Fiction | Book Chatter

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.

The Deep
By Alma Katsu
G.P. Putnam’s Sons, 9780525537908, March 10, 2020, 432pp.

The Short of It:

The lure of the Titanic on that fateful night is what fascinated me and pulled me in. Add some ghosts and a sister ship and you’ve got me.

The Rest of It:

Annie is a survivor of the Titanic. On that fateful night, she dove into the frigid waters to save a baby from a drowning woman’s arms. Recovering from that incident, she spends her days at a hospital. A hospital normally reserved for the mentally ill but she doesn’t exhibit any characteristics of such an illness. She is, however, without anyone to speak for her. Or so they think.

One day she receives a letter from a friend who also survived the Titanic’s sinking, inviting her to become a nurse on its sister ship, the Britannic. The war has been hard and there are many injured young men to tend to. Would she be interested?

As the story unfolds, we spend time on both ships. The before, the after, and how the events of the Britannic play into this story. There is a supernatural element to this tale. I think Katsu is known for this although I’ve never read her work before. You are asked many times to suspend your disbelief. I’m not sure I did, but I did enjoy how the two stories came together.

You may or may not be surprised of the love story contained within these pages. It’s a love triangle of sorts so there’s a little drama there. Enough to hold your interest. Overall, an enjoyable read but nothing that will wow you. The pace was a little slow in the beginning but picked up mid-way through. I can’t compare this book to her other works but I can say that based on this one, I would read her work again.

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

Chatting with friends about books and life…