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Before She Knew Him
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Part 3: BrothersChapter 32
Matthew remained calm. He left Michelle’s apartment, taking her phone with him. On his way home he stopped at a deserted ice cream stand, broke the phone into pieces and buried it and her house keys. At home he fantasized about killing Lloyd, then imagined what would happen once Michelle’s body was found. The police would make the connection with Scott, and then with Matthew. Another possibility was that he could try to convince the police that Hen murdered Michelle and Scott because of her obsession with him. He couldn’t imagine doing that to her, though, she didn't’t deserve it. But what about Lloyd? If he could plant evidence connecting Lloyd to the murders, it would at the very least confuse the situation. Driving to school the next morning Matthew notices Lloyd following him. He pulls to the back of the school and confronts him. Lloyd tells hiim to stay away from Hen; she is going to tell all to the police. Matthew approached Lloyd and Lloyd took a swing at him. Matthew grabbed Lloyd and got him in a chokehold until Lloyd passed out from lack of air. Matthew pulled a strand of hair from Lloyd’s head and tucked it away for safekeeping.
Chapter 33
Hen is worried about Lloyd and is about to call 9-1-1 but instead calls Detective Martinez. Before she tells him Lloyd is missing she asks if he heard about Scott’s murder, and the she saw Matthew kill him. She also asks if he knows about her history of mental breakdowns and the student who claimed she accosted her. He knew it all. He isn’t sure what to believe because she has a history of lying. Before she hangs up she tells him about Matthew’s brother Richard, that Matthew thinks he is capable of murder, but that it would women he killed. Lloyd returns home and Hen’s worry is replaced with anger. Lloyd tells her about the confrontation with Matthew. Lloyd thinks Hen is in danger and thinks they should leave -- go up north and stay in an inn, work on their marriage. Hen isn’t sure she wants to work on the marriage. She is going to go to the studio. Lloyd wants to come with her but she says absolutely not. Matthew won’t hurt her, they are friends. Lloyd says he thinks Hen has lost her mind and asks if she is taking her meds. She curses at him and leaves.
Chapter 34
Matthew decides to take the hair to plant on Michelle’s body if the police haven’t discovered it yet. He returns to the ice cream stand and after 20 minutes of searching finds where he buried her phone and keys. He returns to the condo but the police are already there. He has to talk with Richard. He calls repeatedly but Richard doesn’t pick up. He checks his voicemail and finds a message from Det. Martinez, which he returns. Det. Martinez has heard about the protective order. He wants to ask about Richard. Matthew gives him Richard’s address but lies when asked for his phone number. He tries Richard again and Richard picks up. He warns Richard that the cops are coming for him and Richard says then they are coming for you too; remember we share DNA. Matthew says that Michelle didn’t deserve to die and advises Richard to get out of town because he is not going to help him. When Richard says he expected nothing less Matthew screams at him: “You killed Michelle!” But Richard has hung up. Matthew hears a sound upstairs and when he investigates finds Lloyd hiding in a closet. Matthew hits Lloyd with a billy club as he says “I heard everything, you freak.”
Chapter 35
At her studio, Hen is thinking about her two main problems, Lloyd and Matthew. She think about his proposal, but she doesn’t really want to work on their marriage. The knowledge of the year-long fling and the deception has changed her mind. And she is not devastated at the idea of them separating, which tells her she can imagine a life without him. She does wonder about the affair, however, and decides to call Joanna. She calls Rob and gets Joanna’s number. When she reaches Joanna, she learns that Lloyd characterized their marriage as unhappy and told Joanna they had been talking about divorce before she and he got together. Hen contemplates packing up and going to stay with a friend for awhile. As she packs up to leave the studio, she hears footsteps coming down the hall toward her.
Chapter 36
Mira is on her way back to Boston. She has come to believe that her husband kills people, and that he is unraveling. There are too many dead bodies that have appeared around him, and where there is smoke there is fire. She tells her colleagues that she is ill and catches an early flight home. She arrives home to find the front door open. She goes into Matthew’s study and find that his knicknacks have been moved around,something he does when he is anxious. She notices and indentation in the sofa and a bunched up blanket, and thinks about Richard for the first time in years. She wonders if he has been staying there. She goes upstairs into her study and finds a body wrapped in duct tape from head to toe. She screams, but after she composes herself she knows she should call 9-1-1, but she has to find out who it is, if it is Matthew. She begins to unwrap the head.
