Audio only
Length3h 34m
About this audiobook
From New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson comes a fantastically creepy holiday story of a writer tasked with helping a famous novelist finish his next book. But when two dead bodies turn up at the seaside manor, he must uncover the killer before the clock ticks down to Christmas Day.
When author Nicholas Child is dropped by his publisher, his agent sends him to spend the holidays at the Cape Cod mansion of her other client, Marco Tavares. Marco needs to finish the long-overdue follow-up to his bestselling novel, and Nicholas is going to help him.
But when Nicholas arrives at Marco’s sprawling seaside estate, which is decked out in twinkling lights and a towering Christmas tree, he finds himself in the middle of a gathering where holiday cheer is in short supply—and every visitor seems to have a motive to kill their host.
Along with Marco and his wife Maeve—who are currently sleeping in separate rooms—also present is Marco’s oddball sister, near-silent grandmother, ex-girlfriend and her jealous husband, and long-suffering best friend, Billy Sousa. The most intriguing guest is named James Beers, another writer who believes that Marco’s bestselling novel was based on one of his ideas.
As Christmas Day approaches, a single boozy night culminates in two corpses, and Nicholas becomes convinced that the whole thing was a setup from the start.
With his signature slow burn and deft exploration into the dark corners of the human psyche, Swanson’s latest mystery is a master class in twists and thrills. Dive into the story here, and find out: Can Nicholas uncover the truth before the killer strikes again?
Audiobook details
Rating★★★★ 3.5 (6.9K)
Includes Goodreads, Amazon, StoryGraph, LibraryThing
GenreMystery and Thriller, General Fiction
Length3 hrs 34 mins
Narrated byGraham Halstead
FormatAudiobook
Publish dateOct 6, 2026
LanguageEnglish
More from Peter Swanson
Nine LivesPeter Swanson7h 12m3.7 (66.2K)$24 · $0.00
Before She Knew HimPeter Swanson10h 15m3.9 (99.1K)$29 · $0.00
A Talent for MurderPeter Swanson8h 24m3.8 (53.4K)$26 · $0.00
Kill Your DarlingsPeter Swanson8h 39m3.3 (13.5K)$26 · $0.00
Every Vow You BreakPeter Swanson7h 39m3.7 (68.2K)$26 · $0.00
Her Every FearPeter Swanson10h 51m3.9 (44.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Christmas GuestPeter Swanson2h 49m3.5 (70.7K)$18 · $0.00
The Kind Worth SavingPeter Swanson8h 37m3.9 (67.6K)$26 · $0.00
Eight Perfect MurdersPeter Swanson8h 4m3.8 (113.9K)$26 · $0.00
The Kind Worth KillingPeter Swanson10h 18m4.1 (249.6K)$8 · $0.00
The Girl with a Clock for a HeartPeter Swanson8h 39m3.5 (22.2K)$26 · $0.00
All the Beautiful LiesPeter Swanson9h 13m3.8 (55.1K)$29 · $0.00
Three ComradesErich Maria Remarque15h 50m4.5 (47.3K)$2 · $0.00
AngelAnita Waller10h 30m4.6 (672)$30 · $0.00
The BorderDon Winslow29h 8m4.5 (35.7K)$53 · $0.00
FlashpointCatherine Coulter11h 38m4.5 (11.6K)$29 · $0.00
The Man in the Brown Suit & They Came to BaghdadAgatha Christie15h 43m4.6 (495)$33 · $0.00
Fang Si-Chi's First Love ParadiseYi-Han Lin8h 25m4.5 (4K)$26 · $0.00
The Rose CodeKate Quinn16h 2m4.4 (493.7K)$33 · $0.00
No Woman Left BehindJulie Moffett8h 49m4.5 (3K)$25 · $0.00
CovertJanie Crouch6h 15m4.5 (2K)$12 · $0.00
