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Before She Knew Him
By Peter Swanson
William Morrow Paperbacks, 9780062838162, February 2020, 320pp.

The Short of It:

Smart, clever, and hard to put down.

The Rest of It:

I don’t know where I’ve been or why I haven’t read Peter Swanson before but I am so very glad that Before She Knew Him made it into my hands.

Hen and Lloyd move to very nice, suburban neighborhood. Their neighbors, Mira and Matthew invite them over to dinner so they can get to know one another and while there, Hen can’t help but notice a fencing trophy on the mantle. Upon closer inspection, she’s almost positive it once belonged to a young man named Dustin. A young man who was murdered not long ago. Why would this couple have it in their house?

Before She Knew Him was a great read. Smartly written with well-developed characters and a story that includes a surprise or two and enough mystery to keep you guessing. This book could easily have been titled “Neighbors with Secrets” because both of these couples have something to hide and it makes for really good reading.

I highly recommend this one. Swanson uses all of the characters to tell this story and it’s so very good.

Source: Review copy provided by the publisher.
Disclosure: This post contains Indiebound affiliate links.

Sunday Matters

Most of you know I live in Southern California so we don’t have TRUE seasons here. However, I do enjoy fall and spring because typically they are moderate and pretty in their own ways. Right now the mornings are cool but by the afternoon there is a definite hint of spring in the air. Perfect.

Right Now:

We’ve been trying to hit church on Thursdays but last Thursday my club met to discuss the movie Parasite. Today, is our backup day but not sure we can attend because my daughter now sings at a church across town which we drive her to and then I have to volunteer. Might be watching online again.

This Week:

Nothing planned for this week. Well, one possible theatre meeting but it hasn’t been confirmed and probably won’t happen. It’s so nice to be home in the evenings.

Reading:

I finished Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson. I had not read this author before but he has quite a few books out and I really enjoyed this one. Review should be posted early in the week.

What should I read next? Maybe The Grace Year.

Watching:

I finally saw Parasite. As you know, it’s gotten plenty of hype and took an Oscar for Best Picture and Best International Feature Film and I believe Best Director too. I waited to see it because my discussion group chose it for our February discussion and I wanted to see it with them so we could all react accordingly. VERY interesting film. Not sure it conveyed what it intended to convey. At least. not entirely. As for the subtitles, you don’t even notice them and half the time don’t even need them. The acting is too good.

Still watching The Crown. Almost done with season one. Very interesting and enjoyable.

Tonight, The Walking Dead starts up again. As a loyal fan, I will tune in. I hope the writers pull it together this season.

New Things I’ve Tried:

I like to make my pasta sauce from scratch. I am 50% Italian and there is no better sauce than homemade sauce but this one (Prego Farmer’s Market) was a step up from your typical jarred Prego. Pretty good. Tastes freshly made. No hint at all that it came from a jar and I only used half a jar because of how rich it was. Anything to make the dinner hour easier, right?

Farmer's Market Prego

Grateful for:

Really good lip balm
My new computer glasses
Lush face masks (any of ’em)
High quality hand creams

What are you looking forward to this week? I really need to do some purging. My living room and family room always look cluttered when I get home. Even when I spend time straightening, it still looks cluttered so something has to go. I am looking forward to fixing that issue because who wants to come home and immediately feel anxious? No one.

Chatting with friends about books and life…