books! He is an auto-buy author for me, and I have read everything he has written. That being said, this was not my favorite book, as it left me with far too many questions. At the suggestion of a friend, I did reread the last chapter twice… I had missed a very subtle twist that I thought was clever! So if you missed it- try again!! Thank you so much to publisher and NetGalley for this fun book!

The beginning of this book was so good and it immediately drew me into the story. As I went along I found myself less and less intrigued with the story and I found myself getting bored and waiting for some big twist or revelation. Unfortunately, for me the book never picked back up and it was like a downhill slog. I do like this author but this book missed the mark for me. I don't mind when the big event happens at the beginning of the book and then the author rewinds it ala Tarantino style, but this one lacked the punch at the ending for me.

Thank you NetGalley and William Morrow for access to the ARC in exchange for an honest review.