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Kill Your Darlings
Author: Peter Swanson
Source: NetGalley
Publication Date: June 10, 2025

One thing is sure about Peter Swanson: he is never dull. Kill You Darlings is an unusual story about a married couple, Thom and Wendy Graves, who have been married for over 25 years after first meeting in middle school. In addition to the above, they celebrate the same birthday. Both are highly educated individuals who suffered life-altering trauma when they were younger. They grow up to be selfish, entitled sociopaths and murderers.
But most importantly, this book is told in reverse chronological order. In other words, you will know the end at the beginning. However, don’t read the last chapter. There is a surprise. Two reprehensible people who bring misery wherever they go. What’s not to like?

#KillYourDarlings @petermswanson @Netgalley @williammorrowbooks #murder #money #lust #thriller #mystery #adultery #literaryFiction #fiction #OldMovies #misery #alcoholism

I received a complimentary copy of this book. The opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own. Thank you to the publisher, Netgalley, and the author for the opportunity to read this novel.

More domestic drama than murder mystery, this novel explores the history of a marriage.

Thom and Wendy have been married for over 25 years. He's a professor of English Literature and they have a grown son. Money is not an issue, they've plenty of that, and to casual observes, they seem like a close, loving couple. Except Wendy is done. She wants Thom gone. And the only way to make this happen is for her to murder him.

The narrative is told in reverse, taking the reader backward though their lives and the different stages of their relationship. Everything hinged on something they did together back when they were in their early twenties and that secret has bound them together.

So why does Wendy want to kill him now?

I've long been a huge fan of this author and his twisty mystery thrillers so I expected a lot. For some reason this just didn't seem like the same writer as this story wasn't really very exciting or thrilling. I didn't care for either Thom or Wendy and honestly their lives seemed so boring as it seemed all Thom did was get drunk and act stupid. Neither had any direction or drive. Definitely both extremely self centered. I tried to get more invested, but ultimately I really didn't like it. Was there a bit of a surprise at the ending? Why, yes, there was, but it wasn't enough.

I was able to listen to the audio book while also following along in the e-book, both provided by the publishers. The narrator, Steven Weber, is one of my favorites and he did an awesome job of finding just the right tone and voice for the characters. His dramatic flair made the characters some alive and definitely the production enhanced my enjoyment of the book.

First I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for the ARC of this novel.

I loved The Kind Worth Killing series so I had high hopes for this novel. It was such an interesting premise. Starting at the end of the story (a women who wants to kill her husband) and working backwards to tell there story and how they got to that moment.

I thought the story and the concept was done well and the ending of the book was great. I didn’t find it much of a thriller because we knew what was going to happen but the twist at the end really tied the beginning and end of the book up nicely.

I will say there were times in the book I wish something more would happen. We knew so much from the backwards telling of the story and so I felt the story got a little repetitive at times. I also found the two main characters a little boring at times and one dimensional.

Overall, I enjoyed the book and felt it was a fun change. And the ending…fantastic.

3.75/5 stars rounded up to 4 for this review.

Thom and Wendy appear to have it all. They have been married for 25 years, both have careers, a beautiful house on the shore of Massachusetts, and a grown son they adore. The only problem is that Wendy really wants to kill Thom.

This was such a unique read! It is told backwards through time and guides you through the secrets and deceit to find out why Wendy wants to kill Thom. I loved the premise of this book but the reverse storytelling was at times hard to keep up with and a bit confusing.

Thank you NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Having the story told in reverse was definitely interesting. I wasn't sure if it would work for me but it was fine. I will say that it was my least favorite of the books I've read by this author. It was just so slow for so long that I kept losing interest. It was well written though. I will still continue to read Peter Swanson's books even if this one wasn't a new favorite.

Suspenseful from start to finish. I could not put this down with its clever story line.
I love everything this author writes and as always he didn’t disappoint with this one. Great writing style, full of intrigue and suspense, I couldn’t wait for it all to come together at the end.
Peter Swanson’s stories are always original and never disappoint.

I enjoyed this story. It’s told in reverse and I found that an interesting way to read it. I liked how we discovered more and more about the past of Wendy and Thom the deeper the story got. These two characters were very unlikeable and that contributed to my enjoyment overall but a solid new one from Peter Swanson!

