Book Review - Every Vow You Break by Peter Swanson

Title: Every Vow You Break
Author: Peter Swanson
Genre: Thriller/ Mystery
Published: 2021
 
Description: Abigail Baskin never thought she’d fall in love with a millionaire. Then she met Bruce Lamb. But right before her wedding, Abigail has a drunken one-night stand one her bachelorette weekend. She puts this incident – and the sexy guy who wouldn’t give her his real name – out of her mind, and now believes she ants to be with Bruce for the rest of her life.
 
Then the mysterious stranger suddenly appears, and Abigail’s future life and happiness are turned upside down. He insists that their passionate night was the beginning of something special and he’s tracked her down to prove it.
 
Does she tell Bruce and ruin their idyllic honeymoon – and possibly their marriage? Or should she handle this psychopathic stalker on her own? To make the situation worse, strange things begin to happen.
 
Review: Abigail is about to get married to Bruce, a self-made millionaire. On her bachelorette party, in a very drunk mood, she sleeps with a stranger. He never gets his real name, but she calls him Scottie, while he calls her Madeline. Abigail intends to leave that one-night stand and the handsome stranger behind her, when a couple of days before she is about to get married, she received an e-mail from “Scottie”, telling her he believes they are meant to be. Abigail responds, thanking him for the compliment, but she is sure she will marry Bruce.
 
When Abigail and Bruce are on their honeymoon, “Scottie” is there too. Is he stalking her? And should she tell Bruce about him, before it turns for the worst? With that, strange things start happening on the island they are vacationing on.
 
I have read a few books by Peter Swanson and I’ve like them and loved a few as well. Swanson has a large backlist and I want to eventually read them all. “Every Vow You Break” unfortunately won’t end up on my favorites list. I did not like this book.
 
First of all, the characters. I didn’t like a single one of them. And I can deal with unlikeable characters. But not with characters that make dumb decisions, have strange motives and are simple impossible to relate to. Abigail cheated on her husband and I jut can’t root for someone like her, even though that’s what we are meant to do. Okay, she doesn’t deserve what eventually happens, but still.
 
I also never understood the relationship she has with Bruce. Other then the few sex scenes in the book, they show no form of love for each other. People around Abigail ask her if she is marrying him for this money, but I can’t really think of another reason either.
 
The book has some predictable twist, but also a really strong one. It was a good twist in the sense of, I didn’t see it coming. The whole twist itself was strange. I didn’t see the reason why the people involved did what they did, leading up to these events. The motives felt weird.
 
The one element I did really enjoy was the setting. I’m a sucker for a secluded location, where there is no cell phone reception and you’re cut-off from the rest of the world. That worked.
 
If I would ever recommend a Peter Swanson, this is not going to be the one. I’m sure there are many people who did love it, but I did not.
 
Rating: 2/ 5