All the Beautiful Lies is Peter Swanson’s latest offering to the thriller genre, and it has all the trappings of a Swanson read: elegant, intelligent writing; an atmospheric New England setting; and a cast of morally ambiguous characters.

The author excels at introspective, cerebral exposition that reads actively and engagingly, and his prose is literary and vivid. Mr. Swanson’s descriptions of the Maine coastal town in which the story is set brings the locale to life. And as always, Mr. Swanson writes a stellar twist for an ending.

I am used to a set structural pattern of consistently alternating perspectives divided into parts in this author’s work, but the usual pattern suddenly broke down in the last chapters and became a jumble of perspectives. I also found that the perspectives explored in the second part of the book added little to the story. The evolution of Alice’s character was the most interesting, and I was disappointed that she was relegated to a side character in the last half of the book. While some readers may find the subject matter disturbing or uncomfortable, I thought Mr. Swanson did a superb job of shying away from creating a lurid, typical picture of abuse. Instead, it was unnerving in the best of ways as the author created a fascinating glimpse into the psychology and cyclical nature of patterns of behavior.

All the Beautiful Lies made for a gripping read and once again proved that the author has brilliant, lyrical insight into human nature. I will be looking forward to Mr. Swanson’s next release. I know I can always count on the author to create a cast of noir characters who are neither good nor bad, simply messily, authentically human with an intriguing psychopath or two added to the mix.