Peter Swanson’s latest, Before She Knew Him, is his most swiftly-paced and tautly-told novel. Hen, an artist with bi-polar who has a history of obsession and making false accusations, becomes convinced her new neighbour, Matthew, is a murderer. What ensues is a cat and mouse game that turns into a twisted friendship worthy of the label “psychological thriller.”

Swanson’s hallmark style of having a cluster of narrators is present here, as is the looping format of storytelling. The author leaves the reader hanging with one character to bring us back to that point with another character. This method is highly effective in Swanson’s deft hands. One of the aspects I have admired throughout Swanson’s oeuvre is his writing style. His previous books have been intellectual and lyrical with a strong literary bent. In this story, his writing is much more streamlined, his plot less literary in flow and more pointedly paced as a thriller. His writing in this tale is still noteworthy, still intelligent, but here, everything contributes to the driving pace. This is a much more plot-driven story, and each narrator contributes layered revelations in the plot. This slight shift in style makes for a strong, compelling read that fits more firmly in the mainstream flow of the genre.

Swanson handles mental illness with straightforward pragmatism, sensitivity, and adroitness. While Hen’s leaping to the correct conclusion immediately numerous times stretched the bounds of believability a bit, her swift deductions move the plot forward at an engaging pace. Hen is a great heroine: blasé, dry, and no-nonsense. Matthew often struck me as a character written in a similar vein to Swanson’s incomparable Lily from The Kind Worth Killing, but he is more vulnerable, more driven by a sense of morals, and as revealed, incredibly and hauntingly damaged.

Swanson has delivered a tense read filled with sly humour and astute observations. The climax is a surprising, disturbing twist. The author has been on my must-read list from his first book, but with Before She Knew Him, Swanson has cemented himself as a household name in the psychological thriller genre.

Highly recommended for fans of psychological thrillers.