Cold Case InvestigationNicole Helm5h 30m4.6 (321)$5 · $0.00
The ReunionJana DeLeon6h 31m4.5 (1.6K)$12 · $0.00
Courage Under FireSharon Dunn5h 50m4.5 (730)$24 · $0.00
Decoding the TruthJulie Miller7h 31m4.6 (350)$12 · $0.00
Murder Gone ColdB.J. Daniels5h 50m4.5 (562)$12 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky22h 22m4.4 (1.3M)$0.60 · $0.00
Crime and PunishmentFyodor Dostoyevsky23h 14m4.4 (1.3M)$1 · $0.00
Exit FeeBrad Taylor3h 16m4.5 (1.9K)$18 · $0.00
Sworn to ProtectShirlee McCoy5h 7m4.5 (1K)$12 · $0.00
The Last RemainsElly Griffiths9h 41m4.4 (37.3K)$29 · $0.00
The Goddess of WarsawLisa Barr13h 4m4.4 (36.4K)$33 · $0.00
WhistlerAnn Patchett10h 45m4.6 (4.6K)$29 · $0.00
Demon CopperheadBarbara Kingsolver21h 3m4.5 (949.4K)$46 · $0.00
To Kill a MockingbirdHarper Lee12h 18m4.5 (7.4M)$29 · $0.00
Remarkably Bright CreaturesShelby Van Pelt11h 17m4.4 (1.7M)$29 · $0.00
Desperate MeasuresBrenda Jackson8h 59m4.7 (670)$28 · $0.00
This Side of Paradise - The Original 1920 Edition (Annotated)F. Scott Fitzgerald11h 30m4.6 (1.6K)$2 · $0.00
War LordBernard Cornwell13h 21m4.6 (33.1K)$33 · $0.00
The Great Gatsby: Original 1925 Edition (An F. Scott Fitzgerald Classic NovelFrancis Scott Fitzgerald4h 45m4.6 (9.3K)$18 · $0.00
Something Like LoveBeverly Jenkins10h 21m4.6 (2.7K)$29 · $0.00
Black History CollectionFrederick Douglass, Harriet Ann Jacobs, Booker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois27h 9m4.6 (2.6K)$18 · $0.00
The Old Man and the Sea (Annotated)Ernest Hemingway4h 27m4.6 (1.4K)$2 · $0.00
White HotIlona Andrews13h 18m4.5 (136.9K)$5 · $0.00
The Ghost by the Billabong (The Matilda Saga, #5)Jackie French14h 58m4.6 (773)$33 · $0.00
Cast in BloodMichelle Sagara16h 35m4.6 (607)$33 · $0.00
The Captain Blood Trilogy (Annotated)Rafael Sabatini29h 20m4.6 (1K)$3 · $0.00
Ship of the Line (Annotated)Cecil Louis Troughton Smith11h 13m4.6 (1K)$2 · $0.00
The George Orwell CollectionGeorge Orwell24h 46m4.5 (14.4K)$12 · $0.00
Time RegainedMarcel Proust15h 38m4.5 (9.2K)$2 · $0.00
Driving ForceElle James4h 58m4.6 (407)$20 · $0.00
When God Calls the HeartBrian Bird, Michelle Cox3h 24m4.6 (439)$10 · $0.00
You may also like
The OpportunistElyse Friedman7h 33m3.9 (4.2K)$28 · $0.00
The Perfect MarriageJeneva Rose8h 48m4.0 (1.4M)$23
Hush HushLaura Lippman10h 17m3.7 (7.7K)$29 · $0.00
The Wrong FamilyTarryn Fisher8h 59m3.7 (102.1K)$29 · $0.00
The Lying RoomNicci French10h 39m3.7 (22.1K)$29 · $0.00
Where I Left HerAmber Garza9h 8m3.7 (8.8K)$29 · $0.00
The Woman in the LakeNicola Cornick9h 32m3.7 (3.8K)$25 · $0.00
Bound to DeceptionJ. L. Beck, Monica Corwin7h 28m4.2 (1.2K)$17
The Unexpected GuestAgatha Christie3h 32m4.1 (28.8K)$18 · $0.00
Drop Dead, GorgeousJ. D. Mason8h 2m4.3 (402)$20
Never Coming HomeHannah Mary McKinnon8h 27m3.8 (8.7K)$26 · $0.00
Five StrangersE. V. Adamson10h 32m3.5 (3K)$20
Seasonal WorkLaura Lippman8h 57m3.8 (4K)$29 · $0.00
Grace Is GoneEmily Elgar10h 20m3.7 (3.2K)$29 · $0.00
What the Wife KnewDarby Kane8h 56m3.7 (29K)$29 · $0.00
The New NeighborsClaire Douglas8h 52m3.8 (23.8K)$29 · $0.00
She Started ItSian Gilbert11h 14m3.6 (97.6K)$29 · $0.00
PaparazziMiss KP6h 4m4.5 (456)$17
Hardly Knew HerLaura Lippman9h 31m3.8 (2K)$29 · $0.00
Anna OMatthew Blake12h 9m3.5 (31.9K)$29 · $0.00