Before She Knew Him

by Peter Swanson

A Sunday Times and Observer Thriller of the Month

'Deliciously good . . . Swanson's best thriller yet.' Observer

'Gripping, twisty . . . I could not put it down.' Alafair Burke

When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house, they're relieved to meet another childless couple in their neighbourhood, Matthew and Mira.

But when they're invited over for dinner, Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study.

Could this mild-mannered schoolteacher really be hiding a dark secret, one that only Hen might know about? And even if she's right, who would believe her?

• ISBN10: 0571340687
• ISBN13: 9780571340682
• Publish Date: 5 March 2019
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Faber & Faber
• Edition: Main
• Format: eBook (EPUB)
• Pages: 320
• Language: English

Reviews

This was an interesting plot with some "I didn't see that coming" twists that really kept me entertained. I felt that Hen's condition was a little toooooo convenient and certain situations felt highly unlikely, but it did allow the plot to work and add to the suspense.

For example, what are the odds of Hen and Lloyd living down the street from Dustin when he was murdered before moving across the street from his killer later on? Not to mention the convenient coincidence that Hen happened to randomly encounter Dustin in a coffee shop (prior to his murder), agree to sketch him (at his request), and have a similar situation that would have justified the likelihood that Dustin most likely did rape a fellow student during a fencing event?

First, she's an older, married woman encountering a younger, college-aged student but her character doesn't indicate any form of interest of infidelity or naiveness.

Second, the author portrays her irrational actions to her uncontrolled manic episodes at the time, but yet she was described as a mostly introverted, anti-social and occasionally paranoid person. Even if that WAS the case, introverted, paranoid woman don't go home with random strangers.... especially guys.

Third, Matthew hid his killings successfully for many years and was never even a suspect, and yet he suddenly confesses and comes clean with his (accurately) accusing neighbor with the justification that no one would believe her because of her manic episode in the past. It just felt like the puzzle pieces were too tidy, too coincidental, too, well, conveniently perfect.


Overall, I think it's a good read for thriller and plot twist lovers and worthy of 4 stars, but the unlikely situations felt a little like "cheating" in order to make the plot work, hence my 3 star review.