Before She Knew Him

'They had a secret; the two of them; and there was no better way to start a friendship than with a secret.'When Hen and Lloyd move into their new house in West Dartford; Mass.; they're relieved to meet; at their first block party; the only other seemingly-childless couple in their neighborhood; Matthew and Mira Dolamore. Turns out they live in the Dutch Colonial immediately next door. When they're invited over for dinner; however; things take a sinister turn when Hen thinks she sees something suspicious in Matthew's study. Could this charming; mild-mannered College Professor really be hiding a dark secret; one that only Hen; whose been battling her own problems with depression and medication; could know about? Lloyd certainly doesn't seem to believe her; and so; forced together; Hen and Matthew start to form an unlikely bond. But who; if anyone; is really in danger?From its deeply unsettling opening; Peter Swanson; the master of contemporary domestic thrillers; fashions a novel as brilliant; dark; coruscating and surprising as Patricia Highsmith and Ira Levin at their very best.