The Kind Worth Killing: A Novel

The Kind Worth Killing is a 2015 psychological suspense novel by Peter Swanson. Peter Swanson is a thriller novelist, specializing in mystery and suspense novels. The novel follows Lily Kintner, who meets Ted Severson in an airport bar and convinces him to murder his wife, Miranda. Through backstories and unexpected character developments, Swanson explores themes of Moral Ambiguity and the Justification of Murder, Power Dynamics and Manipulation in Relationships, and The Lasting Effects of Trauma.

This guide refers to the Faber and Faber 2015 print edition.

Content Warning: This guide includes references to the source text’s description of sexual assault and molestation of a minor.

Plot Summary

Ted Severson meets Lily Kintner at Heathrow Airport. Ted tells her that he just found out that his wife Miranda is cheating on him with a man named Brad Daggett, the contractor for their new home in Kennewick, Maine. Lily suggests that he should murder her. Lily explains that she has a unique morality system and that she justifies murder when a person seems to only bring negative energy into the world. Rather than considering it murder, Lily believes that Ted would only be speeding up Miranda’s inevitable death while ridding the world of a harmful person.