Reviews with content warning for Rape - Before She Knew Him

This was definitely not my favorite of this author's books, but it was a solid thriller with some twists I didn't see coming. The reveal regarding one particular character SHOULD have been obvious, but I managed to gloss right over it somehow until shortly before it was unveiled. Overall this was a great story and I enjoyed it, but it definitely isn't the best indicator of how talented Peter Swanson really is.

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tiphreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

While this isn’t a groundbreaking novel or even story line ,, it is smooth, fast paced , dark and engaging.

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lothwolfjedi's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Super de bout en bout ! Je fus surprise jusqu’à la fin.

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catriona176's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I don’t like the central framing device as a rule

because I think dissociative identity disorder is really overused and often poorly researched in media

though I’ll allow it here because the character’s background is quite faithful to the real life nature of the disease. Not his strongest novel but still entirely readable

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rochelleisreading's review against another edition

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dark medium-paced

Loveable characters? No

2.0

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aichaa's review against another edition

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dark tense

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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tspice24's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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bethasaurus13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

1.0

I really wanted to like this but I really did not. I’m a big fan of thrillers and I enjoyed the kind worth killing. however, I have never read a book that made me feel so sick. This book was disturbing.
the amount of misogyny, sexual violence was gross. The author stigmatizes DID and bipolar disorder. The amount of sexual violence was beyond what was necessary and was described in great detail. The internal monologue of the killer was revolting.

I listened to the audiobook which likely made that character’s internal thoughts about women even more disturbing. The way the killer talks about women was horrific. As a woman, the language was vile. It also made me uneasy that the person writing this was a man.

The plot was not terrible but I felt sick from the sexual violence and the killer’s internal dialogue.

Also while the book is set in a fictional town, the author gives clues as to where it would be. He says the town is on the south shore in Massachusetts, but the author’s descriptions of the town and the geography do not make sense. For example they go home from Logan airport but the author says they head towards Lexington to get home … on the south shore. The authors grasp on the geography of the region is sloppy, like most of the book.

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