Review: Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

Author: Peter Swanson

Publisher: William Morrow

Publication Date: March 2022

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. 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 of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor.

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? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next....

Nine Lives is a fairly quick mystery involving nine random people who receive a list of names that includes their own.  They start being murdered one by one,  The race is on to figure out how they all connect before it's too late. I did ultimately enjoy this one, but I didn't love it. This author is kind of a hit or miss for me.  This one was an in-between.

This is a And Then There Were None retelling.  I know that because the book is mentioned several times.  Almost like that author wanted to make sure we got the comparison. The first about 2/3 of the book was interesting.  I was sucked in and wanted to find out what was happening and how these people connected.  I also liked that no one was safe.  

What I struggled with was the amount of perspectives in the book.  Every person on the list has a perspective along with two other people.  That is a lot of people to keep track of and it did slow things down for me.  The motive and who was doing the killing was kind of anticlimactic.  I wanted more from it.  Despite that I would recommend giving it a try.