If you're on the list, someone wants you dead.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Eight Perfect Murders comes the heart-pounding story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it—and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances.
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.
First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they're located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it?
FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next...
If you're on the list, someone wants you dead.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Eight Perfect Murders comes the heart-pounding story of nine strangers who receive a cryptic list with their names on it—and then begin to die in highly unusual circumstances.
Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke—until very, very bad things begin happening to people on the list.
First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they're located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it?
FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next...
Reviews-
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November 29, 2021
Swanson (Every Vow You Break) neatly riffs on Agatha Christie’s classic And Then There Were None in this taut thriller. Nine Americans from across the country—a stressed suburban father, an aspiring actor, a singer-songwriter, a resort owner, a retired businessman, a rich man’s mistress, an English professor, an oncology nurse, and FBI agent Jessica Winslow—each receives an envelope in the mail from an unknown sender containing only an identical list of nine names, including their own. The recipients, who don’t recognize the other names on the list, vary in their initial reactions; some are disturbed, while others barely pay attention to it. Then someone drowns one of the nine. Winslow, a federal investigator in Albany, N.Y., begins to probe whether the eight others, who have no apparent connections to one another, are all targets of a killer. Winslow’s mission becomes more urgent when another on the list is gunned down. Swanson makes the plotline plausible, despite radically transforming the setting from Christie’s isolated island with its closed circle of suspects, to the entire continental U.S. This is a well-crafted page-turner. Agent: Nat Sobel, Sobel Weber Assoc. -
This audiobook begins with a fascinating premise. Nine people receive an identical list of names of nine people, including themselves, with no other context provided. Then people start dying. Narrator Jacques Roy does an excellent job creating distinct personalities for all nine on the list, voicing their journeys from bewilderment to skepticism to introspection to fear. However, the audiobook isn't easy to listen to. Each section begins with a repeat of the list and ends with a murder--including date, time, and location details that are difficult to follow as a listener. Narrator Mark Bramhall makes a notable appearance at the end when the killer is revealed and seeks to justify his actions. A quick listen but may be better read in print. K.S.M. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
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June 1, 2022
Nine names. Nine identical lists. One murderer. Nine seemingly unconnected people receive a list in the mail with their name alongside eight strangers. The mystery of the lists and why they were chosen draws each of them into a deadly game, and as the murders begin, chances are none of them are coming out alive. A smooth if slightly monotone narration doesn't quite manage to save a stale mystery peopled with characters who don't really have room to flesh themselves out. Additionally, each chapter of the book is headed with a time stamp and a recital of the list of nine names. In print, it would be easy to skip over this formatting choice, but on audio, it becomes repetitive. VERDICT A secondary purchase for audio collections; this title from best-selling Swanson (Eight Perfect Murders) may work better in print.--Chrystopher Lytal
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