Overall:  First of all, if you have not read Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None, you need to read that book before you read this one!  (And why wouldn’t you read it, it is one of the most perfect murder mystery novels ever written!)  Anyway, the entire plot of this book by Peter Swanson is blatantly stolen directly from that book.  That Christie novel is discussed all throughout this book, and the ending of that books is given away in this one.  So, you really need to read that book first, or it will be ruined for you forever.  That said, this book, Nine Lives, is about 9 strangers that each get an envelope with a list in it.  The list is of 9 names and their name is on it.  None of the people on the list know eachother or seem to have anything in common.  They do not think much of the list and some even throw it away, not worried at all about what it is, or why their name is on it.  But, one of the people on the list is FBI Agent Jessica Winslow.  She finds out that one of the people on the list was murdered, while holding the list in his hand.  This gets her investigating the list and what possible connections the 9 names on the list might have to eachother.  She does not think the 9 names were chosen at random by a crazy serial killer.  She believes that even though each person on the list she calls says they do not know any of the other names on the list, Jessica thinks they have to be somehow linked.  She is working on the mystery of who these people are and why they are on this list, but, then another person on the list is murdered, and then another.  By then, everyone on the list that is still alive is put under police protection and scared that they will be the next to die.  FBI Agent Winslow is trying to solve the case before her name comes up to be the next one killed.    

Opinion:  Again, you need to read Agatha Christie’s, And Then There Were None, before you read this book!  I bought this book because it was based on that amazingly good one. I knew it was “based” on that book, but I wish it was not so similar!  Not nearly enough was changed in my opinion.  However, there was a surprise add-on to the ending of this book that is new and not something that Christie could have done in her book.  As for this book, I enjoyed it.  I appreciated that at the very beginning of the book, there is a page that tells you all the names on the list and gives you a brief description of each person. That was very helpful and I put a Post-It Note on that page and kept referring to it for a while until I knew who all the characters were.  The pace of the plot was quick, and there was always suspense to keep you guessing on who was going to be the next victim.  The book kept you reading with its short chapters and it’s plot line of wondering if the FBI Agent was going to solve the case or get murdered before she figured it out.  I really enjoyed the book.  Probably because this thriller was so much like the Christie book.  This book is an entertaining, well told, well paced, murder mystery.  I did not want to put it down.  So, if you have already read, And Then There Were None, and enjoy murder mystery / thrillers, I think you will really enjoy this book too.  Rating 9 out of 10