Chapter 37
Richard stops by a liquor store on his way home. He lives in the house he and Matthew grew up in but Matthew pays the taxes. He grabs a suitcase and packs a few things from the bedroom. He recalls the day he found his mother’s body -- she was curled up in bed with a bottle of Smirnoff’s and a bottle of pills on the nightstand. On his way out he douses the house with gasoline and lights it with a match. He drives to Hen’s studio and gets in when someone departing holds the door for him -- he tells her he is there to see Hen. Hen peeks her head out the studio and says “Hi Matthew.” “I’m not Matthew” Richard tells her.
Chapter 38
Hen is tempted to run. It *is* Matthew, although there is something different in his eyes and the way he walks. He introduces himself as Richard. She thinks maybe it is Matthew’s twin, but then she recognizes the scar below his mouth that makes him look like Harrison Ford. She realizes that there is no brother and that this is Matthew and he is more insane than she realized. He pushes her into the studio and she kicks out at him. He mentions Lloyd and she says that Richard has never met Lloyd. Richard gets angry and she realizes that he does not like to be challenged. She wants to keep him talking. Is he a true split personality or is he just pretending? She wants to try to get Matthew to come out, she thinks she will have a better chance of getting out of whatever Richard is planning for her. She gets him to talk about Matthew and about his dad. She demands to talk to Matthew right now and Matthew emerges. Matthew did not hear what Richard was saying to her but Hen says she thinks Richard was going to hurt her -- he scares her. Matthew says Richard scares him too. She tells Matthew they should go to the police, and he says she should like him in the basement and go to the police herself. Before she goes he apologizes about Lloyd. Hen asks if he is dead and Matthew answers that Lloyd was in his house.
Chapter 39
Matthew spends the next few minutes looking at Hen’s artwork in the studio. He feels sadness that it is almost over, but also some relief. He regrets what Richard did to Michelle, and what he almost did to Hen.
Chapter 40
Hen calls 9-1-1 and gives them Matthew’s address, saying she believes her husband is there and he is injured. She then calls Detective Martinez and tells him that Matthew is locked in her studio and that he wants to confess. He is at Matthew’s house already and she is on her way there. When she gets there Martinez tells her that Lloyd is dead. She catches Mira’s eye as she is escorted down the front steps.
Chapter 41
The police bring Matthew to the station where he is interviewed.He confesses to the murder of Scott, and makes sure they understand that his wife had nothing to do with it. The detective asks about Michelle and Matthew says he knows she is dead because he saw the body, but he didn't kill her. When the detective asks where Richard is now he says that he is sleeping. He’s not ready to say more about Richard just yet. Detective Martinez arrives and he asks Matthew about Lloyd’s murder. He tells Matthew that the records show there is no Richard, that Richard died in infancy. Matthew doesn’t accept this. Richard is another person and he is very different from Matthew. Mira comes to visit him in jail and he breaks down.
Chapter 42
Hen returns to the house after a few weeks at her mother’s and then at a friend’s, and after Lloyd’s funeral. The Dolamore’s house is up for sale. Hen doesn’t dream about Lloyd much but she thinks about Matthew all the time. Det. Martinez calls and tells her that Matthew will be hospitalized for a very long time. She is going to stay in town. Going through her sketchbooks she comes across a sketch of Dustin. She reminisces about the one and only time she met Dustin. She ran into him in a café and he asked her to come back to his place and do a sketch of him. He started to kiss her and she managed to escape. She knows if she had not gotten away he would have raped her. She looks at the sketch,which shows a lot of detail of the bedroom including the fencing trophy that Matthew would later take as a memento.
The End.
