If you’re on the list you’re marked for death.
The envelope is unremarkable. There is no return address. It contains a single, folded, sheet of white paper.
The envelope drops through the mail slot like any other piece of post. But for the nine complete strangers who receive it – each of them recognising just one name, their own, on the enclosed list – it will be the most life altering letter they ever receive. It could also be the last, as one by one, they start to meet their end.
But why?
Book Info: Print length: 340 pages. Publisher: Faber & Faber. Publication Date: 1 March 2022
My Thoughts:
I’m on a mission to read Peter Swanson’s entire back catalogue because he really is a master of delivering the MOST twisty psychological thrillers. Nine Lives, published in 2022 is yet another cracker. This standalone chilling thriller pays homage to the classic mystery fiction and was inspired by Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None.
Nine random strangers across America receive a typed letter containing a list of nine names (including their own). There’s no explanation, no return address and no apparent connection between them. Initially dismissing it as a joke or junk mail, the murder of one of the names on the list starts a terrifying race against time to locate these strangers and stop any more deaths.
The nine strangers range from an actor, FBI agent, teacher, nurse, a retiree and there doesn’t seem to be any connection between them. The reader is taken on a fascinating journey slowing learning about each of these characters and trying to work out if there is a link between them.
Fans of Swanson will know that he does have a habit of killing off central characters but as this story is about nine characters who are all on a “death list” there’s no shock when they start being murdered, but it is very entertaining trying to work out who, why, where and how.
Another great story from Peter Swanson and I highly recommend it.
