pages: 286
read: 10/29 to 11/5/2019
book: 62 in 2019
On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.
But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse. . . .
Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.
Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive . . . with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.
But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse. . . .
Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.
Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive . . . with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.
MY THOUGHTS
ooooh man.
Peter has easily become one of my favorite authors.
THIS MAN!!!
this story!!
those twists!!!!!!!!
this book is split into three sections. i wont say on here how they're split up because i feel that might be a bit of a spoiler.
i decided NOT to look for spoilers and did good.
until i didn't.
the second twist: i kinda knew that was going to be the case. but when it happened, it happened in a completely different way. i was like W O A H !!!
same result, different trip to get there. i was not expecting it to be like that.
the first twist. now that one! that one shocked me. this was the one i cheated and read but i still couldn't believe it happened. i couldn't believe i didn't even think about that possibly happening. how did i miss that one!??!!! because Swanson is that good. ...or possibly because i was so focused on the second twist that i didn't even think it possible to have another one. i was just so focused on the outcome of Ted & Lily's plan that i didn't even think about any other one thing happening.
once it gets going, i kinda guess the other things that were happening and i was right for the most part and i even thought to myself "really?" but of course, just as i was getting comfortable, BOOM!
....and that ending!
the reviewer (where i cheated and looked for spoilers) wasn't a fan of the ending but i loved it.
because for a quick second you think ********** is fuuuucked. and then you learn that maybe they're not and then its left open ended and so you definitely do not know whats going to happen to said person.
i loved the shit out of it.
in the page before you can see ******* grinning thinking they're golden and then as i read the very last paragraph, i could just picture the smirk falling of their face. IT WAS AMAZING!!!!!
i will admit, in the middle, it kinda just fell for me which is why i think it took me so long to read it but it does pick up and it does pay off.....even if the 3rd part of the book felt...not rushed but out of character? Kimball was, idk, he irked me. i do agree with the reader in the link above that it felt kind of like "well, how do i finish this story?" and then he gave us Kimball. BUT the ending, i loved it!
i feel that its a 100% up to the reader to think of it what they want and i loved it!....even if it does seem a bit far fetched because ....well that's sorta spoiler-y so i wont say it on here but yea......this was another good Swanson book. I've had it for a while so i cant wait to read some other ones that i have of his waiting. this guys is seriously a good writer.
jump on over for spoilers!
thanks for reading!
S P O I L E R S
PART ONE
THE RULES OF AIRPORT BARS
ted is sitting having drinks when lily walks up to him. they start conversation.
they're both flying home to Boston. he was in London for business and we learn later on that lily was there due to her father's arrest.
they start talking. essentially, he tells her that he caught his wife cheating on him with their contractor.
lily tells him plain and simple "kill her."
they plan it out and get into action.
lily tells ted that he needs to find out as much as possible about Brad (the contractor) so they can device their plan.
meanwhile, in this section you are learning about lily's past. and how she killed Chet.
some artist that was living in her parents home who basically raped her.
she lures him to a part of the forest where she ends up killing him by throwing him into a well.
ted does his part and gets to know Brad.
B U T
this part ends with, TADA! Brad killing Ted.
PART TWO
THE HALF FINISHED HOUSE
Lily knows Miranda.
except she knew Miranda back when she was Faith back in college. they both used to date the same guy. Miranda dated him first but then they broke up and he dated Lily. she thought they were serious.
during the week, Erick would be in NYC for work and in the weekends he'd take the train down to Connecticut to be with Lily.
he was hooking up with Miranda during the week.
and lily only finds out when she goes to NYC to meet up with her father.
she decides to surprise Erick when another college mate sees her and they go get coffee.
lily decides to ask if she runs into Erick and home girl finds it weird given that they are broken up. lily is all WTF! but keeps quiet and goes to his job. that's when she sees him hook up with a red head.
who turns out to be Faith (Miranda).
