Thriller & Suspense

A Expertise for Homicide Overview + Spoilers and Ending Defined

June 27, 2024

On this put up, A Expertise for Homicide Overview + Spoilers and Ending Defined, I will provide you with my fast tackle A Expertise for Homicide by Peter Swanson, clarify the way it suits into the The Sort Price Killing collection, and supply protected spoilers and the ending defined.

Graphic for A Talent for Murder Review + Spoilers and the Ending Explained. The book on a red background.

A Expertise for Homicide by Peter Swanson: Overview

A Expertise for Homicide by Peter Swanson: Jen’s Fast Take

Original photo of a copy of A Talent for Murder sitting on a bookcase next to a mug that says "You had me at hello."

Clearly (in title and plot) impressed by The Gifted Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Felt related in plot and construction to the primary two books within the collection, with a number of narrators, a twisty plot, and a bunch of amoral individuals making an attempt to outwit each other
Quick in size and skinny in character improvement, this e-book was, to me, weakest within the collection.

Did you overlook the plots of the primary two books? Take a look at my:

Plot Abstract for The Sort Price Killing

Plot Abstract for The Sort Price Saving

A Expertise for Homicide: Jen’s Overview

Original photo of copies of A Kind Worth Saving and A Talent for Murder

I assumed The Sort Price Killing was a enjoyable e-book with a enjoyable premise: when you thought you might get away with killing somebody, would you? Particularly in the event that they deserved it?

The Sort Price Killing begins with a “Strangers on a Practice” premise as two individuals meet in an airport and talk about who they may prefer to homicide.

Then there’s lots of crossing and double-crossing, individuals who aren’t who they appear to be and darkish secrets and techniques revealed. It’s a enjoyable e-book that I loved.

The Sort Price Saving got here out in 2023 and I did see the purpose of it. Two of the characters, police officer Henry and sociopath Lily, developed an odd rivalry that jogged my memory a LOT of the Luther plot with beguiling sociopath Alice Morgan (love that present!)

Original photo of A Kind Worth Saving and Nine Lives by Peter Swanson

In The Sort Price Saving, limerick-writing Henry is now a non-public investigator who takes the case of a lady who needs him to verify that her husband is dishonest. As anticipated, issues take a flip and there’s:

a personality who has a backstory just like Lily’s
a rapprochment between Henry and Lily, who begin a cautious collaboration
references to 9 Lives

I didn’t assume that A Expertise for Homicide was as profitable as the primary two books

The premise was sturdy, however then issues simply obtained bizarre and unsatisfying.
A Expertise for Homicide was fairly quick (solely 255 pages) which I didn’t assume was sufficient time to essentially make it fascinating. And price THIRTY DOLLARS.
The brand new characters felt flat and underdeveloped to me
I don’t assume it added something fascinating to the Henry/Lily scenario

I stated the identical factor about this third e-book in a collection: when you’ve missed the characters, you would possibly take pleasure in this, however when you picked this up with out studying (or remembering) the primary two books, you’d most likely be disenchanted.

A Expertise for Homicide Spoilers and Ending Defined

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So, librarian Martha determined that her salesman husband was a serial assassin and asks her previous grad pupil classmate, Lily, to assist her. Though they’ve not spoken in years.

Lily begins to analyze and agrees that, sure, Alan is presumably a assassin. However as she follows Alan, she runs into Martha’s bad-news boyfriend from grad faculty. Lily inspired Martha to interrupt up with Ethan again then.

We be taught that truly Ethan is the serial assassin. He has a brand new id as a Philadelphia artwork supplier

Lily finds Martha lifeless and is VERY suspicious of Ethan. She enlists Henry to assist her determine all of it out.

Ethan is aware of Lily is scorching on his path and kidnaps her.

My massive concern is Ethan’s motivation. He has had NO contact with both Lily or Martha for years. At one level Lily says, “I’m confused, Ethan. Martha meant a lot to you that you just waited 15 years after which concocted an elaborate plan to make it appear to be her husband was a serial killer? All to do what? To get revenge?“ Me, precisely. Ethan: “nicely, I used to be bored.”

Via a collection of massive coincidences, Lily is ready to kill Ethan and Henry is ready to find and rescue Lily.

Lily finds Ethan’s homicide journal, hidden in a hollowed out John Cheever e-book. However one of many presumed victims shouldn’t be on the listing

We be taught that Alan, Martha’s husband, wasn’t an important man both and truly killed one of many girls. So Lily murders Alan too.

My take? Martha has VERY unhealthy style in males. Okay, I’m going to re-watch Luther now.