Author: Peter Swanson
Rating: 4/5
Link: The kind worth killing
Pages: 312
A thriller is as good as the thrill. A murder is as good as the hidden body.
One word that best describes, ‘The kind worth killing’, is “Shock”. Peter Swanson shocks the readers just when they are getting too comfortable with the plot.
On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. But their game turns dark 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.” (goodreads)
The synopsis looks like a modern re-telling of the classic, “Strangers on a Train”. It is that and much more. Committing a murder is easy so is hiding the body. But hiding the very fact that a murder has taken place is an art, an art that the female protagonist of the story, Lily Kintner is well versed with.
I have always had a soft spot for novels with female leads and Lily Kintner does not disappoint. She is calm, patient and strong. She commits murder with her brain and not brawns. Her penchant for murder mysteries, especially all those Agatha Christie’s she read in her childhood gave her an uncanny ability to kill and get away with it.
Peter Swanson gives all the characters a strong foundation through a telling of their past. The story is written in chapters as told by different characters in first person. The story gets your undivided attention right from the first scene. The kind worth killing is what I call a true page turner; easy to read and hard to put down.
WaterMelons 