The Kind Worth Killing: A Novel

The Kind Worth Killing is set in New England, primarily shifting between remote areas of Connecticut, Maine, and Massachusetts. Swanson situates the novel in remote areas to heighten the atmospheric tension and focus on the loneliness and isolation of the main characters. These remote areas are removed from not only a sense of community but also from a sense of morality through law enforcement or accountability. The rural, wild nature of these areas brings a sense of natural lawlessness. Even when certain scenes take place in London and New York City, Swanson then focuses on isolated locations within the city, such as bars and pubs, so that the character’s seclusion remains the focus. This subtle detail of the novel’s setting creates an underlying tension as the darkness of the plot progresses.

The setting of Monk’s House in Connecticut when Lily is a child reveals how wealth and privilege does not necessarily protect people from abuse but instead can expose people to this abuse. In this setting, Lily is surrounded only by those enabling her abuser, and she is therefore alone in her trauma. Despite the absence of her parent’s protection, Swanson reveals how isolation teaches people how to survive, even if the way that people learn this coping skill is through trauma.

Similarly, the large house that Ted and Miranda build in Maine heightens their removal from society and even from morality. Miranda finds it easier to cheat on Ted and arrange his murder because the isolation of the house blurs the lines of morality. Swanson uses isolation in geography and physical location to address how human beings act when they do not believe that they are being watched and judged by society and law enforcement. Through this atmospheric tension, Swanson reveals the duplicity of human nature, which becomes clear when people are not under surveillance and accountability.