Nine Lives: A Novel
“[A] smartly entertaining reimagining of Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None… Swanson cunningly plays with readers’ heads as we hope so-and-so gets it next.”— Washington Post
If you’re on the list, someone wants you dead.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Eight Perfect Murders comes the heart-pounding story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it—and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances.
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.
First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it?
FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next…
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Community Reviews
Another great book by Peter Swanson. Not till the book is almost over are you able to put all the pieces together!
I was in a reading rut, met this book and devoured it in less than 24 hours. The worst thing was that when I started reading, unfortunately my Kindle flipped to the end of this book without me realising, I read on thinking it was where I was supposed to be until it was too late, and it immensely spoiled the ending for me. But I did enjoy the road it takes to get there nonetheless.
There are plenty of characters involved, so one must keep track on top of the supporting characters on top of the nine names on the list. I must say I like the twists more than the ending, and wish there are more friction or complication between the police and the murderer. I appreciate the clear nod to And Then There Were None throughout the book as it's loosely inspired by it.
A quick, solid read.
There are plenty of characters involved, so one must keep track on top of the supporting characters on top of the nine names on the list. I must say I like the twists more than the ending, and wish there are more friction or complication between the police and the murderer. I appreciate the clear nod to And Then There Were None throughout the book as it's loosely inspired by it.
A quick, solid read.
Author Peter Swanson is known for paying homage to great mystery writers in his novels, which are sometimes reimaginings of the originals. In Nine Lives, he draws from Agatha Christie's classic, And Then There Were None, to craft an intriguing and absorbing story of nine perfect strangers, all of whom find their names on a cryptic list delivered to them via mail. None of them recognize the other names and they are all baffled as to the list's origin and meaning, and why their names have been linked with the others on the list. Swanson's diverse cast of characters are Matthew Beaumont, a suburban father in Massachusetts; Jay Coates, an aspiring actor in Los Angeles; Ethan Dart, a singer-songwriter in Texas; Caroline Geddes, an English professor in Michigan; Frank Hopkins, the owner of the Windward Resort in Kennewick, Maine; Alison Horne, a married man's paid mistress in New York City; Arthur Kruse, an oncology nurse in Massachusetts; Jack Radebaugh, a retired businessman who recently returned to his childhood home in Connecticut; and Jessica Winslow, an FBI agent in New York.
The story opens with the death of Hopkins at his Windward Resort in Maine. When his body is discovered, he is holding a torn envelope addressed to him and containing the list of names. Detective Sam Hamilton, Kennewick's only police officer, knew Frank for many years and immediately begins investigating his suspicious death. A few hours later, Jessica learns about Frank's death and his possession of the same list she received the prior day. Swanson devotes short, successive chapters of the book to introducing his characters and describing their respective receipt of the list. Some of them simply toss the list into the trash without giving it another thought, convinced it is just junk mail, while others immediately begin searching for any available clues about its significance. Swanson details Jessica's contact with or efforts to make contact with them in an attempt to piece together any possible connections. Some characters are immediately more sympathetic than others. Caroline Geddes, the lonely, unattached professor who lives alone with her cats in a two-bedroom cottage in Ann Arbor, immediately thinks, "It's a list of death. Someone has marked us for death," just as she thinks every telephone call will bring news of a tragedy. She allows for "personal interpretations of literary works" in her own life. But then there's Jay Coates, a would-be actor going to auditions and callbacks in Hollywood, but having little success in the entertainment industry. He is jealous and spiteful about his friend's success, and stalks random women, fantasizing about abusing or killing them.
Arthur Kruse's name rings a bell with Jessica. She seems to remember that her father, Gary, had a friend named Art Kruse whose lake house he visited. Arthur is still mourning his husband, Richard, and has had no relationship with his father since Art rejected him when Arthur came out. Even so, she asks Arthur to question his father about that tenuous connection. Jessica has a very personal stake in the outcome of the case, obviously, and works to learn more about Frank Hopkins and identify each person listed. The Windward Resort also sounds vaguely familiar to her, perhaps because her family vacationed on the southern coast of Maine when she was thirteen years old.
The recipients of the list also search for any connection they might have to the others. Ethan and Caroline can only discern that their grandparents came from the Boston area, but they strike up a friendship born of the presence of their names on the list, as well as their mutual love of the works of a particular poet. For Caroline, it is exciting and breaks up the monotony of her solitary existence and Ethan finds himself drawn to Caroline, as well. They soon make ill-fated plans to meet.
When the second murder occurs, it is no longer possible to write the list off as a coincidence. Rather, Jessica likens it to the morning of September 11. "I remember watching the news after the first plane hit, and the world just thought it was a terrible accident. Then the second plane hit, and everything changed." She and her supervisor agree that the second murder is the equivalent of that second plane, and it is time for the FBI to provide protection to everyone on the list. But one by one, the nine continue dying, their deaths coming about in distinct and sometimes horrific ways, despite the security measures employed. Sam and Jessica proceed with their investigations, and Sam also becomes convinced that there is nothing accidental or coincidental about the order in which the deaths are occurring. Frank received the list first and was the first to die, and Sam suspects that finding out about his past is crucial to solving the crimes. Sam turns to his grandmother's collection of Agatha Christie books, and recalls reading And Then there Were None with its original, racist title as a child. He still has that valuable edition of the book that he re-reads yet again, convinced that Frank Hopkins and the other "unlucky souls" on the list somehow resemble the characters and plot of that novel.
