The Real Michael Swann

“A twisting, heart-wrenching journey into a marriage, a gripping thriller . . . Reardon grabs his readers on page one, then deftly ratchets up the suspense until the breathless ending.”—Lisa Unger, New York Times bestselling author

Julia Swann, mother of two young boys, is on the phone with her husband, Michael, when the call abruptly cuts out. It isn’t until later in the evening when she discovers that something terrible has happened at Penn Station, where Michael was waiting for a train home.  

Julia races to New York City to look for Michael, her panicked searching interwoven with memories of meeting and falling in love with the husband she’s now desperate to find. When someone finds a flyer she’s posted and tells her they may have seen her husband, her prayers seem to be answered. Yet as she tries to find him, her calls go unanswered. Did Michael survive? If so, why hasn’t he contacted her? Was he—or is he still—the man she fell in love with?  

Part family drama, part tragic love story, The Real Michael Swann is a deftly plotted suspense novel with an unflinching portrait of a marriage at its heart, challenging us to confront the unthinkable—both in our country and in our own homes.

“Reardon masterfully delivers an intimate, heartbreaking portrayal of a family whose love, trust, and loyalty for each other is put to the ultimate test.”—Rhiannon Navin, author of Only Child


Genre: Thriller

"The Real Michael Swann is a riveting read, pertinent and relevant to the times we now live in, with characters that keep the reader emotionally involved right up until its almost shocking ending. A highly recommended and insightful work of fiction." - Lisa Ballantyne

"The Real Michael Swann pulls you right in and leaves you gasping. It's gripping, smart, and to-the-minute timely, with two memorable and powerfully sympathetic central characters." - Joseph Finder

"The Real Michael Swann takes you on a wild, suspenseful ride that has you holding your breath from the very first page to the startling, shocking twist at the end. Amid terrifying tragedy and desolation, Bryan Reardon masterfully delivers an intimate, heartbreaking portrayal of a family whose love, trust, and loyalty for each other is put to the ultimate test." - Rhiannon Navin

"Bryan Reardon's compelling new novel lives at the intersection of ripped-from-the-headlines catastrophe and abiding, deeply personal human love. Julia and Michael's marriage is so finely drawn that Julia's crisis of faith in her husband felt every bit as crucial to me as the national horror unfolding around her. The marriage, at least as much as the mystery, kept me up late, with my heart in my throat, turning pages." - Marisa de los Santos

"The Real Michael Swann is a twisting, heart-wrenching journey into a marriage, a gripping thriller, and the story of a family ripped apart by terrible violence. Bryan Reardon grabs his readers on page one, then deftly ratchets the suspense page-by-page revealing slim fragments of truth until the breathless ending. A chilling, haunting read." - Lisa Unger

"What begins as a portrait of a modern marriage swiftly evolves into a shocking, complex examination of the American Dream--what it was, what it has become, and what remains. Both a love story and a brilliant social commentary, The Real Michael Swann moved me deeply and kept me turning pages deep into the night." - Amanda Eyre Ward