Every Vow You Break
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
Author:
Genres: Literature & Fiction, Mystery, Thriller & Suspense
Book Type: Hardcover
I decided to read Peter Swanson's Every Vow You Break on the strength of how much I enjoyed his previous book, Eight Perfect Murders. I have to admit that I did have a couple of reservations. First, the title. I found the Police's mega-hit Every Breath You Take to be downright creepy and could never understand why anyone in their right mind would want to play it at their wedding. It's stalker music, folks, and Swanson's book title directly refers to it. My second reservation was my spotty track record with domestic thrillers. Especially in this subgenre, if there's not at least one character I can like, chances are slim that I'm going to like the book.
Well, my reaction to Every Vow You Break was decidedly lukewarm. To begin with, I had to wade through all of Abigail Baskin's previous relationships in order to understand how different Bruce Lamb was. All that did was make me care less and less about Abigail. Sooner or later, Abigail's going to find fault with anything no matter how perfect it originally was. Her drunken one-night stand made me roll my eyes because it was so obvious something was going to go wrong, and even Bruce seemed too bland and too good to be true, no matter how much money he had.
Okay. I didn't like Abigail. I didn't like Bruce. Having been the victim of a stalker, I wasn't about to find One-Night Stand Man appealing. So what kept me reading Every Vow You Break? I kept reading because I knew something was going to go wrong and I had to know what it was and how Abigail would manage to get herself out of it. That's why I kept reading.
How did that work out for me? I can see something like that actually happening, but more than anything else, it made me angry. Angry that something like that could actually happen. If you couldn't finish watching The Handmaid's Tale because it made you so angry (like me), you might want to avoid Every Vow You Break. And that's all I'm going to say about what Abigail had to deal with at the end.
I said that my reaction to Swanson's book was lukewarm, but that's not exactly true, is it? My Dislike button was firmly pushed several times. My curiosity was totally engaged, and a match was struck to my temper. Swanson kept me reacting and kept me turning the pages all right. I just wish I'd paid more attention to my track record with domestic thrillers. Of course, your mileage can certainly vary, and I hope it does.
Well, my reaction to Every Vow You Break was decidedly lukewarm. To begin with, I had to wade through all of Abigail Baskin's previous relationships in order to understand how different Bruce Lamb was. All that did was make me care less and less about Abigail. Sooner or later, Abigail's going to find fault with anything no matter how perfect it originally was. Her drunken one-night stand made me roll my eyes because it was so obvious something was going to go wrong, and even Bruce seemed too bland and too good to be true, no matter how much money he had.
Okay. I didn't like Abigail. I didn't like Bruce. Having been the victim of a stalker, I wasn't about to find One-Night Stand Man appealing. So what kept me reading Every Vow You Break? I kept reading because I knew something was going to go wrong and I had to know what it was and how Abigail would manage to get herself out of it. That's why I kept reading.
How did that work out for me? I can see something like that actually happening, but more than anything else, it made me angry. Angry that something like that could actually happen. If you couldn't finish watching The Handmaid's Tale because it made you so angry (like me), you might want to avoid Every Vow You Break. And that's all I'm going to say about what Abigail had to deal with at the end.
I said that my reaction to Swanson's book was lukewarm, but that's not exactly true, is it? My Dislike button was firmly pushed several times. My curiosity was totally engaged, and a match was struck to my temper. Swanson kept me reacting and kept me turning the pages all right. I just wish I'd paid more attention to my track record with domestic thrillers. Of course, your mileage can certainly vary, and I hope it does.
Back to all reviews by this member
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
Back to all reviews of this book
Back to Book Reviews
Back to Book Details