Both Hen and Lloyd have their TSTL moments, don’t they? Who in his right mind would follow a serial killer with the intention of confronting him?I kept wondering what would happen if either Hen or Lloyd went to the police and reported that Matthew wouldn’t stay away from them when he’s got a protective order to keep them away from him. Since the police are disinclined to believe Hen, would they discount the whole thing as a beef between neighbors? Matthew’s weird but relatively benign fascination with Hen was an interesting twist on the usual plot expectations.
I found the idea of Matthew phoning Richard very odd. How would that work? I can understand an internal dialogue between the two, but even if there’s a separate phone in Richard’s name, it would seem Matthew could call all he wants, but Richard won’t answer until he’s the dominant personality again. And if Richard is dominant, Matthew wouldn’t be phoning. Just a plot device so Lloyd can overhear Matthew saying Richard killed Michelle, but an awkward device at best.
I’m unclear on whether or not Mira knew Matthew had an alter. All the early talk about Richard meeting Mira a few times and the two not getting along could be chalked up to occurring only in Matthew’s mind. I don’t think Richard and Mira could meet without Mira knowing that Richard is Matthew.
But I’m confused by the scene near the end when Mira finds the slept-on couch and realizes she hasn’t thought about Richard in years. It troubles me that she knew about Richard, but he had slipped her mind. If she believed Matthew had a reclusive brother living in the same town, wouldn’t that be odd enough to remain in her thoughts? Wouldn’t she at least think from time to time “Matthew will probably invite Richard over while I’m out of town?”
Or if she knew Matthew had an alter, even if she didn’t act on it (hard to believe), would that slip her mind? Now that I’ve written this out I’ve convinced myself Mira couldn’t have known Matthew had an alter. Obviously I was reading too much into it, but the couch scene somehow gave me the idea that Mira knew something about Richard.
Okay, I confess: out of this entire book the thing I find most gruesome is the thought of Mira peeling duct tape off a dead body. Ick.
Did it bother anyone else that when Hen calls the police and tells Martinez that Matthew is locked in her studio there’s not an urgent move to go to her studio to get him? They already know Lloyd is dead in Matthew’s house, so even if they don’t know/believe Matthew killed him, they should at least want to talk to him. Instead Hen goes home and Martinez tells her Lloyd is dead. Then, presumably, the police dally over to the studio. I think the pacing in this book was so good that this glitch struck me.
I thought this pause was when the photographer would reappear and somehow release Matthew/Richard.
Or I thought Matthew was killing himself in the interval. The weight of Hen’s printing presses was emphasized a couple of times and I thought they’d find Matthew crushed beneath a press.
Finally, I have to say that the revelation that Hen had known Dustin was too much for me, so much so that it lowered my rating of the book. I easily accepted that Hen became obsessed by a murder in her old neighborhood, then found herself living next door to a man she suspects did it. That, for me, was well within the range of credibility for a mystery—there always has to be a way to tie the innocent to the criminal.
But to find out she knew Dustin, he attempted to rape her, she tells no one, he’s murdered, and she moves next door to the murderer is just too much coincidence. Admittedly, it’s not that much more than the scenario I believed throughout the book, but it was too much for me.
It does add to our understanding of her fascination with Matthew and her willingness to somewhat accept him, but I think it was a completely unnecessary twist.
OMalleycat wrote: "Finally, I have to say that the revelation that Hen had known Dustin was too much for me, so much so that it lowered my rating of the book. I easily accepted that Hen became obsessed by a murder ..."
I agree, Jan that some of the story was too over the top. Matthew, Hen and Lloyd all made stupid decisions, I think. And I dropped my rating a star for this. But I did have loads of fun reading it!
The scene you mentioned about Hen noticing the couch and thinking of Richard, made me think Mira knew about Richard from Matthew. I don’t think she knew Richard was Matthew’s alter. But Matthew likely told her about his “brother”. Mira was suspicious of Matthew, though. Obviously, she could feel that undefinable something that a psychopath can’t hide. But she did a good job of keeping those niggling thoughts suppressed for years.
I do think Matthew was dominant. He likely spent most of the time in his body. Richard was Matthew’s dad. That part of Matthew’s dad that Matthew couldn’t avoid. I thought Swanson did a great job of taking us into a demented mind.
