Peter Swanson has long been one of the most clever authors working in the psychological thriller genre, often producing books that do not follow straight lines and make readers work to figure things out. Perhaps that is why his novels routinely make my “Best Of” lists at the end of the year. I don’t think I’m being too presumptuous when I state that his latest effort, KILL YOUR DARLINGS, will be no exception.

The narrative begins in 2023 and travels all the way back, chapter by chapter, to the very first meeting of Thom and Wendy Graves. Each step backwards in time fills in more details about their complex relationship and provides the necessary answers to find out why it appears that Wendy has ended her husband’s life.

"I loved and was completely blown away by this book. The numerous references to popular music were great, but it was the allusions to the films that inspired Thom and Wendy...that filled this story with a real-world anchor that hooks itself to their relationship from the very start."

Twenty-five years of marriage definitely can change people, as well as the dynamic in their partnership, which is deftly examined by Swanson. We learn up front that Wendy first tried to kill Thom when she purposely pushed his inebriated self down a flight of stairs. He only ended up with a bruised ego and the belief that it was his drunken state that caused the mishap. She will not miss the second time when she sends him down the infamous steps that were the site of their first true meeting all those years earlier.

Thom teaches English literature at a nearby university, and Wendy is a published poet. The love of the written word and literature, along with a deep admiration for film history, has always bonded them. However, it was Thom’s wanderings from their marital vows that threatened their union over the years, and by 2023 Wendy simply had had enough. She especially did not like discovering the novel that Thom had begun secretly writing, Come End of Summer, which featured a man being tempted to step outside his long-term relationship with someone new and younger.

Being with the young woman who obviously was Thom’s latest fling at a house party they were throwing was just too much for Wendy to swallow. As we begin stepping back in time, we see what drove a wedge between them. Alex Deighton, Thom’s hated superior at the university, mysteriously drowns, and we witness the reactions of Thom and Wendy, each of whom played their own role in this tragedy both unconsciously and physically.

Readers get to experience Thom’s wanderlust and Wendy’s penchant for less than ethical, sometimes homicidal, reactions during their time together. It is extremely difficult to recount much more from this juicy novel without giving away clear spoilers. One quote from KILL YOUR DARLINGS that I especially appreciated speaks directly to the entire narrative: “Life wasn’t fate but a series of tiny accidents.” It is wise to take in these words and recognize that it may very well describe most relationships.

Like all of Swanson’s work, I loved and was completely blown away by this book. The numerous references to popular music were great, but it was the allusions to the films that inspired Thom and Wendy --- specifically The Exorcist --- that filled this story with a real-world anchor that hooks itself to their relationship from the very start.