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Peter Swanson

Goodreads Author

Born

in Concord, Massachusetts, The United States

Website

http://www.peter-swanson.com

Twitter

peterswanson3

Genre

Thriller, Mystery, Fiction

Member Since

June 2013

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Peter Swanson is the author of six novels including 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 his most recent thriller, Eight Perfect Murders. 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.

A graduate of Trinity College, the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, and Emerson College, he lives in Somerville, Massachusetts with his wife and cat.

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Peter Swanson’s books

Average rating: 3.74 · 733,155 ratings · 84,500 reviews · 21 distinct works • Similar authors

	The Kind Worth Killing (Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner, #1) 3.97 avg rating — 238,462 ratings — published 2015 — 108 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Eight Perfect Murders 3.63 avg rating — 93,559 ratings — published 2020 — 73 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Before She Knew Him 3.85 avg rating — 67,631 ratings — published 2019 — 50 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Every Vow You Break 3.53 avg rating — 61,111 ratings — published 2021 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Kind Worth Saving (Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner, #2) 3.69 avg rating — 49,672 ratings — published 2023 — 31 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	A Talent for Murder (Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner, #3) 3.62 avg rating — 49,158 ratings — published 2024	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Nine Lives 3.56 avg rating — 47,262 ratings — published 2022 — 39 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Her Every Fear 3.75 avg rating — 37,522 ratings — published 2017 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Christmas Guest 3.59 avg rating — 36,964 ratings — published 2023 — 13 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	All the Beautiful Lies by Peter Swanson (Goodreads Author), Sarah Mollo-Christensen (Narrator) 3.62 avg rating — 23,924 ratings — published 2018 — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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Series by Peter Swanson

Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner (3 books)
by

Peter Swanson (Goodreads Author)

3.88 avg rating — 337,269 ratings

Looking for a new thrill? A twisty page-turner? Well, the hottest new mysteries and thrillers published so far this year promise to keep...

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Peter’s Recent Updates

Peter Swanson answered Darcy Flurry's question: Is there any relation between Joan Grieve (from TKWS) and Elizabeth Grieve (from KYD)? If the last names were spelled differently, my apologies - I listened to both books... TKWS, many times over, in fact. If they're not related, do any/all of your books exist in the same universe? Yes, Elizabeth Grieve is Joan's sister. Most of my books definitely take place in the same universe.
Jul 02, 2025 06:44AM · 6 likes · like

Peter Swanson answered Darcy Flurry's question:

Is there any relation between Joan Grieve (from TKWS) and Elizabeth Grieve (from KYD)? If the last names were spelled differently, my apologies - I listened to both books... TKWS, many times over, in fact. If they're not related, do any/all of your books exist in the same universe?

Yes, Elizabeth Grieve is Joan's sister. Most of my books definitely take place in the same universe.

Jul 02, 2025 06:44AM · 6 likes · like

More of Peter's books…

Quotes by Peter Swanson (?)

“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

96 likes

“Everyone has a full life, even if it ends soon. All lives are complete experiences.”
― Peter Swanson, The Kind Worth Killing

64 likes

“any life at all is probably more than any of us deserves.”
― Peter Swanson, The Kind Worth Killing

30 likes

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Polls

April Side Read Nominations ~ 1st Poll
Top 5 books move onto final round

We Are the Brennans

by Tracey Lange

7 votes, 24.1%

Spells for Forgetting

by Adrienne Young

6 votes, 20.7%

The Lies We Told

by Diane Chamberlain

4 votes, 13.8%

The Child on Platform One

by Gill Thompson

3 votes, 10.3%

My Other Husband

by Dorothy Koomson

2 votes, 6.9%

Every Vow You Break

by Peter Swanson

2 votes, 6.9%

The Light We Carry: Overcoming in Uncertain Times

by Michelle Obama

1 vote, 3.4%

Kitchen Confidential: Adventures in the Culinary Underbelly

by Anthony Bourdain

1 vote, 3.4%

Salem Falls

by Jodi Picoult

1 vote, 3.4%

The Club

by Ellery Lloyd

1 vote, 3.4%

The Friends We Keep

by Holly Chamberlin

1 vote, 3.4%

Summer in the South

by Cathy Holton

0 votes, 0.0%

29 total votes

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Topics Mentioning This Author

topics	posts	views	last activity
The Seasonal Read...: Completed Tasks: Do Not Delete Posts	2625	600	Aug 31, 2014 08:59PM
Around the World ...: Beverly 2014 USA Roadtrip Challenge	34	86	Oct 03, 2014 12:46PM
The Seasonal Read...: 15.4. Spring Reads	17	95	Apr 14, 2015 11:20AM
The Seasonal Read...: Spring 2015 Completed Tasks - DO NOT DELETE POSTS	3347	574	May 31, 2015 08:59PM
The Reading For P...: September Fiction Group Read Nominations	37	39	Aug 06, 2015 10:46AM
Crime Detective M...: Reading Challenge 2015 A-Z by author	31	118	Sep 20, 2015 05:38PM
Cozy Mysteries : 2015 SUMMER Challenge	156	180	Sep 24, 2015 03:00PM
Aussie Readers: October Challenge - Let's go Travelling!	361	230	Nov 07, 2015 04:50PM

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Peter’s Quotes

“Nice things are nicer than nasty ones.”
― Kingsley Amis, Lucky Jim

28 likes

Peter’s Friend Comments

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message 3: by Tamar...playing hooky for a few hours today

Apr 05, 2021 10:00PM

I just read Every Vow You Break and totally LOVED it. You are missing the three most delicious words in the last line of the book/epilogue...."and very rich"! LOL

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message 2: by Tamar...playing hooky for a few hours today

Jan 14, 2020 08:45AM

thanks for being my friend. i look forward to seeing what you are reading and especially what you are writing.

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message 1: by Judy (last edited Sep 05, 2015 12:19PM)

Sep 05, 2015 12:19PM

saw that your book The Kind Worth Killing was picked as one of Richard and Judy's book club.

Congratulations!! I am so excited to see that and I just know people will love that book and The Girl with a Clock for a hear.

I live in Canada but I follow that book club!!!

I tell everyone about your books !!

reply | flag

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