OMalleycat wrote: "I’m unclear on whether or not Mira knew Matthew had an alter. All the early talk about Richard meeting Mira a few times and the two not getting along could be chalked up to occurring only in Matthew’s mind. I don’t think Richard and Mira could meet without Mira knowing that Richard is Matthew. .."
My take on this was that Mira didn’t necessarily know that Matthew had an alter named Richard, but that Matthew would sometimes show her a dark side of his personality, and to him that was Richard. The part about the couch could mean that Matthew himself ended up sleeping on the couch when Richard manifested.
Geri wrote: "Matthew, Hen and Lloyd all made stupid decisions, I think. And I dropped my rating a star for this. But I did have loads of fun reading it!"Oh it was a fun read, for sure, Geri. I think I was disappointed in the revelation of Hen’s acquaintance with Dustin because (a) it was unnecessary and (b) Swanson, up to that point, had constructed a good plot that pushed the boundaries of my expectations of typical mysteries. Then he ends with an element that, for my money, added nothing and stretched credulity.
Geri also said: “Richard was Matthew’s dad. That part of Matthew’s dad that Matthew couldn’t avoid. I thought Swanson did a great job of taking us into a demented mind”
I’m glad you brought this up because I’d forgotten to say how much I liked Swanson’s writing of Matthew’s POV. I usually don’t like books that take me into the mind of a serial killer because it’s usually too over the top. I thought it was refreshing that Matthew is depicted as within reach of normal, as I believe most serial killers must be in order to live among us undetected. He has compulsions and quirks but manages to hold a job and have a marriage. In his mind he’s pursuing a righteous cause. What sends him over the edge is “Richard” committing a murder that’s not justified for Matthew’s cause.
I also think you’re right that Mira must have had niggling suspicions for years. Now that I think of it, aren’t there a couple of mentions of her catching Matthew looking at her in a strange way? And she’d seen Matthew/Richard with Jay shortly before he died. When Hen accused Matthew of murder it began a process of coalescing Mira’s doubts and suspicions until she knew.
Barbara wrote: "..The part about the couch could mean that Matthew himself ended up sleeping on the couch when Richard manifested."That’s a good point, Barbara. I just responded to Geri’s idea that Mira had suspicions of Matthew. It may be that Matthew slept on the couch when Richard was dominant and Mira developed an unconscious sense that the couch equaled manifestation of Matthew’s dark side.
I think it’s interesting that the two sides of Matthew reflected so symmetrically his parents’ marriage. Richard is the loathsome dad and Matthew is his mother’s avenger. Yet it’s all one mind. At root, Matthew holds his father’s appetites, yet sympathetically witnesses his mother’s suffering.
I just realized I haven’t yet brought up something I felt was missing. Right up to the end of the book I expected further resolution of the college conflict that sent Hen over the edge and resulted in her having a legal record that causes the present day police to doubt her. Was anyone else expecting this?
I thought Swanson laid some groundwork for a revelation that there was justification for Hen feeling like the other woman was planning or trying to hurt her. I think it was just hints, but I was waiting for this piece of Hen’s past to re-emerge. To assist her in getting more credibility with the police? To spur Matthew to avenge Hen by killing the other woman (ooooh: a female victim!)? I don’t know what I expected, but I kept waiting for it.
This occurred to me while I was writing a “final thoughts” post and ranting again about the revelation that Hen was almost Dustin’s victim. How much more satisfactory, I thought, if there had to be a final revelation, to make it about Hen’s powers of perception than some unnecessary detail about her acquaintance with Dustin.
Interesting. I read your earlier comment about the Dustin connection and now this. I didn't feel like either points were missing while reading the novel, and even when I read your earlier comment it didn't resonate. But now you've got me thinking.... I posted how much I liked how up front and immediate Hen was with revealing what she thought to whomever, whether it was Lloyd, Matthew or Det. Martinez. So in that context is seemed against type that she would still be keeping the Dustin connection a secret. I'll have to go back and read the chapter. Maybe she thought it had been so long that folks would think it was too coincidental. But none of the other coincidences bothered her in the retelling. When I read that part I recall thinking that it was almost like she wanted to keep this secret to herself, a privacy thing not an embarrassment thing. But that may just be me adding my own layer to the situation. Hmm!
