Peter Swanson is one of my go-to authors, and he keeps getting better with each new book he writes. His latest effort, NINE LIVES, is no exception. Not only is it a terrific mystery/thriller that keeps you guessing right up until the last page, it just happens to be inspired by one of my all-time favorite novels: Agatha Christie’s AND THEN THERE WERE NONE.

The premise is chilling: Nine strangers whose names appear on a list that is mailed to them are being murdered one by one. None of them recognize any of the other eight names. Caroline Geddes, an English professor, instantly thinks of Muriel Spark’s novel, MEMENTO MORI, in which characters receive a note stating, “Remember you must die.” Which is very prophetic, considering what’s to come.

"I will not spoil any of the mastery that Peter Swanson spins together here, but he does come up with a backstory that connects everything in such a way that your head will be spinning."

Readers slowly get to learn about each person on the list as one of the targets, Jessica Winslow, happens to be an FBI agent. This at least gives her the advantage of researching each name and running database searches for any connections that may exist among the nine of them. It also provides a point person who can contact the others and assign an agent to each of them, especially when the first victim, Frank Hopkins, is forcibly drowned to death.

Detective Sam Hamilton works the Hopkins case and then becomes deeply invested in it when he learns about the list. Winslow personally contacts Arthur Kruse only because his name sounds familiar and she wants to know if his father might know her father, who she believes used to mention an Art Kruse. However, it ends up being a dead end. Two other individuals on the list correspond with each other --- the aforementioned Caroline and struggling musician Ethan Dart, who have poetry and songwriting (to an extent) in common. They even make plans to meet for a weekend rendezvous at a hotel where they quietly die in each other’s arms after having their wine poisoned.

I especially liked Hamilton, who instantly sees the correlation between what is happening and Dame Agatha’s novel. So much so, in fact, that he actually reads the book twice while working the case. He is even astute enough to recall its two original titles, both of which were scrapped for being racially insensitive, and the role it plays in the story itself.

I will not spoil any of the mastery that Peter Swanson spins together here, but he does come up with a backstory that connects everything in such a way that your head will be spinning. At the same time, you will appreciate his generous nod to classic mystery tales when the denouement is revealed. I already know that NINE LIVES will be near the top of my “Best of 2022” list!