(we later learn that Miranda did know he was still dating lily and so as a joke, she dyes her hair red. lily is a red head) .
when all this was going down, Lily was set to go to London for a year. she told Erick that it was okay if he wanted to take a break and see other people bc a year is a long time.
she was giving him a way out and he still said no.
so she decides to kill him.
he flies out to see her, hes an egotistical son of a bitch so she already knows how to do it.
down the block from where she lives, there's a pub that has a 10 beer challenge. its supposed to be hard but of course Erick completes it. its a 5 hour journey so after hour who knows what, lily tells him she's leaving and will stop by and get Indian food.
hes allergic to nuts.
she orders his food makes a show of verifying there are no nuts in his plate goes back to her place.
she takes the nuts from her plate cracks them, mixes them and hides his epi pen.
he comes home and for some reason isn't drunker than he is and then eats his food.
right away he chokes up. hes looking for his epi pen.
he doesn't find it.
he dies.
she flushes the napkin with the nuts residue (LOL), takes the epipen and puts it inside a shoe and THEN calls the ambulance.
(i know his alcohol levels are through the roof but how did the cops not question anything?)
MIRANDA
she's basically just a gold digger.
she marries ted who is a bajillionaire. okay maybe not that but he has money.
and then one day she realizes that shes fucked being married to him for the rest of her life. so she seduces to Brad to kill him under the pretense that they will live happily ever after.
shes in Miami when brad kills ted so shes in the clear.
although, i did find it weird that she was all lovey dovey when she left. i feel like ted should've seen it coming. i mean he notices it but he doesn't really question it.
eventually she realizes that Lily is involved somehow. she's sure that she somehow knows or was involved with Ted.
Brad is a wreck.
so lily stalks him and gets to him and basically tells him that she knows everything but even worse, Miranda has set him up.
they come up with this plan.
Brad tells Miranda, and she ends up meeting Lily at the house.
the plan between Brad & Miranda was for her to talk to Lily while Brad snuck in the back and killed lily from behind.
E X C E P T
Brad kills Miranda.
brad and lily go back to the truck, she gives him a drink from her flask, he passes out cause she laced it, she ends up killing him.
she then drives him back to her parents house and drops him in the well where she had dumped Chet as a kid.
PART 3
HIDE THE BODIES WELL
Kimball was assigned to the case.
(since I've already gone too long, ill make this one quick.)
he basically falls in love with Lily. well not love but he starts stalking her.
he knows something is up.
he follows her back to idk where but up by where Miranda and Ted were biuilding their home and sees her at a cemetery....he leaves, goes to eat and then decides to go back and see what tombstone she was looking at.
Lily a) knew that he was stalking her and b) that she could lead him to the cemetery.
so he's there and shes going to stab him.
i think she would have def gotten away with it had she not stepped on that branch.
Kimball had told his partner that he was following Lily and she was worried about him so as lily stabs him (and tells him that she's sorry as she is doing it) his partner catches her.
lily goes to jail, Kimball recovers, lily gets interrogated by the partner and asks her if she remembers what she told Kimball as she stabbed him she says no, the detective walks out and BOOM! Kimball walks in and starts talking shit.
he tells her that he knows that she is hiding something and that he doesn't know how, but he will find out.
turns out there is history of Kimball being a stalker and because of his actions, Lily is basically free to go. and hes going to get fired...or on leave or something.
and the story ends with lily getting a letter from her father.
he lets her know that he loves her and all this other stuff but more importantly, he lets her know that the property out back was sold and some hedge fund dude is going to build some sort of living situation.
and they are making wave on evening out the ground.
and that's its.
you are left to assume that she was going to make it out but will eventually get caught because of the property purchase. or that she gets away it.
its basically up to you.
someone even brought it up that maybe her dad found out and pieced it together and cleaned it up for her.
we'll never know.
but i loved that ending!
The bulldozer clearing up the meadow could very well push the well in and cover it over more so the bodies are buried more deeply and never found.
ReplyDeletei also look at it like "theyre gunna dig that shit up and BOOM! bodies." but isnt that the beauty of it! it can go several ways! at least i think so....
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