OMalleycat wrote: "Both Hen and Lloyd have their TSTL moments, don’t they? Who in his right mind would follow a serial killer with the intention of confronting him?I kept wondering what would happen if either Hen o..."
We think alike! I’ve spent a lot of time wondering about Mira and Richard.
It was extremely odd that they left Matthew in the studio, like it was no big deal 😝
JuJu (Julie) wrote: “.It was extremely odd that they left Matthew in the studio, like it was no big deal."Julie, I’m glad you think so too! When Hen called the detective and told him what had happened I thought it was weird that he said, “You’ve got to come home.” I know he wanted to tell her Lloyd was dead but it still seems like he should have asked her if she was safe, then told her to stay there, they’d be right there.
OMalleycat wrote: "I know he wanted to tell her Lloyd was dead but it still seems like he should have asked her if she was safe, then told her to stay there, they’d be right there...."Jan, I wondered about that too. I think she said she was safe, as she had explained that she'd locked Matthew in the studio and he couldn't get out, but I expected Martinez to say "Stay put, I'll be right there." Lloyd wasn't going anywhere, he could have told her face-to-face, and then been onsite to supervise the Matthew capture, which I thought he might want to do.
Oh well, Peter didn't ask my opinion on this, LOL!
wow, great story. some fascinating characters and twists. swanson kept the illusion of Richard as a separate person alive well with the phone calls and visits. in hindsight it's more obvious there were a lot of clues. Matthew was such an interesting character and it is easy to compare to dexter as a more endearing character. I was really surprised he was so reckless to kill Scott in a carpark where people could come out at any second.
I love the bit of hen reminiscing about Dustin and I feel she is glad Matthew did what he did and wishes she intervened when it happened to her to stop him.
I think Matthew was relieved hen finally found out about him and was glad to be stopped and caught. it made sense to me for him to be locked in the basement. the fact it was only a 2 minute drive home was why the detective didn't rush to get Matthew. he wanted to talk in person first.
bit surprisedand sad by her lack of support of Lloyd after what he helped her through when she was so sick.
Jack: agreed! The illusion of Richard as a separate person impressively held up with clever manipulation. Mira's purported dislike of Richard (as understood by Richard in conversation with Matthew) then Mira's "acceptance" of Richard possibly sleeping on the sofa in Matthew's office still strikes me as the ultimate smoke-screen. Re: your comment about Lloyd. I did find the dismissal of Lloyd from the narrative after he was murdered to be a surprise.
Hen seemed to "drop" Lloyd rather abruptly after Matthew indicated he was cheating on her. I wasn't sure if perhaps that split was designed to have Hen make a break with her old life as she was drawn to Matthew.
Perhaps Lloyd's choice of a new partner and the length of the affair; or the fact that Hen had been "the other woman" before their marriage; or something in the relationship that we are missing led her to move on, but it did seem that Lloyd had served his purpose.
He did go after Matthew, but was it because he revealed Lloyd's infidelity to Hen or as a defense of Hen against Matthew. Either way it seemed Lloyd did care for Hen in his own way.
Jack wrote: "wow, great story. some fascinating characters and twists. swanson kept the illusion of Richard as a separate person alive well with the phone calls and visits. in hindsight it's more obvious there were clues.
bit surprised and sad by her lack of support of Lloyd after what he helped her through when she was so sick
E
Jack wrote: ".I think Matthew was relieved hen finally found out about him and was glad to be stopped and caught. "Jack, I completely agree with you on this. I think Matthew was weary of his mental illness and weary of killing. I think that’s why he sought a relationship with Hen—to have a release valve for all the stress. When “Richard” comes to Hen’s studio at the end and wants to hurt her, it’s the final thing that’s too much for Matthew when he re-emerges and he’s willing to surrender to Hen and let her lock him in.
Matthew’s weariness and self-disgust at the end is what made me think that he’d commit suicide in that interval when Hen is driving home and talking to Martinez. I thought that was what the delay was for (or that Richard would re-emerge and trash the studio) and was extremely surprised when Matthew was still there at the end.
