Review: The Kind Worth Killing by Peter Swanson

On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start-—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit-—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.

But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse...

Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.

Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive... with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.

drey’s thoughts:

The Plot: A man finds out his wife is cheating on him, and ruminates while drunk, with a stranger, whether he should kill her for the betrayal. Yeah, not smart, but the stranger’s beautiful, makes a pretty compelling argument, and offers to help plan the perfect murder. Mostly because she’s beautiful.

Anyway. The Kind Worth Killing is chock-full of surprises, and without giving away anything else, I can only say that this is a perfect read for fans of Gone Girl for its twists and turns, revelations, and wicked leave-you-wondering ending. I HATE (i.e. love) these endings!

The Characters: Lily Kintner is the star of The Kind Worth Killing. Her childhood wasn’t quite conventional and she sets off on her path pretty young, as we learn in the chapters sharing her past and memories. Ted Severson never knew who he was plotting with, but then again he didn’t really know his wife either.

Miranda Severson, her lover Brad, and the detective investigating the murder, round out the cast Peter Swanson dreamt up and wrote up for us to inhale. I’ll add here that I’ve started and deleted so many sentences in this review that I could almost start my own novel, because I really don’t want to give ANYTHING away. (“Aargh!!” goes the reviewer…) This really is a journey you should discover on your own. So there.

The Story: There’s not much more to add here, after the plot and the characters. Swanson weaves a gripping tale of love, betrayal, murder, and double-crosses, that will keep you engrossed until you’re done. And then you’re wondering what’ll happen next…

If pretzel-twisty thrillers are your thing, definitely add The Kind Worth Killing to your TBR pile. Just make sure you have time to read it in one sitting.

drey’s rating: Excellent!

Have you read The Kind Worth Killing? What did you think?

About Peter Swanson

Peter Swanson is the author of two novels, The Girl with a Clock for a Heart, and The Kind Worth Killing, available from William Morrow in the United States and Faber & Faber in the United Kingdom. His poems, stories and reviews have appeared in such journals as The Atlantic, Asimov’s Science Fiction, Epoch, Measure, Notre Dame Review, Soundings East, and The Vocabula Review. He has won awards in poetry from The Lyric and Yankee Magazine, and is currently completing a sonnet sequence on all 53 of Alfred Hitchcock’s films. He lives with his wife and cat in Somerville, Massachusetts.

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