The Kind Worth Killing: A Novel

Lily and Miranda’s manipulation is overt throughout the novel. What other relationships in the novel have mismatched power dynamics? Where do you see manipulation in other relationships? Provide specific examples.

Describe the significance of Lily’s memory of killing the feral cat. How does this tie into other themes in the novel? Why does Swanson include this memory and how does it come up later in the novel?

Swanson sets up Ted as one of the main narrators, only to have Brad murder him at the end of Part 1. What is the significance of this literary technique? How does this plot twist heighten the suspense?

Lily’s past directly influences her decisions. Is Lily’s obsession with the past sympathetic or obsessive? Describe how the other characters are haunted by their past. How does the past trauma of Miranda and Ted influence their decisions? Is this similar or different to how Lily’s trauma affects her?

Describe the role of Henry Kimball. In what ways does Kimball exhibit stereotypical traits of a police officer and how does he subvert from this? How is he similar or different than Lily? Provide specific examples.

How does Lily connect Eric and Chet’s crimes in her mind? Do you think that the severity of Eric and Chet’s crimes are the same? Why or why not?

How do Miranda and Lily’s parents affect their choices in life? In what ways are their experiences similar or different?

Describe the relationship between David Kintner and Lily. What does Lily think about her father’s career as a novelist? How does their relationship change? Why does Lily have more empathy for her father at the end of the novel?