Jack wrote: “bit surprisedand sad by her lack of support of Lloyd after what he helped her through when she was so sick.”And Ann wrote: "Hen seemed to "drop" Lloyd rather abruptly after Matthew indicated he was cheating on her. . .perhaps that split was designed to have Hen make a break with her old life as she was drawn to Matthew. . .or something in the relationship that we are missing led her to move on, but it did seem that Lloyd had served his purpose."
I think Hen’s and Lloyd’s relationship had run its course and, while each still cared about the other, both were somewhat ready to be out of it. Lloyd was very good to Hen when she was working through her mental illness and she recognized his role in getting her to a better place. But she chafed under his constant checking on her. Her interest in Matthew and Lloyd’s dismissal of her suspicions (“have you been taking your medicine?”) may have made her realize that no matter how much time had passed, he’d never see her outside of her illness.
And I imagine Lloyd was tired of feeling he was as much a caretaker as a husband. Perhaps a large part of his affair was seeking a relationship where he felt he and his partner were on more equal footing. Leaving Hen was on his mind. He told his lover that a divorce was imminent.
But throughout the book it was obvious they cared about each other and I was as surprised as both of you that at the end of the book Lloyd has been completely dropped.
Good analysis of the Hen/Lloyd relationship, O’Malleycat.
Barbara: Yes, I agree, Ms. O'Cat makes very good points and is very insightful! I can see that the the caretaker relationship between Lloyd and Hen could be limiting and have "gone the course" by the time Matthew came around to shed light on the inequality. Or Lloyd was a womanizing creep. Lol
Barbara wrote: "Good analysis of the Hen/Lloyd relationship, O’Malleycat."
OMalleycat wrote: "She (Hen) chafed under his constant checking on her. Her interest in Matthew and Lloyd’s dismissal of her suspicions (“have you been taking your medicine?”) may have made her realize that no matter how much time had passed, he’d never see her outside of her illness.
And I imagine Lloyd was tired of feeling he was as much a caretaker as a husband"
Jack wrote: “bit surprisedand sad by her lack of support of Lloyd after what he helped her through when she was so sick.."
I just finished BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM. Wowee! What a book! Peter Swanson has an uncanny way of making chatterers you absolutely detest and hope they will get their literary karma in the end. Even though they are flawed you still want to root for the "protagonist " in the story. I really wanted to like Hen but I couldn't bring myself to do it. Even Vinegar the cat had his problems. (I liked him though). Hen seemed too impulsive and jumped to conclusions about Mathew Lloyd which ended up hurting them all. I mean, sure, if I immediately suspected my neighbor of murder, I would follow him around to try to get "proof" and end up associating with him . I really get the point of Mathew getting the protective order against Hen and when he started connecting with her, why she didn't go to the police about that. I guess it was because she wanted to find out for herself what he was going to say, see what made him tick and try to "help' him. It was more ;ole her ego was what was driving her, to prove she was right all along. That just didn't seem realistic to me. I also thought the connection with Dustin was a little too much plot development. She was already married? Why the heck did she go to his apartment alone? That was a little over the top and I was already wanting the book t be over. then this bit with Dustin gets thrown in. Richard was probably one of the most interesting twists of the book. I really drought he existed and he was Mathew's just as evil twin. Weird that both "brothers' were serial killers. Mathew favoring male victims to "protect" women (like his mother) and Richard killed women because he thought they ere all trash (like hiss father) Not sure if that can really happen with split personality but it was an interesting psychological twist. I think this book was as dark as ALL THE BEAUTIFUL LIES but I think i liked it better. Swanson twisted the plot of BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM way too tight and that created a lot of weird, holes and unrealistic story line. It was a great read though but it really creeper me out and I had nightmares and i NEVER have nightmares! l loved his descriptive writing of autumn in Massachusetts. It r gave a true sense of time and place which I always appreciate.
