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A Talent for Murder  By  cover art

A Talent for Murder

By: Peter Swanson
Narrated by: Sophie Amoss, Stephen Graybill, Saskia Maarleveld, Graham Halstead, Kathleen Early, Keith Szarabajka
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Publisher's summary

A newlywed librarian begins to suspect the man she married might be a murderer—in this spectacularly twisty and deviously clever novel by Peter Swanson, New York Times bestselling author of The Kind Worth Killing and Eight Perfect Murders.

Martha Ratliff conceded long ago that she’d likely spend her life alone. She was fine with it, happy with her solo existence, stimulated by her work as a librarian in Maine. But then she met Alan, a charming and sweet-natured salesman whose job took him on the road for half the year. When he asked her to marry him, she said yes, even though he still felt a little bit like a stranger.

A year in and the marriage was good, except for that strange blood streak on the back of one of his shirts he’d worn to a conference in Denver. Her curiosity turning to suspicion, Martha investigates the cities Alan visited over the past year and uncovers a disturbing pattern—five unsolved cases of murdered women.

Is she married to a serial killer? Or could it merely be a coincidence? Unsure what to think, Martha contacts an old friend from graduate school for advice. Lily Kintner once helped Martha out of a jam with an abusive boyfriend and may have some insight. Intrigued, Lily offers to meet Alan to find out what kind of man he really is . . .but what Lily uncovers is more perplexing and wicked than they ever could have expected.

©2024 Peter Swanson (P)2024 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about A Talent for Murder

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Another excellent read!

This is another excellent book by Peter Swanson! His characters are written devilishly clever without being campy. I hope he will write more books featuring Lily Kitner. I will be first in line to read them (or listen, as the case may be). I definitely recommend this book.

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Slightly predictable ..

I really liked this book, was able to see it coming but wonderfully written and planned out! I love multiple narration and each character was well written too. Will look for more by this author. This was my first and I will listen to it again within a year or two!!! ☺️

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Love love LOVE this book!!

It was nice catching up with an "old friend" Lily! She is a brilliantly written complex character who is stand-offish but relatable. This book is good to read as a stand-alone but I highly recommend reading the the first two Henry Kimball/Lily Kintner books. Peter Swanson always knocks it out of the park for me!

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  • Overall
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Creepy

Creepy serial killer story that was better than I had expected. A few parts of the story seemed a little far fetched but overall I enjoyed it.

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Engrossing story

The narrators were excellent. The story is creative -- hated for it to end. The characters were believable and interesting.

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Loved!

I burned through this one. Interesting characters and a story I haven’t heard before. Worth the credit!

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Love the series

I enjoyed the book. I certainly do not agree with those who called it the best of the series. First book was phenomenal. Second book, very good. This one is enjoyable, especially when you know the characters. It did lack some of the mystery of the first two, but still good and I to listened and enjoyed every minute.

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Just ok…

It was an ok story I didn’t love it but also didn’t hate it. It was was honestly just mediocor

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Amazing

Loved this so much. Definitely in my top favorites. I have recommended this book to all my fellow readers

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One of my new favorites

I’ve been binging Peter Swanson books and this one was definitely one of my favorites. If you haven’t read his previous Lily books, I would recommend going back to read the Kind Worth Killing and the Kind Worth Saving. If you’ve listened to the previous two, you’ll be pleased to hear familiar voices. This book, like the previous two, has some really nice gotcha moments, that I enjoyed. There was one part that was a bit predictable, but it didn’t ruin the story. It’s a good, twisty summer read.

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