Welcome to Read and Rank, a new feature on Jen Ryland Reviews that looks at ALL the books an author has written and gives YOU a chance to weigh in. Which books did you LOVE and which ones were just okay? Which book would you recommend to a reader who is trying that author for the first time? For this Read and Rank, we will be discussing What is the Best Book by Peter Swanson?
What is the Best Book by Peter Swanson?
Books Written by Peter Swanson
Which Peter Swanson Book Has the Best Goodreads Score?
Which Peter Swanson Book Did I Love Most?
Which Peter Swanson Book Should YOU Read?
Discussion: Books by Peter Swanson Ranked?
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Books Written by Peter Swanson – listed chronologically, from earliest to newest
The Girl with a Clock for a Heart (2014)
When George first met her, she was an eighteen-year-old college freshman from Florida. She and George became inseparable in their first fall semester, so George was devastated when he got the news that she had committed suicide over Christmas break.
As he stood in the living room of the girl’s grieving parents, he realized the girl in the photo on their mantelpiece – the one who had committed suicide – was not his girlfriend. Later, he discovered the true identity of the girl he had loved – and of the things she may have done to escape her past.
Now, twenty years later, she’s back, and she’s telling George that he’s the only one who can help her…
The Kind Worth Killing (2015)
On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. The strangers begin to play a game of truth.
Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done.
Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing.
Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive.
Here’s My Spoiler Review of A Kind Worth Killing
Her Every Fear (2017)
Growing up, Kate experienced full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her. When Corbin, a distant cousin, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees.
Soon after her arrival at Corbin’s grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor has been murdered. When the police question her about Corbin, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own—curiosity that intensifies when she meets Alan, a handsome, quiet tenant who lives across the courtyard.
Then, Kate runs into a man who insists Corbin did the deed the night that he left for London. Her cousin he proclaims his innocence, but she comes across disturbing objects hidden in the apartment and accidentally learns that Corbin is not where he says he is.
All the Beautiful Lies (2018)
Harry has always considered his stepmother Alice to be kind and attentive, if a little aloof in the last few years. Days before his college graduation, Alice calls with shocking news: his father is dead and the police think it’s suicide.
Devastated, Harry returns to his father’s home in Maine. Shortly after he arrives, Harry meets a mysterious young woman named Grace. But she isn’t the only attractive woman taking an interest in Harry.
The sensual Alice is also growing closer, coming on to him in an enticing, clearly sexual way. Mesmerized by these two women, Harry finds himself falling deeper under their spell. Yet the closer he gets to them, the more isolated he feels, disoriented by a growing fear that both women are hiding dangerous—even deadly—secrets . . . and that neither one is telling the truth.
Before She Knew Him (2019)
Henrietta and her husband Lloyd have settled into a quiet life in a new house outside of Boston. Hen is an illustrator who has finally found the right meds to control her bipolar disorder. But when they meet the neighbors next door, that calm begins to erode as she 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 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.
Eight Perfect Murders (2020)
Years ago, mystery aficionado Malcolm Kershaw compiled a list of the genre’s most unsolvable murders. Mal, now the owner of a bookstore in Boston, is surprised when an FBI agent comes looking for information about a series of unsolved murders that look eerily similar to the killings on Mal’s old list.
Worse, the killer is out there, watching Mal’s every move—a diabolical threat who knows way too much about Mal’s personal history, especially the secrets he’s never told anyone.
Here’s My Review of Eight Perfect Murders
Every Vow You Break (2021)
Abigail never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce. But right before the wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand on her bachelorette weekend.
She puts the incident out of her mind, and now believes she wants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life. Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something special and he’s tracked her down to prove it.
Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon—and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen. She sees a terrified woman in the night shadows, and no one at the resort seems to believe anything is amiss… including her perfect new husband.
Here’s my Review of Every Vow You Break
and My Spoiler Discussion for Every Vow You Break
Nine Lives (2022)
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list.
They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke – until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town in Maine. Then, a father is shot while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts.
A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next…
Here’s my Review of Nine Lives
and my Spoiler Discussion for Nine Lives
The Kind Worth Saving (2023)
When Joan turns up at private investigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Joan wants to prove her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated when Kimball finds two bodies in an uninhabited suburban home.
Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, enlisting help from his old nemesis Lily Kintner—but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in this hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.
Here’s my Review of A Kind Worth Saving
Here’s my Spoiler Discussion for A Kind Worth Saving
The Christmas Guest (2024) In this novella, a middle aged woman looks back on the very memorable holiday season she spent in the Cotswolds when she was an exchange student in the UK. Mildly creepy and very atmospheric, this would make a great addition to your holiday reading.
