The Kind Worth Killing
Ratings161
Average rating3.8
Fancast:
Director: Ben Affleck
Ted: Matt Damon
Lily: Riley Keough / Meghann Fahy
Miranda: Blake Lively / Anne Hathaway
Brad: Casey Affleck / Bobby Cannavale / Wyatt Russell
Eric: Callum Turner / Jacob Elordi
Det. Henry Kimball: Joel Edgerton / Clive Owen
Det. Roberta James: Jodie Turner-Smith
David: Michael Douglas / Timothy Dalton
Sharon: Sharon Stone / Susan Sarandon
I think I get in my own way sometimes — this book was a fun read, but I expected too much after a raving recommendation for it on TikTok. The twists weren't that twisty and I only really liked one of the characters.
I.. I don't know how I feel..I need to process. The twists and turns were truly unpredictable
4.5 stars. An engaging and entertaining read with a few twists I didn't see coming.
This book had me at the edge of my seat and guessing the entire time. It was a near perfect twisty-thriller
This book had me at the edge of my seat and guessing the entire time. It was a near perfect twisty-thriller
I really liked this story. There are some good turns and I enjoyed the ending as well.
2.75
my expectations were way too high, this wasnt anything special in my humble opinion
Oh boy, this book does not hold its punches. It begins fast, making readers dive straight into the story of Ted Severson and his desire to kill his wife, then slowly lulling as he makes those plans, and continues to balloon and spiral into an absolute wild ride of twists.
The Kind Worth Killing interweaves various narrators and their perspectives. It's not linear, which adds a confusing element when trying to piece together the story, but learning their backstories and motivations, as well as the seamless storytelling makes it all worth it.
You can't help but root for Lily; she's the driving force of the book and a psychopathic mastermind. She never quite strays from human morality or reasoning, even if she takes a drastic approach to revenge. She abides by an unwavering philosophy - we all die anyway, so what difference does it make if some bad people die early? - and you can't help but nod in agreement when reading this book and understanding her justification for killing. What kind of people are worth killing? Lily can answer that for you.
I was rooting for her to get away with it all, even if she was being risky, even if I thought that murder was not necessary at all. She's not a hero nor a villain, but a “virtuous do-gooder” willing to take that (morally wrong) extra step that most of us never will or want to do. What makes her a compelling character is how she's such a normal person despite her actions, with feelings and moments of reflection and perhaps even small bouts of guilt.
As for the other primary characters, the only decent one was Ted (albeit a bit boring). I rolled my eyes at Miranda's superficiality, and felt an immense desire to beat the living daylights out of Kimball. These two characters were just terrible people with no redeeming factors; it was so easy to hate them. I can't help but also criticize the men here for constantly sexually objectifying women, treating the women in their lives without love, care or respect. There was not a single man in this book that didn't make me want to punch them (yes, even you Ted, the only decent man here). Reading about a female character who doesn't let men get away with their disgusting behavior was quite gratifying, so I appreciated Lily a lot.
My only small gripe with this book the excessive writing/scene descriptions and the abrupt ending. It was wrapped up a bit too fast in just one chapter, so I would've loved to read a bit more especially since something big just happened. Perhaps we'll find out in the second book.
A little slow-paced but deliciously twisty, with ulterior motives and backstabbing and no squeaky-clean characters. Everyone here had something to hide. I really enjoyed the plot here.
read for summerween 2022
this book had literally so many twists and turns and i had the time of my life. i don't think this is going to be one that i remember in high detail but i had such a good time
I was never bored while reading this and it kept me flipping pages till the very end!
This is the kind of book that is FILLED TO THE BRIM with unlikable characters but you cant stop reading it.
I had so much fun reading this:) Highly recommend
This is my third Swanson book and my favorite of his. The characters are well developed and interesting. I actually wanted to know what they were going to do next. I did not feel that way about Every Vow You Break. He did a solid job of building suspense. Every chapter ends with something important or stressful. Then the next chapter picks up a different character's POV or jumps back in time. In a good way. The ending haunted me, so much so that I dreamt about it. I love/hate the ending.
i was absolutely OBSESSED like losing my mind, possible new favorite thriller obsessed with the first half/60% of this book. but then i predicted all of the last few twists and it didn't go in the directions I thought it was going that would've been way more interesting.
I just don't like the pacing of this book. It was full of deaths and actions but somehow everything seem dragged out. I don't feel for any character in this book. I don't think they are either worth killing or worth living.
The only satisfying thing about this book is the last few lines in the book (in the letter from Lily's father telling her that her meadow is going to be teared up)
Recensie van audioboek (via Storytel)
Ooh, deze vond ik wel leuk en verrassend!
“Truthfully, I don't think murder is necessarily as bad as people make it out to be. Everyone dies. What difference does it make if a few bad apples get pushed along a little sooner than God intended? And your wife, for example, seems like the kind worth killing.”
Het verhaal zit heel slim in elkaar, terwijl het bedrieglijk simpel begint. Meermaals hebben de plottwist mij verrast en het einde was gewoon perfect.
Dikke aanrader voor als je van psychologische thrillers houdt of van boeken die je eigen morele kompas aan de tand voelt.
That was very entertaining to read! I enjoy thriller and mysteries, but i think the reason that i enjoyed this book so much is because of the protagonist. Lily is a psychopath that i never thought i would root for but here i am.
Wow! Now this was a good book. Two people meet on a flight, and one agrees to help the other kill his wife who is having an affair with the contractor. But that is just the beginning. I loved all the twists and turns in this book. This was very well done the twists were not forced. You need to read it. Soooo good!
4.5 stars. The ending !! I will probably write a review when I wake up, but now, I sleep.
This is a book about bad people. That's the first thing the reader needs to know. Almost everyone in the book has some skeletons in their closet or in the well near their childhood home and it is delightful seeing them all be awful to each other.
This book wasn't groundbreaking, but it was fun. Once I got into it, it was difficult to put down. A lot of the plot twists can be called fairly early on, but there were some in there that actually surprised me.
The general gist of the book is that Ted meets a beautiful red-headed woman on a plane trip home, and he confesses to her that he knows his wife is cheating on him and that he wishes to kill her. The woman, Lily, surprises him by going along with the idea, and telling him she will help. They make plans to meet and things spiral out of control from there.
My main problem with this book isn't its extreme coincidences (that's just often part of these types of books, and they lampshade it from time to time so I am not too bothered by it) but the fact that some of the writing is...well:
“...you could tell she was pretty, and had probably once been beautiful. Natural blond hair, blue eyes, and large breasts that she was showing off in a V-neck shirt and cardigan sweater. The portion of her chest that was visible was deeply tanned and freckled.”
When I read descriptions like that, whether they are written by a guy or not, I just have to roll my eyes. Most of the time, though, the writing is good and has a nice flow to it.
That minor nitpick aside, I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it, like most other people reviewing it, to fans of Gone Girl or Girl on the Train (though the book should really have “girl” in the title if it wants to make it big in the book club world. The Girl Worth Killing maybe? I digress.) 4 terrible people out of 5.
