I’ve always enjoyed Peter Swanson’s books as they are twisty and fun, often keeping me well entertained on cold, dark nights!
Every Vow You Break was a compelling read even if a suspension of belief is required at certain points in the novel. After all it is a work of fiction and as long as it keeps the reader turning the pages it does not matter that some of the events in it are slightly difficult to believe; it is doing a good job as a form of entertainment.
Abigail is about to marry Bruce who is rich and extremely eligible. On her luxury hen weekend paid for by her fiancé, she is seduced by a stranger and begins to doubt her marriage plans. However on her return home she decides to go ahead with Bruce, keeping her infidelity a secret.
Abigail and Bruce marry and he whisks her off to a remote island honeymoon ........this is when things start to go wrong for her and the reappearance of the stranger she slept with adds a huge complication. The honeymoon idyll gradually turns into something more sinister.
It is in this section of the book that things become very fast paced, leading to an exciting conclusion.
I raced through this novel as like all of Peter Swanson’s books, it had a twisty and gripping plot. I did not sympathise with Abigail at the beginning, her behaviour was appalling, but as the book moved along I definitely started to empathise with her predicament and by the end I was willing her to escape.
All in all this was a fun read that I raced through in a couple of days..
If you’ve read the author’s other books I’m sure you will enjoy this and if you are new to him hopefully it will encourage you to read his other novels which are also excellent reads.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for my arc in exchange for an honest review.

This did degenerate a little into farce towards the end but, as it had kept my attention nicely throughout, I thought I'd be generous and round my 3.5 up to the 4 stars.
Abigail is engaged to Bruce. He didn't really set her sparks flying when they met but they rub along nicely on a cerebral level and the physical isn't too shabby, oh, and he's a mega billionaire to boot.
But on her hen weekend she is drunk, and tempted, and succumbs to the wily charms of a man she nicknames Scottie. She soon regrets this and the incident becomes the catalyst for her to go all in on her relationship and wedding to Bruce. But Scottie isn't going to give up any time soon... As she finds out on her honeymoon, on a remote island resort that Bruce co-owns when he appears out of the blue.
Less is definitely more going into this book. You need to sample it in all its glory as the author intends. As things swiftly start to spiral out of control for Abigail once she cottons on to what is really happening, what the real purpose of the idyllic resort is.
Characterisation is tricky to comment on - for obvious reasons once you read the book. But I did feel for Abigail once it all started kicking off. I know reap and sow and all that - but, well, you'll see... Speaking broadly, all the characters were well drawn and I connected with the majority quite well in one way or another. It's hard to explain without spoilers so...
Pacing was good - there was the usual scene setting to be had but then, one the truth was starting to come out, it did race off at a rate of knots; maybe too fast. And, as I already said, did degenerate into farce a tad. But it was thrilling nonetheless.
All in all, not the author's strongest book in my opinion but a worthy read. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

Peter Swanson’s books can be a bit of a ‘hit and miss’ for me and Every Vow You Break was definitely a ‘miss’. It was slow going, predictable in some places and implausible it others. Hopefully the author will be back on form with his next novel.

Every Vow You Break - Peter Swanson

First of all I'm a big fan of Peter Swanson's books having binge read all his previous books during lockdown last year, and written glowing reviews of most of them on social media.

Abigail Baskin is weeks away from her marriage to Bruce, a Tech entrepreneur. On her luxury Bachelorette Weekend she meets a seductive stranger known as Scottie. The wedding goes ahead, and most of the book takes place on Abigail and Bruce's Honeymood, on an exclusive resort called Heart Pond Island.

All is not as it seems and Abigail soon starts to doubt and then fear those around her.

I was disappointed to be honest, while quite readable, I felt it was lacking the sharp, sinister touches and twists that for me define Peter Swanson's novels.

The setup had potential and was better than the second half which felt more like a Young Adult adventure novel.

Thanks to Netgalley.

