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Before She Knew Him

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About this listen

A Sunday Times and Observer Thriller of the Month, from the bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and All the Beautiful Lies

'They had a secret, the two of them, and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.'

When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford, Mass., they're relieved to meet, at their first block party, the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood, Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial immediately next door.

When they're invited over for dinner, however, things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this charming, mild-mannered College Professor really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen, whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication, could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her, and so, forced together, Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who, if anyone, is really in danger?

From its deeply unsettling opening, Peter Swanson, the master of contemporary domestic thrillers, fashions a novel as brilliant, dark, coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.

©2019 Peter Swanson (P)2019 Faber Audio Mystery Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction

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All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed this book, kept my attention the whole time. Would highly recommend to lovers of crime novels

Gripping

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always creepy, subtle, and super satisfying. going for the whole catalogue. much appreciated...one two tree

Peter Swanson never disappoints

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It started off kinda slow but I've enjoyed Peter Swanson before so I stuck it out, and ended up enjoying things - I'd say around chapter 10ish onward. I was skeptical at first because I wasn't sure if Hen's mental illness would be treated respectfully (I've been burned too many times in the past) but I think Swanson did a relatively decent job portraying a woman who deals with mania. Not perfect, but decent (I'm not sure doubling up on meds is ever recommended if you miss a dose just FYI). I started to get really invested in Hen and Matthew and the unravelling of their identities and lives, etc, and had big hopes...
But the ending was sort of a bust. I won't explicitly spoil the plot twist but what I will say is my previous comment about Swanson writing mental illness in a relatively respectful manner sort of went out the window by about chapter 38. I was very disappointed, and it made a lot of previously established stakes in the book redundant.
I wouldn't say this is a terrible book. I enjoyed the middle. And I actually kind of liked Hen as a character.
The narrator did a nice job though. I read a few other reviews of people saying she was bland, but I think she did a really good job. Her voice suited Hen's character a LOT, and she did a nice job changing her tone for different characters.

The middle was good...

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I could not stop listening, I was truly hooked on this book!! I would highly recommend it. Amazing.

Obsessed!

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This book is a very good listen- it had the characters scripted perfectly - worth the listen just for the twist at the end

Excellent

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