A clever psychological thriller in that it is written in reverse order. The study of a marital breakdown is written well though the two protagonists are dislkable and toxic toward each other. Thom in particular comes across as narcissistic even as a youth whilst Wendy is a cold fish. I love Peter Swansons novels and in the surface I enjoyed this one, though not one of his best.

A good thriller but didn't really grab me with the characters. I wasn't a fan of either Thom (alcoholic, womanising) or Wendy ( hates Thom but shares a secret). I found the timeline a bit confusing until I worked out what was when. I found there were a lot of auxiliary characters.

Wendy Graves is fed up with her husband Thom. And who can blame her? Between his alcohol problems and potential infidelities, she is already spoiled for choice when it comes to reasons to resent her husband.

But perhaps even worst than those things is the fact that any indiscreet behaviour from Thom - whether via pillow talk or drunken confessions - could have serious consequences for Wendy as well.

Because Wendy and Thom have a secret. And she is determined to prevent him from letting it out - whatever the cost...

Peter Swanson can always be relied upon to deliver an absorbing story, and this novel is no exception. Weaving together the peculiarities and tensions inherent in most long term relationships, he gives us a story of how unthinkably far someone can go - depending on how much they have to lose. It easily gets 3.5 stars.

Peter Swanson never disappoints. Kill Your Darlings is the latest of his brilliant thrillers. Well written, dark, clever and twisty - his usual trademarks come off every page. Characters that feel unsettlingly real and the unusual original structure of this book sets it apart from countless others in the genre. The creepy and satisfying ending just pulls everything perfectly together. This is a masterclass in thriller writing. Thrust me you will not forget this one anytime soon.

This one had an interesting concept—told in reverse order, starting at the end and moving backward through time. That structure definitely made it a different kind of read, and I appreciated the ambition behind it.

Unfortunately, it didn’t quite land for me. The pacing felt a bit slow in places, and the story never really pulled me in. I kept waiting for that moment where everything would click or pick up, but it never fully delivered.

While the reverse timeline was unique, the overall read fell a little flat. Not the gripping, twisty book I was hoping for.
Thanks to Netgalley and Faber and Faber for the ARC

Kill You r Darlings is an interesting thriller with a really interesting set-up, with the novel beginning in the modern day (2023) and working backwards to 1982. Apart from that I found the rest of the book a bit cliche, I predicted a lot of the 'reveals'/twists and turns and the overall plot didn't really wow me. Saying that, the writing was good but it just didn't blow me away as much as I wish it did.

I loved this book. Swanson takes you deep into a marriage with dark secrets and by travelling backwards from the violent endpoint, shows l the actions and thoughts that led up to it. Characters that are complex, but draw you along despite their questionable decisions. I will go back and reread as the way we access their thought processes really intrigued me.

This one definitely messed with my head! Probably the first book I’ve read which is formatted in reverse order- beginning in 2023 and working back to 1982. It took me a while to click into the mindset that I would not be finding out what happens next when I turned a page, but what happened before.

On the surface, Wendy and Thom live ordinary lives as an ordinary married couple & we follow a lot of their mundane routines. Underneath however, there’s a whole lot more going down! We do know from the beginning that they have a dark secret and as we go back through the years that secret, and more, are revealed.

Very cleverly put together & I needed to keep reading to find out how it all concluded but I did find it a little tedious around the middle when it seemed a little laborious & waffly. The more I read the more I felt like the format was actually a big part of the plot.

Good ending though I felt it could have had a bigger build up. I would read more by this author.

Thank you Net Galley.

As others have said, this book is interesting in the way that it begins at the end and slowly works its way backwards in time. Beginning in 2023 at the end of marriage, going right back to 1982.

Whilst there were a couple of ‘reveals’ peppered throughout, they felt a bit predictable, which I guess is unavoidable when you’ve started the story with the ending.

Whilst the ‘psychological thriller’ aspect of the storyline was a bit average, I did find the inspection of the break down of a marriage very interesting (whilst also depressing!), in this aspect starting at the end of the story was really impactful as we went back in time to see the breakdown in reverse.

Overall, I would recommend this for the analysis of interpersonal relationships and the different effects that even shared events can have on people. But if you are looking for an unpredictable psychological thriller with twists and turns that will keep you guessing, this is likely not for you.

This was the first book I’ve read by this author. It started off well but the writing took me a bit to get in to; then, it got confusing as there was no rhyme nor reason as to the chapter dates. It took me a good while to realise we were going backwards, literally. Some parts I felt drawn into the story whereas in other parts it felt very drawn out and repetitive. Both Wendy and Thom are horrible vindictive characters, it was like a downward spiral as I got into their back stories! I’ll be honest and say that at 60%, I was very close to marking this as DNF. I’m glad I pushed through to the end as it came full circle. I liked how he cleverly finished it off. I needed to know how it would end and had no clue throughout. You need to concentrate on this one and remember what happens in previous chapters! I found this easier to read in bigger chunks, it’s too confusing if you have little time for short bursts.

Peter Swanson ha crafted a clever plot spanning from the present day to the past. The story unfolding backwards in time to moments and events of great importance in Thom and Wendy’s lives and relationship.
The notion of would you do anything for love is explored in its entirety and quite frankly Thom and Wendy deserve each other and everything that goes their way.

