A new bride's idyllic honeymoon becomes a nightmare when a man from a recent one-night stand shows up. From the acclaimed author of Eight Perfect Murders.
... a deftly crafted noir ... If you love nothing more than curling up with an atmospheric murder mystery—or binging a Hitchcock marathon on TMC—Every Vow You Break delivers on all counts ... Swanson imbeds unpleasant truths about marriage and money, and whether or not we can truly know another person.
Every Vow You Break is not a murder mystery like Swanson's last book, but rather a psychological thriller. Some of the tropes deployed to achieve those thrills feel shopworn (an isolated retreat with no wireless and cell service?) but for the most part there is more than enough going on to keep us gripped and absorbed. Just when we think we have an idea of what Abigail is up against, Swanson pulls the rug away from under us. Strange events give way to sinister revelations and chilling encounters. The last act cranks up tension to the breaking point. Sit back, suspend all disbelief, and watch those pages fly by.
... dramatic things are happening left and right ... Mr. Swanson...has a talent for gradually, disturbingly shifting his characters’ perception of what’s going on ... Mr. Swanson’s shape-shifting saga is reminiscent, by turns, of such foreboding films as Vertigo, Fatal Attraction and The Wicker Man. Ultimately, Every Vow You Break reveals itself to be a violent melodrama, one which the author sees surehandedly through to a satisfying conclusion.