Wendy and Thom Graves have been married for half their lives. Their marriage is full of discord. The story is told in reverse order about a marriage gone wrong . This is a kind of sad, dark story with a twisted ending. I really enjoyed the book and quickly raced through it.
I would like to thank NetGalley and William Morrow for this eARC that will be released June 10, 2025!

Not your typical thriller, Kill Your Darlings starts the novel with a murder with the identity of the killer known. The novel then moves backwards from that point in time and continues to do so, spanning about 40 years, starting in 2023 and moving all the way to 1982. One might think that there couldn’t be any twists; one would be wrong.

In this unusual journey backwards in time, we get the full story of Wendy and Thom, a married couple with an adult son, who originally met on a school trip to D.C. Because of the structure of the novel, we learn the motivation of the murder that occurs at the beginning (2023) in a unique way that totally works. There is a lot of character development and while I found both Wendy and Tom to be pretty unlikeable, they were always interesting and sometimes surprising. Definitely a worthwhile read and if I ever catch up on my TBR list, I could see giving this a re-read.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and William Morrow for the opportunity to read and review this digital ARC.

2⭐️ Thank you to NetGalley and William Morrow for an advanced copy of Kill Your Darlings.

Wendy and Thom have a very unconventional marriage but they seem to have an understanding. Secrets from their past keep them tied to one another.

This story was so confusing because it was told backwards. It made the story so hard to follow and so much more confusing than it needed to be. I really enjoy the authors writing but this one was not for me.

I think I’d characterize this as a reverse love story. At the beginning of the book we meet Wendy and Thom Graves, who have been married over twenty five years. At this point in their lives, Thom teaches English Lit at a college and Wendy has had a book of poetry published years ago. They have a grown up son, a nice home and a comfortable existence. The only problem is Wendy is unhappy and wants to murder her husband. The book moves forward from there by going backwards in time. Each chapter takes us farther back in their history until the year they met in middle school. We learn the secrets they’ve shared and kept from the rest of the world. I have to admit, I did not particularly care for this format of going in reverse. The characters were not very likable and the secrets were easy to figure out. I just really couldn’t connect with this book, which was a disappointment since I usually like this author. I can only give this book 2 stars out of 5. It just wasn’t one of the better ones.

Thank you to the publisher and to NetGalley for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review. The book will be published on June 10, 2025.

Kill Your Darlings by Peter Swanson is a story that takes a different form. It's told in reverse.

"Wendy and Thom have been married for twenty-five years. A terrible secret binds them together. Everything seems to be going okay except that Wendy wants to murder him."

This story is in reverse, so you get the big event at the beginning. And then the pieces of the story that led them to this point, including the big secret. Swanson goes all the way back to the 8th grade field trip where they met. You can guess some of it. But Swanson throws plenty of surprises in, including a couple of big ones at the end. 'Why is that name familiar? Oh - what?!?' One thing I've always thought was unique to Swanson was that he made the reader care about the killer. Maybe it's because his killers are people that are probably your neighbor or coworker. It makes his stories interesting. You do have to keep up in this story. There's not a ton of characters but there are several places and times.
I appreciate an author trying something different. I liked this story from Swanson.

This look into Wendy and Thom's marriage and how deeply they are wound together after an incident in their 20s was a mind-bendy ride!

How long can you really expect someone to hold a secret for you? How much space does one secret keep in your mind to not allow other parts of your relationship to grow? And when this secret is looming over you, are you staying together because you're in a loving marriage or because you need to make sure your secret stays safe?

Just like other Peter Swanson's books, our FMC Wendy is a cunning and guileful woman, and despite it feeling dark, I enjoyed her character arc over time/back in time(?), and her marriage to Thom AND her marriage to this secret.

I personally felt the play on the timeline made this read more slowly than I typically like a thriller/mystery to read for me.

This was my first Peter Swanson Novel, but definitely not my last! This book is a gripping and clever literary thriller that keeps readers hooked from start to finish. Swanson masterfully blends suspense with sharp commentary on the writing world, delivering a plot full of twists and morally complex characters. It's a fast-paced, thought-provoking read that will especially resonate with fans of metafiction and psychological thrillers. It's a mystery told backwards and it is awesome!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and William Morrow for this digital e-arc.*

When I first heard this book was being described as a “marriage gone wrong” story told in reverse, I was immediately intrigued. I always appreciate when an author takes a risk and tries something different, especially in the thriller genre, where fresh structure and pacing can breathe new life into familiar tropes. Unfortunately, this particular narrative structure didn’t work for me.

