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chrismcott 's review for:
The Kind Worth Killing
by Peter Swanson
While I understand the desire to create this noir, vigilante justice/psychological thriller, this just didn't hit for me.
The female MC with her calm, calculated demeanor and penchant for murder, I suppose were meant to evoke intrigue, but instead, came across as disturbingly petty and hollow.
Lily’s backstory, which includes killing a cat as a child (this is about where Swanson started to lose me) and later escalating to human victims, is presented as a justification for her moral detachment. While this cold-bloodedness might work in a villain, as a protagonist, it leaves little room for connection. IMO Lily came across as someone whose motivations are rooted more in cruelty than complexity.
Then there is creepy Detective Kimball. While investigating Lily as a murder suspect he is instantly attracted to her and channels that fixation/obsession into "poetry", which feels inappropriate and voyeuristic given the context.
The female MC with her calm, calculated demeanor and penchant for murder, I suppose were meant to evoke intrigue, but instead, came across as disturbingly petty and hollow.
Lily’s backstory, which includes killing a cat as a child (this is about where Swanson started to lose me) and later escalating to human victims, is presented as a justification for her moral detachment. While this cold-bloodedness might work in a villain, as a protagonist, it leaves little room for connection. IMO Lily came across as someone whose motivations are rooted more in cruelty than complexity.
Then there is creepy Detective Kimball. While investigating Lily as a murder suspect he is instantly attracted to her and channels that fixation/obsession into "poetry", which feels inappropriate and voyeuristic given the context.