Nine Lives

Nine strangers receive a list with their names on it in the mail. Nothing else, just a list of names on a single sheet of paper. None of the nine people know or have ever met the others on the list. They dismiss it as junk mail, a fluke, until very, nad things begin happening to people on the list. First, a well-liked old man is drowned on a beach in the small town of Kennewick, Maine. Then, a father is shot in the back while running through his quiet neighborhood in suburban Massachusetts. A frightening pattern is emerging, but what do these nine people have in common? Their professions range from oncology nurse to aspiring actor, and they’re located all over the country. So why are they all on the list, and who sent it? FBI agent Jessica Winslow, who is on the list herself, is determined to find out. Could there be some dark secret that binds them all together? Or is this the work of a murderous madman? As the mysterious sender stalks these nine strangers, they find themselves constantly looking over their shoulders, wondering who will be crossed off next.

Nine lives is a suspense thriller set in the modern era. Each chapter covers one of the nine characters on consecutive days. It's a clever whodunnit with a surprise ending. I was bewildered by the high body count though. Usually in a mystery I see, at the most, two people killed but here there are more. In the end it all makes sense. Don't be surprised if the plot sounds familiar. Nine Lives is based on Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, her most well known mystery. The author used alot of narrative for Nine Lives but it was cut back as the story unfolded and for a good reason. The pacing automatically picked up after each character died because less narrative was needed.  The investigation of the deaths was not a big part of the novel. It more or less was character driven.

I enjoyed this mystery and am rating it 5 out of 5 stars.