hereveryfear

Reminiscent of Hitchcock’s Grace Kelly/Jimmy Stewart classic, Rear Window, Peter Swanon’s thriller Her Every Fear has the same kind of see-through-a-window aspect to parts of his book. But this is even more suspenseful, as we see the action through the eyes of several of the key players at the same time.

After a traumatic experience with a boyfriend, British Kate agrees to a six-month swap with a Boston cousin she’s never met. Corbin will stay in her flat and she will live in his much more spacious and lovely place that Corbin inherited from his father in one of Boston’s nicest neighborhoods. Forget any similarities to the romantic movie “Holiday,” for there the similarities end.

A young woman in the apartment next to Kate’s new home is found murdered. Audrey was killed in such in a bizarre fashion that is kept out of the media. A young man in the apartment directly across from Audrey’s can see into her place, and has developed a a habit of looking at her. He’s also seen Corbin in the Audrey’s apartment.

Yet Corbin disavows a relationship with the dead woman, and soon Kate starts to look for evidence incriminating her cousin with the murder.

Swanson is currently writing a sonnet cycle on all of Hitchcock’s films, and his influence is strongly here. It’s written in a cinematic style that is just aching to be translated to the big screen, too.

This is a fascinating look at how easily people can learn not to trust their own instincts; and the devastation that comes from the fervor of others who live in their own moral universe. It’s also a tense, gripping thriller with a twisted plot. Leave the lights on for this one.