At one point, Swanson injects an anonymous hit man into the mix, further complicating matters with a pulse-pounding game of cat and mouse. But who hired him? And why?
Swanson's telling of the story is meticulous and methodical. As it proceeds, the substance of his imaginative plot gradually comes into focus, and he reveals more details about his characters' backgrounds and histories at expertly-timed junctures while he accelerates the story's pace. He endears some characters to readers, making their inevitable demise nothing less than crushingly disappointing. Swanson returns to And Then There Were None as Sam closes in on the truth and the killer's identity is revealed, along with the motive, via an old-fashioned, full explanation, delivered by the killer. It's a description of a decades-long obsession with retribution and revenge in response to grievous behavior that resulted in unspeakable loss and a lifetime of guilt. The conclusion is satisfying, especially given that readers will most likely be unable to pull together all the threads of Swanson's complex and intricate plot on their own.
Nine Lives is an entertaining and masterfully constructed homage to Christie's original work that will keep readers guessing up to the very last chapter, and rewards them with a shocking but delightful ending.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
The story opens with the death of Hopkins at his Windward Resort in Maine. When his body is discovered, he is holding a torn envelope addressed to him and containing the list of names. Detective Sam Hamilton, Kennewick's only police officer, knew Frank for many years and immediately begins investigating his suspicious death. A few hours later, Jessica learns about Frank's death and his possession of the same list she received the prior day. Swanson devotes short, successive chapters of the book to introducing his characters and describing their respective receipt of the list. Some of them simply toss the list into the trash without giving it another thought, convinced it is just junk mail, while others immediately begin searching for any available clues about its significance. Swanson details Jessica's contact with or efforts to make contact with them in an attempt to piece together any possible connections. Some characters are immediately more sympathetic than others. Caroline Geddes, the lonely, unattached professor who lives alone with her cats in a two-bedroom cottage in Ann Arbor, immediately thinks, "It's a list of death. Someone has marked us for death," just as she thinks every telephone call will bring news of a tragedy. She allows for "personal interpretations of literary works" in her own life. But then there's Jay Coates, a would-be actor going to auditions and callbacks in Hollywood, but having little success in the entertainment industry. He is jealous and spiteful about his friend's success, and stalks random women, fantasizing about abusing or killing them.
Arthur Kruse's name rings a bell with Jessica. She seems to remember that her father, Gary, had a friend named Art Kruse whose lake house he visited. Arthur is still mourning his husband, Richard, and has had no relationship with his father since Art rejected him when Arthur came out. Even so, she asks Arthur to question his father about that tenuous connection. Jessica has a very personal stake in the outcome of the case, obviously, and works to learn more about Frank Hopkins and identify each person listed. The Windward Resort also sounds vaguely familiar to her, perhaps because her family vacationed on the southern coast of Maine when she was thirteen years old.
The recipients of the list also search for any connection they might have to the others. Ethan and Caroline can only discern that their grandparents came from the Boston area, but they strike up a friendship born of the presence of their names on the list, as well as their mutual love of the works of a particular poet. For Caroline, it is exciting and breaks up the monotony of her solitary existence and Ethan finds himself drawn to Caroline, as well. They soon make ill-fated plans to meet.
When the second murder occurs, it is no longer possible to write the list off as a coincidence. Rather, Jessica likens it to the morning of September 11. "I remember watching the news after the first plane hit, and the world just thought it was a terrible accident. Then the second plane hit, and everything changed." She and her supervisor agree that the second murder is the equivalent of that second plane, and it is time for the FBI to provide protection to everyone on the list. But one by one, the nine continue dying, their deaths coming about in distinct and sometimes horrific ways, despite the security measures employed. Sam and Jessica proceed with their investigations, and Sam also becomes convinced that there is nothing accidental or coincidental about the order in which the deaths are occurring. Frank received the list first and was the first to die, and Sam suspects that finding out about his past is crucial to solving the crimes. Sam turns to his grandmother's collection of Agatha Christie books, and recalls reading And Then there Were None with its original, racist title as a child. He still has that valuable edition of the book that he re-reads yet again, convinced that Frank Hopkins and the other "unlucky souls" on the list somehow resemble the characters and plot of that novel.
At one point, Swanson injects an anonymous hit man into the mix, further complicating matters with a pulse-pounding game of cat and mouse. But who hired him? And why?
Swanson's telling of the story is meticulous and methodical. As it proceeds, the substance of his imaginative plot gradually comes into focus, and he reveals more details about his characters' backgrounds and histories at expertly-timed junctures while he accelerates the story's pace. He endears some characters to readers, making their inevitable demise nothing less than crushingly disappointing. Swanson returns to And Then There Were None as Sam closes in on the truth and the killer's identity is revealed, along with the motive, via an old-fashioned, full explanation, delivered by the killer. It's a description of a decades-long obsession with retribution and revenge in response to grievous behavior that resulted in unspeakable loss and a lifetime of guilt. The conclusion is satisfying, especially given that readers will most likely be unable to pull together all the threads of Swanson's complex and intricate plot on their own.
Nine Lives is an entertaining and masterfully constructed homage to Christie's original work that will keep readers guessing up to the very last chapter, and rewards them with a shocking but delightful ending.
Thanks to NetGalley for an Advance Reader's Copy of the book.
I wanted to like this but it felt unoriginal and anticlimactic for me. I did enjoy reading about Caroline and Ethan though, I liked their conversations and ability to connect to each other.
Really liked this book. Heloful to read it as a proper book as it has a list of characters in the front, helpful guide to remind yourself of the characters.
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