Thank you to Bantam for sending me a copy of Peter Miles Has to Die in exchange for an honest review.
Peter Miles Has to Die by Katie Collom is the story of a group of women who decide to take justice into their own hands. This novel of revenge is gripping and memorable, with a cast of main characters who are easy to root for and antagonists it’s easy to root against.
Peter Miles Has to Die
The novel follows a group of four friends: Dylan, Priya, Isabel and the late Beck. This final member of the group was murdered before the book begins. Her killer, a cop named Peter Miles, is unlikely to face any legal or professional consequences for his crimes. And now, the three survivors have decided that they’re going to join together to mete out justice themselves.
Set in the early 1990s in Texas, Peter Miles Has to Die is a fast-paced and gripping novel that you will find hard to put down. Collom’s prose is straightforward. Her narrative style gives you a good sense of the characters, but doesn’t dive too deeply into any individual. Some novels give you a thorough investigation of each character’s interiority. By contrast, Peter Miles Has to Die gives you a sense that the characters are real, but doesn’t make you privy to all of the details of anyone’s life.
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I do have one minor quibble. Once or twice, a phrase was used that I am almost positive was anachronistic for the early 90s. While this did momentarily take me out of the story, I was back in it in short order.
The book also includes several references to Stephen King, which I found appropriate. Obviously, King was huge in the 90s. And a reference to Gerald’s Game was especially appropriate, given the thematic content of that novel. And at any rate, the King title that I thought of most while reading Peter Miles Has to Die was more recent: the 2024 collection Some Like It Darker.
A Dark Read for Bright Days
There wasn’t a specific story in Some Like It Darker that reminded me of Peter Miles Has to Die. Rather, it was King’s premise for that collection. This was that some readers (like King himself) prefer to read a dark story from time to time. In my opinion, this type of reader will be ideal for Peter Miles Has to Die.
In some ways, Peter Miles Has to Die is an ideal summer read. It’s hard to put down: the action and tension will keep you turning the pages into the hot summer night. But unlike the stereotypical “beach read,” this novel has some very dark material. Perhaps the final version will include one, but I did think this novel could have benefited from a content warning.
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But in addition to being dark, Peter Miles Has to Die is also very clever in its structure. Chapters are told from rotating perspectives, with each major character getting her chance to tell parts of the story. In most cases, the chapter is labelled with the name of the “perspective character.” But because one of these sections is unlabelled and set it in the future, it creates tension. Which character is narrating these chapters? The question itself is a major source of suspense.
Peter Miles Has to Die also has several twists and turns, which redirect the novel into unexpected territories. For this reason, there is only so much of the novel I can discuss without spoiling anything for readers. However, I do not want to ruin it, because I think some readers will adore this book. But those readers will definitely be of the aforementioned sort — those who like it darker.
Available August 12
I did feel that Peter Miles Has to Die could have been longer. At just 300 pages, it’s a tightly plotted story. There are no superfluous subplots in this novel. On the other hand, there is something to be said for narrative economy. And while it’s easy to imagine these characters have lives beyond what we read on the page, the story told is complete and leaves no hanging plot threads.
Finally, as alluded to above, violence is intrinsic to Peter Miles Has to Die. This includes an emphasis on violence against women. And there is also some thematic exploration of the power disparity between men and the rest of us, and how that enables said violence.
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Be forewarned: some readers who have survived such violence may find this novel especially intense. But that being said, some of those same readers may find this novel very cathartic, as well. So, please take care and approach this novel with your personal capacity in mind.
All that being said, if you’re up for a darker story of revenge against a violent and powerful man? Then Peter Miles Has to Die definitely deserves a place in your “to read” pile.
Peter Miles Has to Die will be available at your local bookstore and/or public library beginning on August 12, 2025.
