Her Every Fear

Publisher's Summary

The author of the wildly popular The Kind Worth Killing returns with an electrifying and downright Hitchcockian psychological thriller - as tantalizing as the cinema classics Rear Window and Wait Until Dark - involving a young woman caught in a vise of voyeurism, betrayal, manipulation, and murder.

The danger isn't all in your head.

Growing up, Kate Priddy was always a bit neurotic, experiencing momentary bouts of anxiety that exploded into full-blown panic attacks after an ex-boyfriend kidnapped her and nearly ended her life. When Corbin Dell, a distant cousin in Boston, suggests the two temporarily swap apartments, Kate, an art student in London, agrees, hoping that time away in a new place will help her overcome the recent wreckage of her life.

But soon after her arrival at Corbin's grand apartment on Beacon Hill, Kate makes a shocking discovery: his next-door neighbor, a young woman named Audrey Marshall, has been murdered. When the police question her about Corbin, a shaken Kate has few answers and many questions of her own - curiosity that intensifies when she meets Alan Cherney, a handsome, quiet tenant who lives across the courtyard, in the apartment facing Audrey's. Alan saw Corbin surreptitiously come and go from Audrey's place, yet he's denied knowing her. Then, Kate runs into a tearful man claiming to be the dead woman's old boyfriend, who insists Corbin did the deed the night that he left for London.

When she reaches out to her cousin, he proclaims his innocence and calms her nerves, until she comes across disturbing objects hidden in the apartment - and accidently learns that Corbin is not where he says he is. Could Corbin be a killer? And what about Alan? Kate finds herself drawn to this appealing man who seems so sincere, yet she isn't sure. Jet-lagged and emotionally unstable, her imagination full of dark images caused by the terror of her past, Kate can barely trust herself. So how could she take the chance on a stranger she's just met?

Yet the danger Kate imagines isn't nearly as twisted and deadly as what's about to happen. When her every fear becomes very real.

And much, much closer than she thinks.

Told from multiple points of view, Her Every Fear is a scintillating, edgy novel rich with Peter Swanson's chilling insight into the darkest corners of the human psyche and virtuosic skill for plotting that has propelled him to the highest ranks of suspense, in the tradition of such greats as Gillian Flynn, Paula Hawkins, Patricia Highsmith, and James M. Cain.

©2017 Peter Swanson (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

"Like all good psychological thrillers, this one keeps listeners on edge.... Swanson's story is compelling. [Narrator Eva] Kaminsky brings it all to life - the fear and panic and the tenuous nature of trusting ourselves and others." ( AudioFile)

Sometimes the Narrator Elevates the Story

I have GOT TO STOP buying into this irritating rash of 'clever modern thrillers with a twist' a'la 'Gone Girl'. They are not clever and not thrilling. The heroine of Her Every Fear makes some astonishingly stupid choices while writer Swanson tries unsuccessfully to support the pathology behind those choices.

Narrator Eva Kaminsky's superb style and perfect pacing propelled me through what - in other hands- might easily have been a 'return unread'.

I'm going back to Tey, Hightower, Levin, Vine, Rendell; writers who knew how to twist the knife (and the plot).

62 of 63 people found this review helpful

I do love a good psychological thriller!

But HER EVERY FEAR ain't one! The sole redeeming grace is the truly outstanding narration by Eva Kaminsky. I listened to the entire novel thanks to the narration.

9 of 9 people found this review helpful

Very entertaining

I bought this book based on the author's previous work which I found entertaining.
This book is told from multiple perspectives which I really enjoy. This author does this very well as he doesn't just have multiple characters recount the same events/circumstances over and over again. Each perspective adds another layer of character development, intrigue, and mystery.
This isn't a great book as there are some crater-sized plot holes one has to overlook, but I think it's extremely entertaining and well written. The narration is also very well done.

18 of 19 people found this review helpful

Unique!

Very different storyline than I have heard before and the narration was outstanding. If psychological thriller is what you like, I highly recommend this book.

6 of 6 people found this review helpful

Enticing Thriller With Original Narration

Her Every Fear deals with a woman who has swapped apartments with her cousin in the United States. He's gone to her place in London, and she's at his place in New York city- and their reasons for swapping are extremely good. We find more about their need to 'get away' as the book progresses. Corbin, her cousin, has a very deep, dark and secretive path and it might put many others in danger.

The story is told from both cousins' points of view and the point of view a killer who is acquiring a body count with classic signature serial killer qualities. But Corbin isn't exactly innocent in the whole situation, and he's putting the lives of the people he loves at risk.

Her Every Fear is a fast paced thriller that held my attention and I gobbled up the book in just a couple of days. I would recommend it to a person who likes thrillers- great for walking, or a long trip. Great job Peter Swanson- and excellent kudos to the narrators of this audio book- it was a fairly good listen.

-Wendi

9 of 10 people found this review helpful

3/4 of book was interesting enough

I wasn't expecting anything as good as 'The Kind Worth Killing' (One of the best books I ever listened to) but I still felt like this book didn't meet the expectations I had. The book had promise for awhile - But I feel like there is an ingredient missing. Like someone left the salt out of the stew. Writing from a vantage point of 3 or 4 characters perspective can be okay - But I think the last part of the book over did it. By the end - I literally forwarded the audio book through the last bit of regurgitation to find out what happened. I thought the ending could have been better - Darker. I have an idea how the book should have ended in my opinion - But But who am I - Right?

For what its worth, J

14 of 16 people found this review helpful

Thanks for not killing the cat

Inevitably, in most other thrillers the cat meets a ghastly ending, and it was a pleasure this time that the engaging cat character probably still survives to this day. I enjoyed the story, albeit implausible. The narration I did not enjoy. Ms Kaminsky had an unfortunate way of starting her sentences in a high screeching wine that wound down a few octaves by the end of the sentence. There is no rhyme or reason why she did this, she just did and I found it most off putting and distracting. This was really the only major fault though. Recommended

3 of 3 people found this review helpful

CREEPIEST Novel of 2017!

Whew, Steven King could like this especially if his own imagination hasn’t inured his “Ewwww!” response. But King loves his gross-out devices that abruptly kick in a reader’s “Holy Dung!” instinct. Swanson doesn’t do that. Yeah, this is a story of murdery gore, but it darkly builds until hairs begin to wriggle upon your neck’s back. If you like to be terrified gradually - by a good writer and excellent reader - here’s your book.

Me? Well I don’t much like creepy stuff, so I won’t buy another Swanson novel, um, well - maybe not. I don’t think so. OTH, I held on till the end and.... look at all the stars I somehow gave...

‘

5 of 6 people found this review helpful

Story is interesting, but the narration is inconsistent

The story was fine. Nothing mind-blowing and it dragged at times. What was really off-putting to me was the narration. The story would be read in an “American” accent when the Englishwoman was thinking.

2 of 2 people found this review helpful

Save your money, Folks

For some reason, the author found it necessary to over explain things, and we get to learn about the same events ad nauseam. That made it hard to want to finish this book, and it was also pretty predictable. Save yo dollars!

2 of 2 people found this review helpful