I love Peter Swanson, but "Every Vow You Break" was my least favourite of his books so far.
The beginning was quite slow: it took a while to introduce Abigail, the main character, but I didn't much care. After she and her husband went on an island for their honeymoon I became more invested in the story. Indeed, the middle part is the strongest of the book, where we slowly find out that something is wrong and what is actually happening. I must say, however, that the twist wasn't hard to guess and it was too far-fetched for my tastes. I do think you need to suspend your disbelief while reading thrillers, but in this case it was a little too much. The ending also wasn't the best, because it dragged a bit and, again, I found it to be a little too unconvincing.
Not an awful book, but definitely not the best Swanson has to offer.

I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. My true rating for this would be 3.75 stars.

This is the story of Abigail. She meets Bruce Lamb who is a multi millionaire and quickly falls for him and they decide to marry. At her Bachelorette party she meets man who calls himself Scottie who later reappears on her honeymoon.

I have had a hard time trying to review this book whilst not giving too much of the plot away. A lot of this book is just setting the scene. How Abigail met Bruce, her previous relationships, her relationship with her parents. Despite that I did enjoy reading this story and it somehow kept me turning the pages even though most of the action was at the end.

I'm torn between deciding if this book is believable or a bit far fetched, and I guess in the world we live in it could happen? A honeymoon used as a guise for revenge rituals by psychopathic men on their 'immoral' new brides? Maybe? While this book was an easy read it was also a bit predictable, and the characters were such that it didn't take too much imagination to figure out who was behind the crazy goings on right from the start. Still that didn't stop me reading on and enjoying the weirdness of it all. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy of this book.

From the author of my favourite thriller of all time, I have to say sadly I really disliked this. It felt really predictable and the ending was absolutely unpalatable. I volunteered to read and review an early copy of this.

Peter Swanson never disappoints. An original story with fairytale feel, featuring Abigail , a quirky character who dresses from vintage shops. She relates everyday life to movie/book themes. However its no fairytale for Abigail, when on her honeymoon with her rich husband Bruce, her exlover from a one night stand turns up..
The honeymoon is set on a creepy island called Heart Pond, complete with woods and a tunnel. Its a retreat for tech people to go to and has no electricity or screens or wifi.
Wonderfully woven thriller of a series of coincidences, so many surprises along the way. The psychological suspense builds and who can Abigail trust? It all comes together like a filmset and a satisfying conclusion.

This was a run of the mill thriller .-not a patch on A Kind Worth Killing -In my opinion.
Abigail meets and falls in love with a billionaire -Bruce.. Yet on her hen party weekend she has a one night stand with a stranger-(Scottie ) . For their honeymoon -big bucks Bruce whisks Abbie off to a secluded island -which he part owns (obviously). Guess who turns up that first evening ? Good old Scottie !
Needless to say things start to go downhill rapidly .

Not the best for me I'm afraid -it had the feel of a B movie - just too predictable .

Thankyou NetGalley for an ARC in return for an honest review

A very appropriate title as it turns out, just a pity I’ve had the Police track ‘Every breath you take’ as an ear worm ever since I started the book! However, the lyrics are so apt. I don’t want to say much about the plot as it’s best to go in blind but suffice it to say it all starts to go wrong at Abigail Baskins hen do (can’t say Bachelorette, I’m British!) in California. She’s due to marry multimillionaire Bruce Lamb in a few weeks on the east coast ... which goes ahead and he duly whisks her off to Heart Pond Island for the honeymoon. Abigail narrates the story.

I really like the slow burn build up start of this one. It’s quite understated, reflective, almost introspective to start with and very easy to read. Then the pace picks up and you feel little ripples of unease and a few frissons of fear, like a freezing cold draught on the back of your neck. The island feels surreal and dreamlike which echoes Abigails own dreams which contain some interesting imagery. The sense of unreality deepens and you realise that it’s all quite theatrical which Peter Swanson matches in the many film references. Which film are we in? Well, initially it’s a creepy, claustrophobic one with plenty of suspense and tension. Then at around two thirds of the way through it’s a movie that starts to hurtle towards the edge of a cliff a la Thelma and Louise. Although my jaw plummets on occasions too, it starts to become predictable from this point because I’d figured it out. The build up to the end is far fetched, mad, entertaining and certainly bonkers! It feels a bit hysterical or is that me??!! The ending is a bit abrupt, coming to a somewhat rapid halt. As for the characters, I couldn’t get a handle on Abigail, Bruce is undeveloped and I’d have liked more, the nicest characters are Abigail’s parents and best friend Zoe.