The reverse chronology had potential, and I was initially invested, thinking each chapter would layer in key clues about how Thom and Wendy’s marriage unraveled. And while there were moments that gave glimpses into the deterioration of their relationship, these were too few and far between. Much of the novel felt repetitive and slow, with chapters that didn’t build enough tension or momentum to sustain my interest.

Adding to that, both Thom and Wendy were difficult characters to connect with. Their lack of likability made it even harder to care about the early days of their romance or understand the emotional weight behind their eventual downfall. When characters are unlikable and the pacing is off, it’s hard to stay engaged.

I had high hopes that the final chapter would deliver a twist or payoff that would tie everything together and give the story the impact it needed. Sadly, the ending felt underwhelming and didn’t bring the clarity or punch I was looking for. In the end I was just disappointed.

This author has been on my reading list for awhile so I was excited to get an early copy. I really enjoyed his writing. It reminded me of Memento as it tells the story in reverse. As a result it is a little shocking to know early on who the murderer is. Sort of refreshing. The rest of the novel tries to explain why it happened and give us insight to what drove the characters. It ends abruptly leaving the reader to interpret.

Thom and Wendy Graves have known each other since grade school and have been married for over 25 years. All seems well - except Wendy wants to murder her husband. We then are taken backwards in time through Wendy and Thom's history to experience and understand key moments from their lives to reveal what got them to the point we started at and learn the secrets and events that have shaped them.

I wasn't sure how I liked the reverse timeline approach at first, but the more I read, the more it grew on me! Thank you to #netgalley for a review copy of the ebook and the opportunity to share my voluntary and unbiased opinion.

This is the story of Wendy and Thom. Wendy is a published poet & Thom teaches literature at a nearby university. They mostly live off of the money she received after Wendy's first husband tragically drowned in their pool. They have known each other since they were 14 and were boyfriend and girlfriend for 2 years in middle school & high school, until Wendy moved away. They have been married now for twenty five years. They have a grown son, and they live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. They appear to have the perfect marriage. There is only one problem.....Wendy wants to kill her husband.

I am a big fan of this author's books. That said, this one wasn't my favorite. The timeline felt chaotic since it went completely backwards, starting at present day and ending with them as fourteen-year-olds on a field trip. There was a bit of a "strangers on a train" theme, with each one of them commiting murders for the other person, so that the person who had the most to gain from the murder would have an alibi. They were definitely a toxic pair, and with the way he kept getting blackout drunk, she couldn't trust him not to say something to the wrong person. Overall, this was a solid 4 out of 5.

I received ‘Kill Your Darlings’ from NetGalley in exchange for my review.

I have read a few books by Peter Swanson and love his writing style and this book was no exception. I don’t think I have ever read a book that was told backwards. It was interesting to read about Wendy and Thom as adults and kids. I felt like I was watching them grow up. This book shows how even the smallest decision can impact your life and the full moment at the end really caught me by surprise. In a good way. Definitely read this book by Peter Swanson. I can’t wait to read his other books.

4.25/5 stars

Thank you William Morrow for the advanced reading copy!

Like with most of Peter Swanson's stories, this one had me hooked from the beginning. What clever formatting and plotting -- this is a mystery and the demise of a marriage told in reverse! It was a tad difficult to get settled into this story due to the backwards nature of it's telling, but I got used to it fairly quickly and was super intrigued to see how things were going to play out.

While absolutely unique, I have mixed feelings on this format on the whole. I am a person who hates spoilers, and the nature of this being told in reverse felt a little spoiler-y on purpose to me. However, I think Swanson did a great job of delivering information, twists and details at the right intervals to keep me hooked and create suspense.

Plus, that ending! As always, the last 2 chapters of a Peter Swanson thriller do not disappoint. That bumped this up a bit for me in the star department.

Overall, a solid and fun thriller that I really enjoyed! Great twists/surprises, and intrigue, with simple enough writing style to keep you tearing through the pages. Highly recommend!