In this week's edition of Endnotes, we take a look at Peter Swanson's Kill Your Darlings, a murder mystery in reverse. In its review, PW says "there’s plenty of shrewd sleight-of-hand."
Here's how the book came together:
Peter Swanson
“There are so many crime stories about adulterous lovers who scheme to kill either a husband or a wife. They rarely get away with it, of course, which made me think, What if I wrote about a couple that not only got away with a murder but are still married in middle age? I’d been thinking about this couple for a long time, and when I finally sat down to write the book, it was clear this was a story that should be told entirely in reverse.”
Jessica Williams
“William Morrow has been lucky enough to publish Peter since his debut, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart. So we were eager to continue working with Peter, and even more so once we heard of his idea for Kill Your Darlings. In 2024, we got to look at the first 50 pages of the novel and we were completely hooked! We acquired the novel in a three-book deal soon after.”
Danielle Dieterich
“We worked with Peter to make sure that the tension remained high throughout and that the ending paid off, and to flesh out a few motivations and unanswered questions. But the bones of the novel, and the voices, were already in place.”
Elsie Lyons
“A very talented designer, David Litman, had been on my radar for a while, and I thought he’d be able to create a package that was both upmarket and commercially appealing. The cover has a compelling, eye-catching color palette. There’s a nice interplay between the photography, type, and bold graphic elements”
