What a story
There were so many twists and turns. Readers really have to work to know which Richard is being featured in the chapters.
I’m very glad I read this edition by Peter Swanson. Mystery lovers this is a must read!! ( )

The Kind Worth Saving is another fabulous thriller from Peter Swanson. Published in 2023, the novel follows the devious plots of Joan Grieve Whalen to get rid of, rather to kill, anyone she does not like.

It all began the summer of Joan's sophomore year in high school when her family spent a month by the beach in Maine. After a new friend, Duane, tries to force her into making out she flees back to the safety of the Windward Resort where both are staying. Bored by her parent's activities Joan visits the hotel's library the next night looking for something to read. There she meets Richard Seddon, a fellow student at Dartford-Middleham High School. They never before crossed paths though. Richard was a loner who was the subject of much ridicule while Joan was a popular gymnast.

The two strike up a long conversation wherein Joan talks about a jerk she met the previous evening. Richard already knew about it because he shared a room at the hotel with Duane, who was his cousin. He told her that Duane said she had slept with him. Continuing, Richard said he would like to kill Duane because he was a bad person. Possibly a rapist. He spent the next hour talking about ways to do it. Feeling that he was joking, Joan made suggestions in jest.

Fast forward twenty years and Joan turns up at private inves­tigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her realtor husband whom she believes is cheating. Joan makes him feel ill at ease. The sight of her stirs up a chilling memory. He knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher at Dartford-Middleham High School, when he was at the center of a tragedy. What should be a simple investigation 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. He wonders whether Joan knew anything about that day, something she’s hidden all these years. Henry is determined to find out, enlisting help from his old nemesis Lily Kintner.

The Kind Worth Saving is a sequel to The Kind Worth Killing, which I did not read. I understand that the relationship between Henry and Lily is explained in the earlier book. It didn't seem to make any difference though because the current story doesn't involve Lily that much, at least not until the final third of the book.

The chapters alternate between multiple points of view and always ended with more and more questions concerning what happened between the characters in the past. This was what made the book suspenseful. I hated for each chapter to end but as the next chapter began I was immediately drawn into it as the continuation of a different character's story was so gripping.

All of the characters had grudges and obsessions from the past that were slowly revealed. Henry instinctively feels that he should stay away from Joan but he doesn't. Henry wants to follow through on his doubts about Joan to whatever end it takes him. It is the first time in his life that he follows anything through. He has had jobs as a teacher, policeman and a private detective. Each time he had conflict in those jobs he quit the jobs.

Richard Seddon does not have much contact with Joan but thinks about her every day. They have a special bond, though, from what they shared at the Windward Resort. Joan is the villain. On the surface she is the perfect housewife who falls victim to her husband's infidelity. However, deep down her uncontrollable anger gets her into trouble over and over.

The Kind Worth Saving was a pleasurable read. Mystery lovers will want to read it. ( )

The blurb called this thriller "spectacularly devious", and I would have to agree!

I had read the first book featuring these two characters a long time ago and had forgotten most everything about it but noticed that I had liked it a lot. So, came upon this title when requesting the upcoming third installment and knew I had to read it immediately.

Henry Kimball, now a licensed private investigator, is hired to confirm Joan Whalen's suspicions that her husband is cheating on her. He remembers Joan from back when he was a first-year English teacher at Dartford-Middleham High School. Not a good memory either -- they were both in the classroom when a student had shot another and then committed suicide. That helped Henry realize he wasn't meant to be a teacher. He'd gone on to become a police officer in Boston but, unfortunately, that had not worked out too well either. So, here is now, trailing adulterous husbands.

This case does not turn out to be anything that he expected. The twists and turns, the discoveries Henry makes during his investigation, keep pulling him back and have him looking much closer at Joan. It also brings Lily Kintner back into his life. A secret relationship. A trail of secrets and death. Henry just has to put all the pieces together.

Great fun and I really enjoyed it. I also like the author's writing style and his plots even if the characters are a bit too morally ambiguous for me. I listened to the audio version of this and felt it was well done with multiple characters taking each point of view. Definitely recommend but be sure you have read THE KIND WORTH KILLING first. ( )

Good read, I am adding Peter Swanson to my list of favorite authors. It's nice they had a large print edition. ( )

I absolutely loved The Kind Worth Killing, so I was excited when I saw this new title featuring some of the same characters. While I didn't think it was as good as the first book, I still enjoyed this devious novel. In this one, one of Henry's former students, Joan, hires Henry to track her husband and catch him having an affair. But Joan has something else she is planning and Henry is in the way. Henry confides in Lily, and tries to determine the real reason Joan hired Henry. ( )