Nine Lives: 'I loved this.' Ann Cleeves

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The book even mimics Christie's style. It's pretty common for her to introduce all her characters in one go while providing a list at the beginning for easy reference. And so we have the same here. I found it useful reading a physical copy of the book and being able to flip to the character list whenever I needed it. If you're reading an ebook, I recommend taking a snapshot of the character list or just copying it out beforehand. It'll make for a much more pleasant reading experience.

Nine strangers receive the most puzzling piece of mail: an identical list with their names on it. What could it possibly mean? They each chalk it up to nothing, and move on. But soon, bad things start happening to them, one by one, and they can no longer dismiss it as coincidence. I liked trying to figure out why these strangers were on this list, who would survive, and wanted to know who the killer was, it really puzzled me! Though I began reading this in 2021, sadly I couldn’t finish it in time so I am starting off 2022 with a 1 star.The story is told via the points of view of all nine people on the list, plus the investigating officers. Sam is an absolute honey. All random. No one knows who the other names belong to. Or for that matter, why their own name is on that list. And trust me folks…this is one list you don’t want to be on!

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. The plot progression was dull and disjointed. There was barely any active investigation, we were teased briefly but it was so insubstantial it did not pique my interest whatsoever. Instead we jump all over the place to different POVs and meander through their mundane lives. In between the deaths it felt like absolutely nothing was progressing. Since I found 3 things I really liked and 3 I didn’t, I settled on middle of the road at 3 stars. My regret is not reading ‘And Then There We’re None’ first or listening to this in audiobook form. One-by-one, people on the list are systematically singled out. Never knowing when their number would be up. So who is behind this list? And what is their end-game?

In Peter Swanson’s latest mystery/thriller, nine people each receive a list of names in the mail. It’s their names. None of them know each other. They all assume it’s junk mail…that is, until the people on the list start dying in various fashions. The characters were interesting, some more than others, I liked a few, hated reading one pov, but didn't really connect or overly care about any of them (except the detective, Sam). Pacing kept up and there didn’t seem like too much downtime to drag. The action started off the bat and stayed that way. It's probably bad when you feel relief over a character's death because at least it means you get to cut down on some of the jumping between perspectives. It was tiring, dull, and the major problem I almost always find with more than 2-3 perspectives is that it becomes impossible to really get to know any of them or become absorbed in any of the characters' stories. There's not a single memorable character in here.

Overall, it’s another winner for me from an author who style of writing is one I especially enjoy and I always look forward to reading what he comes up with next. The characters are not all that important as this book is focused on the mystery of how these strangers are linked and why they are being targeted. I had fun trying to figure out how the strangers were connected and trying to identify the killer. I found the reveal behind what was linking these people together a bit of a letdown, and the killer’s motive was lame, but I was surprised by one twist. seriously, we're going with ████████? first of all, the math on that doesn't wash: how does murdering nine innocent people ████████████? is this inflation? Nine people receive a typed list of nine names, their own name plus eight others that they have never heard of or met before. FBI agent Jessica Winslow receives a list and while she wants to ignore it, something inside of her makes her decide to investigate. Then one person on the list is murdered. Then a second. Citing what she calls the "second plane" (referring to 9/11 when the first plane could have been considered an accident, but when the second plane hit there was no denying they were connected), Jessica realizes that they might all be targets and searches for the connection between the nine people. DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Faber and Faber Limited via Netgalley for providing a digital ARC of Nine Lives by Peter Swanson for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions.At first I thought this book was a bit tedious because we were going through each of the nine people when they get the letter, and stories about their lives, etc. Yet once it got going, I was intrigued to find out what the connection was and why this was happening. I was pleased by the way things came together and the twist toward the end that I probably should have seen coming, but didn't. I love to be surprised so it elevated the book for me.

Very unique characters who all seem different which is impressive for how many characters are in this book.Thank you so much to Peter Swanson, William Morrow, and NetGalley for my electronic copy publishing on March 15, 2022. Nine Lives involves a list with nine names on it. Every person on that list is marked for death, and they all get sent a copy to their homes. As people start being killed there is a race to try and find out what they have in common, and who is behind this. The reason behind the letter and the killings was so anticlimactic. Unless I missed some details that flew by my head due to struggling to concentrate, you can’t figure out who or why because the information is simply withheld (so I’d be interested to know if anyone actually figured it out! If so, you are a wizard!). Also, the reason wasn't explored or fleshed out whatsoever, I was simply told why rather than shown and slowly build up to it. I did like how Detective Hamilton’s knowledge of Christie’s books-delivered us the answers in the end.