Overall, the author is a fantastic writer and although I have enjoyed this one enough to warrant four stars I don’t think it’s his best book as his twists are usually unpredictable. In this one they are clear to see and so it doesn’t have the same impact.
3-4 stars rounded up.
With thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for the arc for an honest review.

This book was really addictive to read - I read it in just over 24 hours which is unlike me! Once I picked it up, I was instantly hooked and had to get to the end. I enjoyed the pacing, even though most of the "action" happens towards the last quarter of the book. I thought the book was the perfect length which is something I often find an issue with - e.g. books dragging on for too long!

I thought the plot was interesting but also in parts predictable or far fetched (I know that sounds kind of contradictory!). I initially requested this book as I loved Peter Swanson's "A Kind Worth Killing". While I don't think it is as good as that, I can't give it any less than 4 just because of the fact that it engrossed me so much.

This isn't meant as a negative critique but I kept thinking that this is the kind of book that:
- I would pick up in a WH Smiths at an airport before going on holiday
- I would recommend to my mum in law, friends who don't read a huge amount or colleagues at work

Thanks very much to Faber & Faber for providing me an e-arc of this!

A psychological thriller. Abby is about to be married but at her bachelorette party she has a one night stand with a man she names "Scottie". She decides not to tell her future husband and predictably this will all come back to haunt her. When "Scottie" turns up on the exclusive, secluded island on which she and her husband are spending their honeymoon her world starts to fall apart.
The story took some time to get going as there was quite a lot of setting up of the scenario. It was fairly obvious which way this was going and I felt myself getting frustrated with Abby at times. Nevertheless, with a theme of horror movies running through the book, this was a nerve-tingling thriller. Once past the initial chapters, the pace really picked up and I couldn't put the book down. The plot itself was not the most plausible but it was a thrilling read and I read it in one sitting.

The title of Peter Swanson's latest psychological thriller is a line in the song Every Breath You Take by The Police, I had its sinister overtones playing in my head, so apt in what unfolds in the story. Abigail grew up helping her parents run the Boxgrove Theatre Company summer productions, although her parents have now split up. She moved up to New York, finding a job working for a small publisher. After a string of relationship fails with men and one woman, she meets Bruce Lamb, a self made Silicon Valley tech billionaire and within a short period, he falls in love and proposes. In comparison to her past personal history, Bruce appeals to Abigail for a number of reasons, he is level headed, logical, kind, generous and an all round good guy, and for a woman who had lived with constant financial fears and insecurities, his wealth is certainly an attractive factor.

The couple become engaged, with Abigail organising the wedding, no expense spared, and Bruce in charge of their honeymoon. At her bachelorette party in California, paid for by Bruce, a drunk Abigail with some fleeting doubts about her upcoming marriage, ends up sleeping with a stranger, choosing to call him Scottie, and she becomes Madeleine, references to Hitchcock's movie, Vertigo. Upon returning to New York, her doubts about Bruce vanish as her wedding approaches, but her life is about to become a nightmare when she spots 'Scottie' and later receives an email from him, he wants to be with her, certain they are destined to be soulmates. Fearful of the potential it has to ruin everything, Abigail's wedding goes ahead, although she thinks she might have seen Scottie there. The idyllic honeymoon is on the remote and exclusive Heart Pond Island, off the Maine coast, with no internet access and no phones allowed so the guests can make the most of the simple life, albeit served hand and foot, with gourmet food and alcohol.

