Book Review: Her Every Fear

Title: Her Every Fear
Author: Peter Swanson
Publisher: William Morrow
Release Date: January 10, 2017
Genre: Mystery/Thriller
Length: 384 pages
Source: Purchased
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Find it Here: Amazon // Goodreads

Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life. 

Soon after her arrival at Corbin’s grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police question her about Corbin, a shaken Kate has few answers, and many questions of her own—curiosity that intensifies when she meets Alan Cherney, a handsome, quiet tenant who lives across the courtyard, in the apartment facing Audrey’s. Alan saw Corbin surreptitiously come and go from Audrey’s place, yet he’s denied knowing her. Then, Kate runs into a tearful man claiming to be the dead woman’s old boyfriend, who insists Corbin did the deed the night that he left for London. 

When she reaches out to her cousin, he proclaims his innocence and calms her nerves--until she comes across disturbing objects hidden in the apartment and accidentally learns that Corbin is not where he says he is. Could Corbin be a killer? What about Alan? Kate finds herself drawn to this appealing man who seems so sincere, yet she isn’t sure. Jet-lagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination full of dark images caused by the terror of her past, Kate can barely trust herself, so how could she take the chance on a stranger she’s just met?

My Thoughts:

I love Peter Swanson's writing and I really loved one of his earlier books The Kind Worth Killing. So I was really excited to finally read Her Every Fear. I really like the way his writing just flows and it's so easy to read. 

Her Every Fear follows Kate as she moves from London to Boston as she apartment switches with her cousin for six months. Kate is the type of person who always believes the worst is going to happen. She had gone through a really traumatic even back in England and moving to Boston is really her first venture out of her home since then. When she arrives in Boston and goes to the apartment for the first time, someone is pounding on the neighbors door and says that the neighbor is missing. Of course, Kate thinks that worst; that the neighbor has been murdered and it turns out to be true! 

But I gave this book 3 stars. Here's why: I don't typically enjoy characters like Kate. She frequently has panic attacks, has anxiety so bad she can't go to the grocery store, gets lost in thought and realizes it's been hours. But what I did like about her is that she didn't try to be a vigilante and solve the crime herself. Whenever she found something, she almost immediately took it to the police. Another reason I game this book 3 stars was because the ending was a little too neat for my taste. I enjoy a little bit of an open ending but this one tied up all the loose ends. 

I would definitely say that if your a fan of Peter Swanson, Her Every Fear is worth reading. I thought it was a really entertaining thriller with some fun little twists and turns. This was the second Peter Swanson book that I've read and it definitely won't be my last.