Thank you Harper Audio for the ALC and William Morrow Books, #partner for the finished copy of Do You See What I See? in exchange for my honest review.
Publisher: William Morrow Books / Harper Audio
Published: October 6, 2026
Summary:
New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson pens another fantastically creepy holiday novella, featuring a young writer sent to a seaside mansion to help a famous novelist finish his next book—only, when two dead bodies turn up, 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 Nora—who are currently sleeping in separate rooms—also present is Marco’s oddball sister, near-silent grandmother, 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 Can Nicholas uncover the truth before the killer strikes again?
My thoughts:
While I am fully embraced in Spooky Season reads, I will drop everything to read a new Peter Swanson book and even though it’s a holiday book, this creepy holiday novella is exactly the type of holiday read I love! And boy did I love this one!!
This is such a clever, twisty murder mystery with some Agatha Christie vibes, which of course I loved. An isolated wintry setting, lots of secrets simmering at the surface, and of course a murder or two. Our main protagonist is a struggling writer who is offered to help a hugely successful writer finish his overdue book and I loved that along the way there are references to the publishing industry.
My favorite part of the book, though, is the structure. This is always where Swanson excels, in my opinion. Without giving too much away, I will say that it’s told in three parts, each part revealing just a little more and therefore shifting what we already think we know. I was so unprepared for the twists and that ending…oh so good! Definitely recommend adding this to your holiday reading list if you like your reads to be on the darker side.
Audio thoughts:
I listened to this one and it was brilliantly narrated by Graham Halstead. He had the perfect tone throughout, managing to infuse just the right amount of suspense and emotion into his voice as needed.
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