Thank you Netgalley, #partner, for the advanced copy of A Talent for Murder in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow
Published: June 11, 2024
Summary:
A newlywed librarian begins to suspect the man she married might be a murderer—in this spectacularly twisty and deviously clever novel by Peter Swanson, New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders.
Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her job as an archival librarian, constantly surrounded by thought-provoking ideas and the books she loved. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured divorcee with a job that took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger.
A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern—five unsolved cases of murdered women.
Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is . . . but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected.
My thoughts:
Peter Swanson has become a must-read author for me when it comes to thrillers and I love that his books are so addicting, and binge-worthy and this latest one is no exception – I read this one in a day! The Kind Worth Killing is one of my favorite books so to not only get a sequel to it last year but then another book with Lily and Henry just makes my thriller-loving heart sing!
This book is so clever and full of so many twists. I don’t know how Peter Swanson keeps doing it, but he does, and he does it so well! This is a dark and devious story, and I had such a hard time putting it down once I started it. I loved how layered this one was, with everyone having their secrets and nothing being quite as it seemed.
Once again, we have characters that you will be questioning from the get-go. I love the way Peter Swanson is able to create these morally gray characters that you aren’t quite able to pinpoint what it is about them until the bottom drops out. I just love being able to be in the mind of a killer – there’s something so chilling yet fascinating about that and Peter Swanson does it so well!
While this book does work well as a stand-alone, reading the series in order gives you a much fuller picture of who Lily and Henry, not to mention the new levels of that the cat and mouse games to go with each new book. I do hope there is more to come of this duo!
Books in this series:
- The Kind Worth Killing
- The Kind Worth Saving
- A Talent for Murder
Purchasing from the link below supports independent bookstores and my blog!
