Book Review : The Kind Worth Killing By Peter Swanson

 Book Review : The Kind worth Killing by Peter Swanson

I've heard it compared to the likes of Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train which always worries me because books that get hyped up that much tend to fall on their faces abit , so it was with a certain amount of disquiet that I ordered The Kind Worth Killing.

 In truth and to start with at least   The Kind worth Killing has relatively little in common with   The Girl on the Train, I think gone girl would probably be the fairest comparison here.

 The Kind worth Killing  starts off with a modern reimagining of  a 50’s classic , Patricia Highsmith’s Strangers On A Train, (it even gets a  small mention )  the main difference being that this starts at the first class lounge at Heathrow.

Ted Severson is an American business man , a .com millionaire who is so rich he really doesn’t need to work anymore , married to the money grabbing but beautiful Miranda . But Ted has his suspicions that Miranda is shagging the man building their new house and fantasises about killing them both.

Lily Kintner is the daughter of a famous British author and as it turns out is alreday a two time murderer. Also booked on the same delayed flight and in the same bar as Ted.

Ted and Lily down a couple of gin martinis. Ted reveals his fantasy about killing Miranda and instead of politely moving away Lily encourages him. By the time they board their flight to the US, they've all but decided that Miranda will be murdered. Little do they know *spoiler* that Miranda and lover man Brad are planning to do murder Ted and run off with his millions.

That’s as much as I can say about the plot without spoiling It too much.  The Kind Worth Killing is hypnotic and so suspenseful you’ll be staying up very late to find out what happens next and if I’d had time I could have finished it in one go.

I’d never heard of Peter Swanson before I read this but now I have I’ll be reading his other stuff when my wallet allows it.

Verdict: Cracker – a modern take on a 50s great , an instant classic.