Editorial Content for Do You See What I See?
Contributors
Reviewer (text)
DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? is a Christmas-themed novella that more than qualifies for the spooky season as it features a double-murder and plenty of dark plot twists.
The book opens with a character list, which is extremely helpful as it provides both potential suspects and victims to come à la an Agatha Christie mystery. The first line states: This is a Christmas story, but it doesn’t begin at Christmas. Nicholas Child, who recently has been dropped by his publisher after only two novels, is called to New York City on a wet November day to meet with his agent, Linda Barkin. He assumes this will be the moment that she cuts ties with him as well, but he is pleasantly surprised that she has an offer of a short-term assignment for him that can pay an easy $50,000.
"[T]he book takes a completely unexpected turn as it moves into a meta-style series of rewrites... This is classic Peter Swanson and makes DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? a very clever and unpredictable reading experience."
Linda’s top client, Marco Tavares, is having a serious case of writer’s block when it comes to the novel he is contracted to give to his publisher in a month. Marco has reported that he is nowhere close to being finished, and what he has written is total trash. Linda wants Nicholas to spend a month at the Tavares house in Cape Cod, starting the week before Christmas, to see if he can salvage Marco’s work. She also encourages Nicholas to continue working on his third novel, which might have an opportunity for a new contract should he be successful in helping Marco.
Upon arrival, Nicholas meets the residents of the sprawling seaside estate --- Marco’s wife, Maeve; his sister, Cat; and his mother. Maeve is a painter and runs the entire show, but it is obvious that there is some frustration between her and her husband. When a clearly intoxicated Marco returns home, he has his best friend, Billy Sousa, with him. Billy is beyond inebriated and crashes into his semi-permanent bedroom at their place.
When Marco gets the chance to chat one-on-one with Nicholas, he describes his frustration at the novel he is working on and provides the only readable portion of the manuscript (about five chapters) for him to look at. He also discusses the pressure he is under since the global success and upcoming film adaptation of his huge bestseller, The Girl at the Door. Upon first glance, Nicholas finds some obvious areas for improvement but shares with Linda that the work is definitely salvageable.
To spice things up even more, the remaining guests who are spending Christmas with the Tavares clan arrive --- Eve Margolis, Marco’s ex-girlfriend; Ben Strickland, Eve’s jealous and dull husband; and James Beers, a writer who accused Marco of stealing his idea for The Girl at the Door but now claims to be his friend and may have more than a passing interest in Maeve. Nicholas learns that Marco has a wall of weapons in the house, all themed from famous horror and thriller movies. James also quotes the novella’s title to Nicholas while sitting down to the evening meal. When he asks, “Do you see what I see?”, he qualifies the question as noticing how evident it is that they are in a murder mystery story with a table full of individuals who may have a reason to want Marco dead.
Two of the people at that dinner will not be alive by the following morning. The police arrive, and the investigation begins. It is at this point that the book takes a completely unexpected turn as it moves into a meta-style series of rewrites, all made to look like they are coming from the mind of Nicholas. Each story features a new setup involving this cast of characters and different murders wrapping up each tale. This is classic Peter Swanson and makes DO YOU SEE WHAT I SEE? a very clever and unpredictable reading experience.
Teaser
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, 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. The most intriguing guest is James Beers, a 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.
Promo
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, 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. The most intriguing guest is James Beers, a 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.
About the Book
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, his near-silent grandmother, his 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 available, read by Graham Halstead
