The Kind Worth Saving

A Novel

By: Peter Swanson

Narrated by: Keith Szarabaijka, Kathleen Early, Helen Laser, Micky Shiloah

Length: 8 hrs and 37 mins

Publisher's summary

“The inventive Mr. Swanson never lets the willing reader down. With The Kind Worth Saving, he surpasses his own high standard.”—Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

In this spectacularly devious novel by New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson, a private eye starts to follow a possibly adulterous husband, but little does he know that the twisted trail will lead back to the woman who hired him.

There was always something slightly dangerous about Joan. So, when she turns up at private inves­tigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Just the sight of her stirs up a chilling memory: He knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher, when he was at the center of a tragedy.

Now Joan needs his help proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated when Kimball finds two bodies in an uninhabited suburban home with a FOR SALE sign out front. Suddenly it feels like the past is repeating itself, and Henry must go back to one of the worst days of his life to uncover the truth.

Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, enlisting help from his old nemesis Lily Kintner—but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in this hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.

©2023 Peter Swanson (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

I love this book!!

This is a great follow up to The Kind Worth Killing. I absolutely loved the narrators for this one. I especially loved Kimball. Maybe we will see another one with these two characters.

A worthy sequel

Very satisfying sequel to The Kind Worth Killing (which should definitely be read first), vividly performed.

Excellent!

Anyone who leaves a negative review can’t possibly be a Peter Swanson fan. For those of us who are, it was really well done and I was surprised it was a sequel but so good to live with the characters again for several hours. Loved it!

Wasn't as thrilling.

I was hoping it would be as exciting as the first book. I wasn't a fan of the detectives narrator as well

Swanson does it again!

⭐⭐⭐⭐

I love a Peter Swanson novel. I was nervous since this was a follow up to A Kind Worth Killing and that is hands down my favorite Swanson - but it did bnot disappoint.

There is so much here to dissect, I don’t even know where I should start.
1. Henry Kimball is back. I listen to the audiobook version of both books and Keith Szarabaijka’s voice for Henry is *chef’s kiss*, his smokey east coast accent brings life into Henry. I was pumped they kept the narrator the same cause I can’t even imagine some one else trying to be Henry.
2. I’ve always loved the way Swanson can set a scene. The way that he builds these intricate relationships between his characters is unparallel. There are so many layers that you rarely see what is coming next. Which is just so pivotal in a thriller novel. I always think of that "what a tangled web we weave" quote any time I start a new Swanson.
3. Lily vs Joan - UGH. It’s. SO. GOOD. Both women are HBIC energy. The difference being Joan needs some one to do her dirty work for her and Lily will have the trap set and laid long before her prey even catches on to what is happening to them. Two sharks swimming in a very small ocean energy here. Let me say it just one more time - SO. GOOOOOD.

I tried hard not to give away too many spoilers here.

It’s good, really good. Take the time. READ IT. I would absolutely recommend.

Why not 5 stars? I would've liked Lily to make her appearance in the book just a little earlier. There were also some formatting issues with the audiobook. I hate to take a star away for these items, but that 5 star is few and far in between.

Totally Loved it...

I love the curve balls this book had... I could not predicted where this story was going to go.

the need for more

Aparantly Alice Morgan met Bobby Fisher and had an off spring named Lily. Lizbeth Salander as godmother must have come by for tea bi-weekly. She hooked up with dexter once and he was terrified and went into witness protection. Lily is my new favorite, not that I want to hangout and talk with her because she is a predator.

The Kind Worth Skipping

The Kind Worth Killing is a book I've recommended to others as one of those unforgettable, unique, and intense thrillers, the kind worth re-reading. I actually have re-read the first book. It was the book that turned me on to Swanson and has kept me watching for his new titles, so I had high hopes for this sequel. Unfortunately, this was not the kind worth reading (if you're expecting something remotely as riveting and mind blowing as its predecessor. It wasn't bad. But it wasn't GOOD. The only redeeming quality was the nostalgia, and the fact that I kept reading and waiting for something to happen to blow me away. It never came. I was listening to the audio version, and wasn't paying attention to how much time was left in the book, so when the conclusion started, I was convinced that there was still half a novel left to finish, and that this was just a pivot point in the story. I picked up my phone, and when I saw there were only a few minutes left, I was...I don't know how to put it, but I felt duped. I felt like Swanson tried to capitalize on the popularity of the first book and just phoned it in with this one.

I didn't expect it to be the exact same as the first one. But this didn't even feel like a complete book. It felt like an epilogue to the first rather than a sequel or a follow-up. It felt incomplete and just lackluster. Never was there a time when i thought...whoa!! I did NOT see that coming. In fact, there was really nothing to see coming at all. While the Kind Worth Killing was twist after impossible to predict yet totally believable twist, this one was just flat, straightforward, and at times, not even believable. The only thing that could be considered a twist was something I saw coming from a mile away. It wasn't a thriller at all. Not remotely. No twists, no tension, no "wow" moments...I get it that a novel as good as The Kind Worth Killing are rare. But man. If this one had even been half as good as the first, I'd have been happy. It wasn't, and I'm not. A year from now instead of (as I was with the first book) remembering my favorite books of the year, the only thing I'll remember is this being one of the most disappointing sequels ever.

Favorite author

4.5 ⭐️ Another clever book by one of my GOAT authors. I love the retro style Peter Swanson achieves.

Want more Lily storylines!

Yes, Peter Swanson delivered and it was great! However, I wanted more Lily time! Yes, Joan was a good bad guy, but there’s something special about Lily.