The Kind Worth Saving 살려 마땅한 사람들 by 피터 스완슨

" 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 in proving that her husband is cheating. But what should be a simple case of infidelity becomes much more complicated 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. 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......" " 前作となる邦訳名「そしてミランダを殺す」（kind worth killing)の続編となります。前作が次の物語に繋がる雰囲気を残していなかったので、どうなるかと思っていましたが、うまく繋がってはいません。繋がり具合が不良でも作品そのものが面白ければ良いのですが、そこが残念な出来です。前作では、すこぶる美人だが、人命尊重という倫理観に大いに欠けた主人公が登場しますが、妙に現実感があり話に引き込まれました。本作でも同じ性格の女が登場しますが、何かしら魅力に乏しく、殺人の動機も根拠薄弱です。殺しの手口も平凡。同じ作者の作品、前述の「the kind worth killing」や「eight perfect murders]は傑作ですので、そちらを読むことをお勧めします。本作は、せっかく読み始めたので、最後まで読まないとという気持ちで読了しました...." 

전작 'the kind worth killing'을 읽어서 그런지 이야기의 흐름에 어려움은 없었다. 그리고 전작에 등장하는 주요 인물들이 다 등장하기 때문에 읽는 즐거움이 더 큰 거 같고 특히 이번작품에 등장하는 인물들보다도 더 큰 비중을 차지하는 듯한 느낌을 갖게 된다. 비밀을 지키기 위한 사이코의 살인시도와 사랑하는 사람을 지키기 위한 사이코의 방어적 살인이 심리소설답게 잘 묘사되고 있다. 전작과 비슷한 구조이고 문장이나 표현은 전작처럼 문학적인 부분도 있지만 전체적으로 읽는데 큰 부담이 없는 작품이었다.