Abigail goes into shock when 'Scottie' turns up, a stalker is the last thing she needs, determined to save her marriage, her life nevertheless begins to spiral out of control, a situation that develops into what she labels a horror movie, and lets just say that she is not wrong. This is a chilling story, with barely any likeable characters, although I have to say that I did feel for Abigail and the disturbingly unsettling ordeal that she finds herself facing. Swanson writes beautifully and I found myself immersed in a read where very little is as it appears. Many thanks to Faber and Faber for an ARC.

After a whirlwind, fairytale romance, Abigail Baskin marries freshly-minted Silicon Valley millionaire Bruce Lamb.
For their honeymoon, he whisks her away to an exclusive retreat at a friend’s resort off the Maine coast on Heart Pond Island. But once there, Abigail’s perfect new life threatens to crash down around her as she recognises one of their fellow guests as the good looking, charismatic stranger who weeks earlier had seduced her at her own bachelorette party...
Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for giving me an advanced copy.

I couldn't put this down! Every Vow You Break follows Abigail who is on Honeymoon with her millionaire husband when a one night stand she regrets appears. This is my first Peter Swanson and I now feel the need to pick up his entire backlist. I love the way Swanson writes every chapter was super engaging and made me want to read on. I think this book gives too much away in the synopsis, we didn't need to go in knowing the one night stand will appear on her honeymoon.

3,5⭐️

Peter Swanson is one of my favorite mystery authors and the one responsible for one of my favorite books of the last years. When "Every vow you break" was announced I think I gave a little squeal, as the premise sounded totally amazing, so I tried by all means to get an ARC, cause I couldn't wait till next March to read it. I even included it in my most anticipated books of 2021 list.

After reading some lukewarm reviews I was a bit afraid to read it and, although I liked it, it is not in the same league as "The kind worth killing", but, being honest, he set the bar very high with that one.

The start was quite slow and I found my mind wandering while reading (so much time waiting for it and now you wander? I wanted to slap myself!), but once the honeymoon starts things got more interesting. First of all, a honeymoon in a summer camp? Yeah, a luxurious one, but a summer camp in the end. Really? Girl, run away. NOW! That's not a way to start a marriage!

None of the characters were specially likable. I would have liked a bit more development in Bruce's character. He went from zero to sixty in an eye blink!

It wasn't hard to predict where the plot was headed and I missed the author's trademark twists and turns I enjoyed so much in some of his previous books. Despite it, the last 20% was completely nerve wracking, so that made up for the lack of twists a little bit.

Was the resolution completely implausible and totally bonkers? Yes. Was the ending a bit abrupt? Yes. Was it fun and mildly satisfying? YES.

Although it is not my favorite Peter Swanson, the very good and engaging writing made me devour this in less than a day.

Thanks to NetGalley and Faber and Faber for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

This story took me on a wild journey. I would not have been able to guess the plot twist in a million years. The plot twist was not to my taste. I enjoyed reading the story as the writing was good and the chapters were short. I kept turning the pages to find out what happened in the end.

If I'm brutally honest, the idea of this book is better than the final product. The premise of the book, with a brief affair before a wedding & then a subsequent meeting with that person actually really interested me, but I don't feel this book quite delivered that.
I won't give anything away, but there were real moments of suspense and interest & then there is a clear switch in the plot and it turns into something actually not that interesting and a premise and outcome that is entirely predictable.
I'm afraid more a daytime TV movie than a novel of any real note, but the real frustration is what this book could have been.

If Swanson's previous book - the superb Rules For Perfect Murders - was an homage to novels from the Golden Age of Crime, then Every Vow You Break is his tribute to movies, from classic noir to campy thriller. This tale of a luxury honeymoon on an island off the coast of Maine is slow-burning until suddenly ramping up in the closing chapters. Although I found some of the earlier parts a bit of a slog, I'm glad I persevered as the final pay-off more than makes up it. It's difficult to say much else without avoiding spoilers, however I will note that Swanson is just about the only male writer I've come across who achieves rounded, believable women as his main characters.