Before She Knew Him by Peter Swanson

Hen and her husband Lloyd have just started to settle into their new suburban home and are ready to leave their troubled past behind. Hen, short for Henrietta, has a past of mental breakdowns. When she was in college, she was convinced that a fellow student was guilty of a heinous crime. Hen took her suspicions to an unhealthy level that resulted in a psychiatric intervention. Thankfully, Lloyd stepped in and has helped her to control her irrational fears. Now she works as a successful illustrator. Life seems to be back on track.

During a neighborhood block party, Hen and Lloyd paired up with the only other childless couple, and they decided to spend more time together. The dinner party started innocently enough. They met at the other couple's home and had a lovely evening of small talk and bonding. It was during the grand tour of the home that things got strange. In the husband Matthew's office, Hen noticed a fencing trophy. Her eyes lingered a bit too long. She caught herself, but it was too late. Matthew seemed to notice her noticing the trophy too, a flash of dark recognition on his face.

Hen knows she is being unreasonable. Matthew and his wife seem normal enough, but she can't shake the feeling that she knows that fencing trophy. It is the same trophy that was missing from the scene of a brutal murder she recently obsessed over. As she starts to observe Matthew and his peculiar behavior, her suspicions evolve to certainty. Matthew is a killer, and Hen must find a way to prove it before she becomes his next victim.

I was first introduced to Peter Swanson's writing in All the Beautiful Lies, his stellar thriller that was released last year. Before She Knew Him sees Swanson tackle psychological suspense that slowly pulls the reader along until the entire plot unravels into a twisted and startling conclusion. Swanson's story unfolds through shifting perspectives between Hen and Matthew. Hen's history of mental trauma makes her an unreliable witness. She grows more and more uncertain of her own ability to separate reality from paranoia. At the same time, seeing the events from Matthew's point of view on increases our own certainty of his guilt. The combination of both creates ever-mounting suspense that had me racing through the pages to see what happens next. Before She Knew Him is easily one of the best thrillers I've read this year and has turned me into a huge fan of Peter Swanson's writing.