The reason I didn't give the book a higher rating, as good as it was, it even attacked me! I was holding it a bit high a few days ago and the sharp hard corner hit me in the face when I moved to look at my cell phone. . OUCH! Luckily it didn't hit my eye! I still have a little sore bump there. I had no idea it was there until I pressed my finger on it and it hurt a little. I don't know what it is with me and books but Peter Straub's THE HELLFIRE CLUB landed me in the ER and Peter Swanson's book attacked me! Maybe I should just read softcovers and maybe avoid authors named Peter And it is true that even picking up a cell phone while reading can be dangerous. IT CAN WAIT! Books assaulting readers is a big No No in my own book!
So I gave BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM three stars in my Goodreads review. :)
Ceelee- great to see you read and enjoyed (mostly) the book. Nightmares indicate to me that I really immersed myself into the story which is good (to a point) lolSo we have to know what the Peter Straub book HELLFIRE did to land you in the ER!!??
As for Hen, I am with you, she sure could have used a poker face when she spotted the trophy in Matthew’s office and sure put two and two together to make ten in her first assumptions ... though he was in fact the murderer so she was right.
I also expected Richard to be a real person and the evil twin. Interesting how you have categorized their choice of victims. At least now weeks later, I don’t think I spotted that clear delineation. Thanks for that!
Ceelee wrote: “Richard was probably one of the most interesting twists of the book. I really drought he existed and he was Mathew's just as evil twin. Weird that both "brothers' were serial killers. Mathew favoring male victims to "protect" women (like his mother) and Richard killed women because he thought they ere all trash (like hiss father) Not sure if that can really happen with split personality but it was an interesting psychological twist.
About Hellfire Club landing me in the ER: In August 2007 I was reading The Hellfire Club and it was so good I could not put it down even when my arms started to hurt. It's a big hardcover book! The pain got worse and I got to the point where I couldn't even move my right arm to put in or remove my contact lenses. So my mom took me to the ER which was especially terrible for me since I have never been in an ER before. I was really nervous and it was cold in there so I was shaking. The triage nurse thought I had meningitis so they put me in a room all by myself and when they asked me what happened I said "I was reading The Hellfire Club by Peter Straub and it was so good I couldn't put it down and my arms started to hurt". They gave me these blank stares like they didn't believe me. I guess you have to be a reader to understand. Anyway they did some tests including a CAT Scan but thankfully no spinal tap and pronounced I was not a public health hazard but had extreme muscle strain from holding a book for an extended length of time, gave me something they call Liquid Gold in an IV drip and sent me home with industrial strength ibuprofen and advised me not to read for a few days. I said "ARE YOU KIDDING???? I HAVE TO FINISH IT! " Turned out I was so exhausted after being in the ER for like eight hours and being a health threat to the community, I didn't finish it that weekend but about a week later. It was definitely a great book and worth the pain to read it! I regret nothing!
Ceelee That is true dedication! What a story! Ceelee wrote: "About Hellfire Club landing me in the ER: In August 2007 I was reading The Hellfire Club and it was so good I could not put it down even when my arms started to hurt. It's a big hardcover book! The..."
Ceelee wrote: “I didn't finish it that weekend but about a week later. It was definitely a great book and worth the pain to read it! I regret nothing! "Ceelee! You’ve carried “unputdownable” to a whole ‘nother level! Maybe you need to switch to audiobooks!?!
That's an incredible story, Ceelee!Yes, my first thought was also to switch to audiobooks. My second suggestion is this product I just got from QVC. It's a soft lap bookstand called Flippy. I love it!
https://www.qvc.com/Flippy-Multi--Ang...
Ceelee wrote: "I just finished BEFORE SHE KNEW HIM. Wowee! What a book! Peter Swanson has an uncanny way of making chatterers you absolutely detest and hope they will get their literary karma in the end. Even though they are flawed you still want to root for the "protagonist " in the story. I was struck by this observation, Ceelee. It seems as if sometimes you pick up a book with flawed or unpleasant characters and you just can’t get past that to find away to enjoy the book. Or maybe even to finish it. But another author can create a similar character and by virtue of writing skills, plot design or some other quality, that writer keeps you riveted. I need to find time to read more Peter Swanson.
If the first to post, please briefly summarize to drive the discussion.
Spoilers Welcome on this thread.