Since it’s a novella, I won’t put it in the competition, but I thought I’d point it out.
Check out my post on Christmas mysteries and thrillers!
A Talent for Murder by Peter Swanson (2024)
Lily and Henry are BACK! A woman from Lily’s past contacts her for help. Could Martha’s husband really be a serial killer? Or is she just imagining it.
Lily takes a look, and soon things take a very dark turn.
Which Book By Peter Swanson Has the Best Goodreads Score?
Goodreads isn’t perfect, but it can be a great crowd-sourced way to find the most popular book by an author. Here’s the lowdown on the Goodreads scores of all Peter Swanson’s books. You can find Peter Swanson’s page on Goodreads here.
The Kind Worth Killing: 4.03 Stars
Before She Knew Him: 3.86 Stars
Her Every Fear: 3.77 Stars
Nine Lives: 3.69 Stars
A Talent for Murder 3.64 stars
Eight Perfect Murders: 3.64 Stars
All the Beautiful Lies: 3.62 Stars
Every Vow You Break: 3.47 Stars
The Girl With A Clock for a Heart: 3.35 Stars
Which Peter Swanson Book Did I Love Most?
Updated for 2024: My favorite is still A Kind Worth Saving.
I have read six of his books: Eight Perfect Murders, Every Vow You Break, Nine Lives, The Kind Worth Killing, The Kind Worth Saving, and A Talent for Murder.
Here are some places to read my full thoughts about the books I did read:
My review of Every Vow you Break is here! If you want to join a Spoiler Discussion for Every Vow You Break, you can find that here.
My review of Nine Lives is here. If you’ve read the book and want to hash it out, please join my Spoiler Discussion for Nine Lives here!
I LOVED A Kind Worth Killing – join the Spoiler Discussion here!
I also reviewed The Kind Worth Saving!
Which Peter Swanson Book Should YOU Read?
I feel like Eight Perfect Murders gives us a clue into some of Peter Swanson’s favorite books (Agatha Christie’s ABC Murders (which is also an inspiration for this book!), Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers on a Train, Ira Levin’s Death Trap, A. A. Milne’s Red House Mystery, Anthony Berkeley Cox’s Malice Aforethought, James M. Cain’s Double Indemnity, John D. Macdonald’s The Drowner, and Donna Tartt’s A Secret History.
If you love Hitchcock and Strangers on a Train, definitely try The Kind Worth Killing. It starts out with a “strangers on a plane” premise that gets really twisty. If you want likable characters, this one isn’t for you!
If you loved Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, you should try Nine Lives. I’m not a huge fan of books with a lot of POVs and this book definitely had a lot. But it’s still fun and twisty!
If you are a mystery lover, Eight Perfect Murders is a love letter to classic mysteries. I enjoyed that one a LOT!
Peter Swanson Books Ranked: Which Do You Think is the Best?
I would love to hear your thoughts in comments. Which of Peter Swanson’s books have you read, and what do you think: What Is the Best Book by Peter Swanson?
I’ve read 4 of his books thus far: The Kind Worth Killing; Every Vow You Break; All The Beautiful Lies; and Nine Lives. The Kind…was okay. Well written, but a bit overly silly at the end. Every Vow was by far the worse of these. I just did not BUY IT on any level. Beautiful Lies was by far the best of the bunch: really great characters. I liked the setup and the back and forth in time and stories. I felt emotionally drawn in. Invested. Nine Lives was like fluff. Popcorn. Easy read. Not good. Not bad.
Ooh, interesting. I have not read All the Beautiful Lies. I will try to do that and see what I think!
The Kind Worth Saving is a continuation of the characters in The Kind Worth Killing. I haven’t read it yet but did read The Kind Worth Killing and loved it. But that was a while ago., I’d have to say I really enjoyed The Kind Worth Killing so I will probably read the Saving one next.
I liked both of them. Let me know what you think about The Kind Worth Saving. In my review, I debate which of the two was better and I’d love to have your take!
I have read all his books, almost in a row, and LOVE every single one of them. He has a very down to earth way of writing and drawing you into the story. I will say that reading them all in a row makes me think he definitely has a thing for Maine, Conn and Boston. I almost feel like he has a Stephen King kind of universe where everything is gonna tie right in. He love Kennewick. Even though he has a general plan of every book, I feel that he tweeks them enough that they change every single story. He seems to have a thing for cheating spouses and the revenge that comes with that. He is just a joy and I hope he’s working on something new right now!!!
Ha – I hadn’t thought of the cheating, but you are right. That’s a theme in many of them that I have read.