I’m a big Peter Swanson fan and very excited to get an early copy of his new book. The backwards time line is a different take on a love story or the demise of one and is a very slow burn, the best twist is the final page! I have always loved how well the author writes strong cunning women and Wendy was no exception. it’s a clever story it just didn’t dazzle me. Overall a 3.5 stars

Well now, that was a little bit different. I started reading Kill Your Darlings expecting a good old fashioned murder mystery. I got the murder, but it was far from old fashioned, and there was no mystery about whodunnit. 🔎
Allow me to introduce Thom and Wendy Graves, high school sweethearts who broke up when Wendy's family moved to a different state, but meet up again a few years later and eventually marry, until one of them decides to murder the other. 💔
The story begins in 2023, with events leading up to, and including, the murder. From there the timeline moves backwards, slowly revealing various the secrets held by the couple. We are taken all the way back to their first meeting, on a school trip when they were in 8th grade. 🔎
Thom and Wendy are not particularly likeable people, and it's hard to feel any empathy, or indeed sympathy, for either of them. 😈
This is a very slow burn, but it's worth it for that reveal at the very end. 🔎
Thanks to Faber and Faber, and Netgalley for the digital ARC.

This book started at near the end and went backwards, which I didn't realise until a few chapters in. I felt sympathy for the main character , but I di wonder why she didn't just leave Thom? It was interesting to see the relationship develop, but in reverse. There is a bit plot twist at the end , however, an epilogue would have been great to tell me what happens. I'll look forward to seeing the film once it's released.

I have read several other books by Peter Swanson and really enjoyed them. But kill your darlings just left me confused.
Thome and Wendy Graves have a great life, but the marriage is not totally an ideal one. They both have secrets which eventually something triggers in Wendy, and she kills him. The story is then told in reverse and first how they met and continues that fatal day.
Yes, I can say that this story is a unique tale and expertly done. But as I know the result it just didn’t work for me. I knew what was going to happen so the usual suspense and me wanting to turn the pages quickly to the next bit just wasn’t there for me and because of this I found the storyline to be very slow. I couldn’t really connect to the characters either. 2.5 stars from me.

Too many questions, too many plot holes and a weird timeline.
I didn’t love the writing and it was hard to read, didn’t find it thrilling. Couldn’t connect with the characters.

A clever telling with. The end at the beginning was a brilliant concept leading the reader to ponder what brought this death to occur. No spoilers! The story is told historically and presents a fascinating tale built through a series of events that are perfectly navigated.

A clever delivery and captivating read. Nicely paced and maintains the reader’s interest.

This isn’t the sort of book that I would normally read but I really enjoyed several aspects of it. Most eye-catching was the literary device of telling the story backwards. We start at the beginning with a few chapters describing how the protagonist Wendy kills her husband Thom and the rest of the book takes us back through their history so that we can begin to understand what brought them together and what led Wendy to despise him so much. This was cleverly done and the book deserves the praise it gets for adopting this approach.

On the downside the story is quite slow and has a lot of repetitive elements - Thom’s drinking and flirting as an irritant for example - and the reveal of the secrets that resulted in the couple being together in the first place is painfully slow. The veil is lifted every few chapters, but I did just want the author to get on with it and lay their cards on the table. I found that I could never read this for very long at a stretch. I dipped in and out and occasionally skimmed. It could have been a shorter, tighter piece of work and that would have made it more compelling. Telling the story backwards has some drawbacks as we always know what has happened and are simply delving backwards to understand why.

It's not a huge spoiler to reveal that when Wendy kills Thom it isn't her first foray into the world of murder. She isn't a psychopath and feels her actions are justified. I found her coldness- a total lack of any emotion or guilt in relation to her killings, to lack credibility and as a whole there seems to be very little development of Wendy as a character over the first half of the book (or the last half if you want to look at things chronologically) even though that spans 15 years, during which she must surely change as a person (her son grows up and leaves home, her relationship with Thom breaks down sufficiently that she wants to off him). That steadiness (not woodenness) did not ring true and would have been even more obvious if the action had played forwards instead.

Still a good story - just not worth so many pages. I am sure the forthcoming movie will do well. Three and a half stars from me. Rounded up because the ending made me smile.

Thank you to NetGalley for making an advance copy of this book available for review. The opinions expressed above are entirely my own, following a full read of the novel.

Told in reverse, *Kill Your Darlings* by Peter Swanson opens with Wendy killing her husband Thom and slowly works back through their troubled history. The backwards structure is clever and adds intrigue, gradually revealing the dark secrets that shaped their toxic marriage.

However, the pacing is a little slow at times, particularly around Thom’s drinking and the drawn-out mystery. Wendy’s cold, detached character lacks believable development, which weakens the emotional impact.

While not a gripping page-turner, it’s a smart and unconventional psychological thriller that will appeal to fans of slow burns. Looking forward to seeing how the film adaptation handles it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

This is the love story of Wendy and Thom, from their first kiss at the Exorcist steps in DC through to middle age together. It reveals the history of what they had to do to be together and what that did to them over time. The prsent day is interlaced with flashbacks to their childhood and when they reconnected.