The Kind Worth Saving: A Novel

“The inventive Mr. Swanson never lets the willing reader down. With The Kind Worth Saving, he surpasses his own high standard.” — Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

In this spectacularly devious novel of domestic suspense by New York Times bestselling author Peter Swanson, a private eye starts to follow a possibly adulterous husband, but little does he know that the twisted trail will lead back to the woman who hired him.

There was always something slightly dangerous about Joan. So, when she turns up at private inves­tigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband, he can’t help feeling ill at ease. Just the sight of her stirs up a chilling memory: He knew Joan in his previous life as a high school English teacher, when he was at the center of a tragedy.

Now Joan needs his help proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes a much more complicated murder mystery 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 of a devastating cold case.

Is it possible that Joan knows something about that day, something she’s hidden all these years? Could there still be a killer out there, someone who believes they have gotten away with murder? Henry is determined to find out, enlisting help from his old nemesis Lily Kintner—but as he steps closer to the truth, a murderer is getting closer to him, and in this hair-raising game of cat and mouse only one of them will survive.

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Published Feb 6, 2024

320 pages

Average rating: 7.26

81 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

What Bookclubbers are saying about this book

✨ Summarized by Bookclubs AI

Readers say *The Kind Worth Saving* is a fast, gripping thriller praised for its multi-perspective narration and complex characters, especially the in...

ValerieRuiz
Apr 06, 2026
8/10 stars
Joan walks into private investigator Henry Kimball’s office asking him to investigate her husband. What begins as a routine infidelity case spirals into something far darker when Henry discovers two bodies in an empty suburban house, forcing him to confront the possibility that the past is repeating itself. As secrets surface, Henry begins to wonder whether Joan has been hiding the truth all along and whether a killer has truly escaped justice. I wish I would have known this was book #2 of a three book series 🫠 have you ever done that?? Think a book is a standalone and it’s actually not? Thankfully this was still a great read and didn’t require *really* reading the first one for it to make sense. There was only one character whose relationship to the main character I was confused about, but that’s bc their relationship is formed in the first book (go figure). This story is told through alternating timelines and while I typically enjoy flashback chapters and those dual timelines, I found myself enjoying the present day chapters more than the flashback chapters. Regardless, this was a great read and even greater definition of unreliable narratives. Literally didn’t know who to trust.
Sue Dix
Mar 14, 2026
10/10 stars
I think this book is even better than The Kind Worth Killing. I love the odd relationship between Lily and Henry, but Lily Kintner is someone not to be messed with, and the next book in the series, A Talent for Murder, bears this out. Murder, mystery, sociopaths, blurred lines between good and evil. I just love this series.
Anne-Marie Eberhardt
Jul 02, 2025
10/10 stars
I’ve read almost all of Peter Swanson’s books. They’re just that good!
ChrisP
May 04, 2025
4/10 stars
Page turner and a bit disturbing.
Ellery
May 01, 2025
10/10 stars
This one was a fun read! I liked it as well as the first one.

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