Kill Your Darlings - by Peter Swanson (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"A dazzlingly clever murder mystery, told backwards, asking the question: why would this loving wife murder her husband?"--Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author of Famous Last Words and Wrong Place Wrong Time

From the New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders comes an inventive, utterly propulsive murder-mystery in reverse, tracing a marriage back in time to uncover the dark secret at its heart.

Thom and Wendy Graves have been married for over twenty-five years. They live in a beautiful Victorian on the north shore of Massachusetts. Wendy is a published poet and Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university. Their son, Jason, is all grown up. All is well...except that Wendy wants to murder her husband.

What happens next has everything to do with what happened before. The story of Wendy and Thom's marriage is told in reverse, moving backward through time to witness key moments from the couple's lives--their fiftieth birthday party, buying their home, Jason's birth, the mysterious death of a work colleague--all painting a portrait of a marriage defined by a single terrible act they plotted together many years ago.

Eventually we learn the details of what Thom and Wendy did in their early twenties, a secret that has kept them bound together through the length of their marriage. But its power over them is fraying, and each of them begins to wonder if they would be better off making sure their spouse carries their secrets to the grave.

With his signature slow burn and creeping tension, Swanson's latest mystery is a masterclass in twists and thrills. Dive into the story here.

Review Quotes

"A dazzlingly clever murder mystery, told backwards, asking the question: why would this loving wife murder her husband?" - Gillian McAllister, New York Times bestselling author of Famous Last Words and Wrong Place Wrong Time

"An ingenious twist on a noir classic, about the hell that awaits co-conspirators Wendy and Thom after they become a 'happy' married couple. Swanson's decision to move swiftly backward in time over 40-plus years is surprisingly suspenseful. I raced through the pages, anxious to learn the couple's last deadly secret -- and I was not disappointed." - Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of Prom Mom

"A fascinating exploration of the corrosive effects of guilt." - BookPage

"Swanson's clever, twisty novel is a meditation on memory, marriage, and the dark side of storytelling." - Oprah Daily

"Masterful. . . [Kill Your Darlings] is a marvel of structure and pacing and delivers some of the most satisfying turns in recent memory." - Crimereads

"Swanson is in terrific form here: The story flows backward in time, capturing a long-term marriage--one bound by an early secret--from killing to courtship, while putting Swanson's trademark low-key but palpable humor to particularly impressive effect." - Boston Globe

"An incredible tour de force of structure and character and plot--from beginning to end! (Or, should I say, from end to beginning). Peter Swanson is a flat out genius, and his ingenious Kill Your Darlings is truly remarkable and utterly original. Relentlessly sinister and absolutely gripping, this contemporary noir is a masterclass in storytelling and brain-exploding writerly skill. Deeply psychological and impeccably structured, its deeply psychological underpinnings will have you holding your breath as you turn the pages--it's crushingly inevitable and completely haunting. And I honestly applauded at the ending. Standing ovation for this brilliant book!" - Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of One Wrong Word

"A feat of structural magnificence-- the instant I turned the final page, I flipped straight back to the start to put it all together again. Exhilarating and exceptionally clever, Kill Your Darlings zings with a singular sense of tension. Peter Swanson writes with the lyrical acuity of a literary master." - Danya Kukafka, nationally bestselling author of Notes on an Execution

"Devious, clever, and meticulously plotted, Peter Swanson outdoes himself as he plumbs the depths of a marriage so deeply fractured that murder appears the only escape from their toxic union. In Swanson's deft hands, this harrowing tale--expertly revealed in reverse chronology--is both a vivid portrait of what drives someone to kill and an intimate exploration of what compels us to love. Wholly unique, filled with sharp insights, and written in taut, precise prose infused with undeniable elegance, Kill Your Darlings is a masterclass in suspense writing--an unforgettable story that will linger in readers' minds. I loved every page!" - Jamie Day, author of The Block Party

"Nature and nurture, free will and coercion, a lust to be exceptional and the fear of going to hell all tussle and tango throughout this imaginatively structured and relentlessly tense work." - Wall Street Journal

"'I absolutely loved it. What a deliciously dark book."

"Twisty and clever. . . An addictive read brimming with jaw-dropping surprises." - Library Journal

"With a pair of deeply engaging characters, a unique story structure, and a powerhouse of an ending, the book is a sure-fire hit." - Booklist

"[An] absolute tour de force....completely ingenious." - BookTrib

"Both a meditation on comeuppance and a steely nail-biter. . . A heady, allusive, tweedy-seedy slow burn." - Kirkus Reviews

"A topsy-turvy story that speeds toward its grim destination. The author's devoted fans will not be disappointed by this tale of karmic comeuppance." - Wall Street Journal on A Talent for Murder

"Brilliant. . . This is a masterpiece of misdirection." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) on A Talent for Murder

"An ingenious puzzle." - New York Times Book Review on Nine Lives

"Hitchcockian chills and thrills abound." - O, the Oprah Magazine on Every Vow You Break

"Engagingly original... Swanson has a bent for revenge and murder." - USA Today on Eight Perfect Murders

"The inventive Mr. Swanson never lets the willing reader down." - Wall Street Journal on The Kind Worth Saving

"[It] has 'movie adaptation' written all over it. It has an alluring location, a fragile yet resilient protagonist and a thoroughly Hitchcockian storyline, replete with the requisite false starts and plot twists... High tension, lightning-fast pacing and psychological drama in spades." - BookPage on Her Every Fear

"Swanson unfolds this creepy story with the assurance and economy of a master." - Wall Street Journal on Before She Knew Him

"A taut thriller with a mounting body count and a final twist so ruthlessly clever it's criminal." - Entertainment Weekly on The Kind Worth Killing

"A twisty, sexy, electric thrill ride and an absolute blast from start to finish." - Dennis Lehane on The Girl with a Clock for a Heart