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Kill Your Darlings

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Kill Your Darlings

By: Peter Swanson
Narrated by: Steven Weber
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About this listen

SOON TO BE A MAJOR FILM STARRING JULIA ROBERTS
FROM THE SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING AUTHOR
A FINANCIAL TIMES BEST BOOK OF 2025
'A dazzlingly clever murder mystery, told backwards.' GILLIAN McALLISTER
'Deliciously dark.' JOHN MARRS
'Exhilarating' DANYA KUKAFKA
'Ingenious' LAURA LIPPMAN

What if the only way to bury the truth is to bury your husband?
The first attempt at killing her husband was the night of the dinner party.

After forty years, Thom Graves has become an incredible disappointment to his wife, Wendy - he drinks too much, flirts with other women, and worst of all, is in danger of revealing their dark secret. But how far is Wendy willing to go to stop him?

Starting at the end, and ending at the beginning, Kill Your Darlings is an ingenious mystery about two people's life together, and the secrets which fatally bind them.

©2025 Peter Swanson (P)2025 Faber & Faber Crime Thrillers Suspense Thriller & Suspense Marriage
All stars
Most relevant
Swanson never fails! Yet again a really great novel, gradually unwinding the story of Thom and Wendy. I must admit I rushed through the first time and missed some crucial moments, but a leisurely second listening was well worth it. The backwards storyline will irritate some but it’s worth hanging in.


The narration is excellent as well.

Another gem from Peter Swanson.

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I really like Peter Swanson. This was not his best but very enjoyable. A good production.

Enjoyable

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Unlike some reviewers, I think this really is one of Swanson's best. The narrative trick of moving back in time means you're compelled to pay attention like a detective piecing together the evidence, recomposing the narrative in your mind. And you care about the characters more the less they know, which creates a moving kind of irony. In plot this has some enjoyable twists and reveals, but the ultimately thought-provoking aspect - which I know will stay with me - is its essentially chilling lack of romanticism. Characters who believe themselves soulmates, and bind themselves to each other indelibly, nonetheless ... fall out of love. It's a lightly-worn study of ethics, too, asking whether it is ever possible to get away with something terrible.

Gripping and mesmerising

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I’m a bit biased with the author as he is steadily becoming my favourite contemporary writer. He is elegant, charming, quirky and cosy at the same time.
I won’t say this is his best novel, but it really is good and I loved it.
Also I’d like to add that the reader is top notch, sometimes audiobooks spoiled by the voice actor, in this case his amazing performance just adds to the experience.

Loved it

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The backward-told story meant zero suspense. Nice final twist though. It actually worked better as a romance tale than a murder mystery.

An anti-mystery

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