Nine Lives: A Novel

Written by Peter Swanson

Narrated by Jacques Roy and Mark Bramhall

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…

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperAudio
• Release date: Mar 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780062980106

Peter Swanson

Peter Swanson is the New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing, winner of the New England Society Book Award and finalist for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger; Her Every Fear, an NPR book of the year; and Eight Perfect Murders, a New York Times bestseller, among others. His books have been translated into 30 languages, and his stories, poetry, and features have appeared in Asimov’s Science Fiction, The Atlantic Monthly, Measure, The Guardian, The Strand Magazine, and Yankee Magazine. He lives on the North Shore of Massachusetts, where he is at work on his next novel.

Reviews for Nine Lives

[Winston Green · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Not so much a mystery. More of a sadistic series of snuff vignettes. The conclusion is intended as an explanation of the plot? Didn’t work for me. The author has written some enjoyable books. This one is neither enjoyable or much of a mystery in my opinion.

[Katie Hainsworth · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Wow this book did NOT work for me at all! Right off the bat we are introduced in rapid fire to all the 9 characters that are eventually taken out one by one. I was overwhelmed and bored with it already. Each character is introduced, and then we’re switched to another character’s life and we are not ever able to connect with any of them because of the staccato pacing. I kind of relished another character’s death because it meant I was that much closer to finishing the book.

And the narrator brought absolutely nothing to the story. It’s like he was talked into reading this book but he didn’t like it any more than I did.

The grand reveal was a huge let down. The means did not justify the odds and the book was not saved by a grand ending.

I really enjoyed Every Vow Your Break so I will not rule this author out yet!

[Katy Arditti · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Ummm who what when where… not intriguing, not thrilling, didn’t care about a single person in the book.

[Peter Heicksen · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

Totally pointless. Random snippets of horrible people's lives. The only real story was at the very end and the rest of the book was unnecessary to tell it. Waste of time.

[Jodie Babin · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The audiobook was somewhat hard to keep up, since the chapters kept going back to chapter 1 and it would name the people on the list each time.
The plot was also ok but there wasn’t any moments in the book that stuck out. All in all solid book, but forgettable.

[Toni Snyder · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was such a good read and I absolutely loved the audio book too! Definitely a good read!

[Marlee Blakeman · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A good mystery, an excellent twist, kept me guessing most of the book! Excellent voice acting as well

[Jason Johnson · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I really enjoyed this Mystery/Thriller. Great Book
My first Peter Swanson Book

[Amy Crawford · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So good!! I really enjoyed this book, his best yet!

[Rose Madriles · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Loved it, kept me wondering and I wasn’t disappointed at the end

[Liana Kay · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I will say this one is better than The Kind Worth Killing. The mystery kept me more interested in it.
The story wasn’t that great of an idea once you found out the reasons of the “list”. Made no sense to me.
As stated in the book, it is similar to And Then There We’re None by Agatha Christie. I think it was way too similar, almost just a bad copy. Seems to lack originality.
I was not satisfied with the ending, it felt rushed and left out some important information about one of the characters.

[Donna Benoit · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Different than what I expected and I liked that very much

[Diana Rise · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Books are time travel. True readers all know this. But books don’t just take you back to the time in which they were written; they can take you back to different versions of yourself.”
― Peter Swanson, Eight Perfect Murders

There was a time I binged shows like Mindhunter, Criminal Minds and Without a Trace. FBI shows that captured the elements of serial killers, their psychological driven natures, and books like Michelle McNamara about the Golden State Killer . It was obvious from the opening chapter the killer was fascinated by And Then There Were None by Agatha Christie, counting down one by one as each person on tbe list was eliminated.
What I loved:
This was a fast paced read, Each character on the list provided a little clue of their own to the reason they were on the list. I found myself making a list comparing each one . The book And Then There Were None was the biggest clue in finding the killer, and I knew who it was two thirds of the way through. It didnt stop it from being a suspenseful read, and I read through the night to the end. Though this was a modern day story, the biggest disappointment was the FBI agents didnt compare or discuss the case across the country. There was no communication as each person died. It was as if we were in a time warp no VICAP, no alerts across databases. It wasnt a concern after the third death on the list that there was a serial killer to contend with, no sense of urgency to stop him or her, even the police detective from the original crime scene didnt seem too concerned , just like they were outside looking in as cast members of a play.
The characters each brought depth to the story , from a failing one hit wonder songwriter to a college professor, to a kept mistress straight out of Sex and the City, The murders were cinematic I found myself gasping and checking my already locked door .
What I didnt like was the narrator. I fell asleep three times listening, the voice lacked excitement, emotion..it was like muszac lulling me to sleep. I liked to story so i struggled through listening. The true ending was a little anticlimactic, and slightly unnecessary , I would have left the final chapter off completely, bringing back the FBI agent didnt add to the story, it was like an outtake blooper scene that the author left in as an afterthought.
The world created in the pages was chaos , and the killer was restoring karma. It could have ended with his death. Karma restored, the end.

[Olivia White · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This was pretty solid as far as thrillers go, but I find the bar for thrillers to be much lower so

[Julie Mendenhall · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

He is my new favorite author!! This book is so interesting ALL THE WAY through.

[Brandon A. Bradley · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A great tribute to Christie’s “And then there were None”! The audiobook reader was really good.

[Zoe Leyh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I adored this book! It was not predictable at all, which I loved. The end was awesome, in it's own way. Highly recommend