Henry Kimball · #1
The Kind Worth Killing
A devious tale of psychological suspense involving sex, deception, and an accidental encounter that leads to murder. Fans of Paula Hawkins’ The Girl on the Train will love this modern reimagining of Patricia Highsmith’s classic Strangers on a Train from the author of the acclaimed The Girl with a Clock for a Heart—which the Washington Post said “should be a contender for crime fiction’s best first novel of 2014.”
On a night flight from London to Boston, Ted Severson meets the stunning and mysterious Lily Kintner. Sharing one too many martinis, the strangers begin to play a game of truth, revealing very intimate details about themselves. Ted talks about his marriage that’s going stale and his wife Miranda, who he’s sure is cheating on him. Ted and his wife were a mismatch from the start—he the rich businessman, she the artistic free spirit—a contrast that once inflamed their passion, but has now become a cliché.
But their game turns a little darker when Ted jokes that he could kill Miranda for what she’s done. Lily, without missing a beat, says calmly, “I’d like to help.” After all, some people are the kind worth killing, like a lying, stinking, cheating spouse. . . .
Back in Boston, Ted and Lily’s twisted bond grows stronger as they begin to plot Miranda's demise. But there are a few things about Lily’s past that she hasn’t shared with Ted, namely her experience in the art and craft of murder, a journey that began in her very precocious youth.
Suddenly these co-conspirators are embroiled in a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, one they both cannot survive . . . with a shrewd and very determined detective on their tail.
The series
In the quiet spaces between guilt and justice, the Henry Kimball series lingers—watchful, patient, and unsettling. What begins as the story of a former English teacher turned reluctant detective gradually unfolds into something far darker and more introspective: a study in moral compromise, buried trauma, and the dangerous allure of understanding evil.
Read full series description
Set in the shadowed corners of small-town New England, the series offers more than just neatly packaged mysteries. It probes the line between curiosity and complicity, asking what happens when the pursuit of truth becomes an obsession. Kimball is not your standard sleuth; he's haunted and quietly unraveling, drawn into cases that echo his own inner fractures. The tension builds not from action alone, but from the psychological dread that pulses beneath every interaction—characters who smile too easily, conversations that turn a shade too intimate, and pasts that refuse to stay buried.
Each book in the series tightens the noose a little more, with plots that twist not for spectacle but to reveal uncomfortable truths. Swanson’s signature style—clean, deliberate prose with an undercurrent of menace—gives the series its distinctive rhythm. There are no heroes here, just people trying, and failing, to escape the darker parts of themselves.
What makes these thrillers resonate isn’t just the clever plotting or slow-burn suspense. It’s the quiet way they hold a mirror up to human nature, asking the reader to sit with their own unease. If you’re drawn to psychological thrillers that leave you questioning every motive and suspecting every smile, this series offers a chilling, deeply satisfying descent.
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