The Business of Dying

Rating:
Summary: a moral dilemma
Review: In an unusual departure from most thrillers, protagonist DS Dennis Milne is a both a cop and a killer. The story starts with Milne assassinating two custom agents and an accountant, not the drug dealers that he was expecting. Years earlier, Milne started walking on the shady side of the law when he helped the brother of a girlfriend out of trouble. With his principles compromised, he starts dishing out his own brand of vigilante justice with a nice cash bonus for his efforts. His conscience does bother him about the three innocent deaths; he normally only kills the bad guys. Milne investigates the death of a young prostitute uncovering not only a web of serial killing and child pornography, but links to his own case.

THE BUSINESS OF DYING explores the darker side of human nature. In Milne, Kernick has created a complex human being; the line between good and bad is hard to define. He is a contradiction, an idealist who doesn't believe in the death penalty, but is a killer who dispenses his own brand of justice. The story is compelling in its gritty, realistic details of London's underbelly of society. Solid debut novel from Simon Kernick.

Rating:
Summary: hard boiled detective theme merged with a police procedure
Review: In England Detective Sergeant Dennis Milne is a tough, dedicated yet sordid and depraved cop who moonlights as a hit man. He takes out the dregs of society for a fee paid by other scum. On his latest non-police assignment, he and his partner kill three nasties and easily escape the scene.

The brass assigns Milne to investigate the triple homicide in which he was the trigger. To his shock he quickly learns that two of the victims were customs employees and the third deceased was an accountant. Realizing he killed the good guys, an angry Milne decides he needs real answers from his clients who apparently double-crossed him. He also is involved in inquiries into the vile murder of a teenage girl. As his criminal employers demand he cool it, his law enforcement associates begin to investigate Milne. He, on the other hand, simply thirsts for revenge against those who set him up, but to cleanse his soul he must find who viciously committed the teen atrocity.

Milne is a complex protagonist who learns that a conscience is a pain in the butt, as he does not mind killing society's lowest residue, but not those he considers decent. The last hit bothers him badly and though he cannot clean the slate he can try to eliminate those who caused this atrocity. THE BUSINESS OF DYING pairs a prime hard boiled detective theme parallel with a police procedure subplot that when they connect the antihero star is caught in the crosshairs.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: hard boiled detective theme merged with a police procedure
Review: In England Detective Sergeant Dennis Milne is a tough, dedicated yet sordid and depraved cop who moonlights as a hit man. He takes out the dregs of society for a fee paid by other scum. On his latest non-police assignment, he and his partner kill three nasties and easily escape the scene.

The brass assigns Milne to investigate the triple homicide in which he was the trigger. To his shock he quickly learns that two of the victims were customs employees and the third deceased was an accountant. Realizing he killed the good guys, an angry Milne decides he needs real answers from his clients who apparently double-crossed him. He also is involved in inquiries into the vile murder of a teenage girl. As his criminal employers demand he cool it, his law enforcement associates begin to investigate Milne. He, on the other hand, simply thirsts for revenge against those who set him up, but to cleanse his soul he must find who viciously committed the teen atrocity.

Milne is a complex protagonist who learns that a conscience is a pain in the butt, as he does not mind killing society's lowest residue, but not those he considers decent. The last hit bothers him badly and though he cannot clean the slate he can try to eliminate those who caused this atrocity. THE BUSINESS OF DYING pairs a prime hard boiled detective theme parallel with a police procedure subplot that when they connect the antihero star is caught in the crosshairs.

Harriet Klausner

Rating:
Summary: Superb tightly constructed debut
Review: London DS Dennis Milne is assigned to look into the death of an eighteen year old prostitute, Miriam Fox. She was found near a canal with her throat slashed. As Milne investigates, he becomes romantically interested in Carla Graham, manager of the hostel where Miriam lived. However, Carla is much more than she superficially appears to be. Of major concern to him is the ongoing investigation into a purported mob hit against three men- two of whom were custom agents. What worries Milne is that he was the hit man on the three killings. He did it for money but was told the men were hardened criminals who got what they had coming.
Far from the typical British detective novel, Simon Kernick goes for true originality- a detective and a hit man. Kernick manages to pull it off admirably with superb characterizations that possess great depth and feelings. Kernick manages to achieve this by spending great care in the first half of the novel establishing these characters- especially Detective Milne, of course. The second half of the book is a violent tour de force where plot twists and surprises keep the pages turning as fast as possible. There is a great sense of control the author exhibits in plot progression and pacing. The writing style is slick. I cannot imagine he did not know exactly where the story was going. A superb debut.