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The Business of Dying
 
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The Business of Dying (Paperback)

by Simon Kernick (Author)
4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 329 pages
  • Publisher: Corgi Books; New edition edition (2 Jun 2003)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 0552149705
  • ISBN-13: 978-0552149709
  • Product Dimensions: 17.4 x 10.6 x 3.2 cm
  • Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 89,355 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review
DS Dennis Milne is a hard 'hero' to like. A jaded policeman, he has been corrupted and turned himself into an avenging angel on those he feels are unworthy of life. But one job goes wrong. He's duped into killing three innocent men in cold blood and, as his contrary morals kick in, finds himself out of his depth in a world of drug dealers, pornographers, and organised crime. At the same time his 'day' job must continue on the right side of the law - the hunt for a killer of young prostitutes - and an innocent facade must be maintained. The dual storyline is cleverly brought together by Simon Kernick, in this his first crime novel. Whilst at the same time as despising Milne for his vigilante violence, Kernick drags the reader into his unsatisfactory personal life till something akin to sympathy is felt and an overwhelming urge for him to triumph over adversity - even if it is unlawful in the extreme. Tightly paced and twisting at every turn, the plot rushes through to the climactic end, keeping the reader on their toes until the final page is turned. A surprisingly good read. - Lucy Watson

Independent on Sunday
'Perhaps the crime début of the year so far…A killer first novel’

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Customer Reviews

23 Reviews
5 star:
 (11)
4 star:
 (7)
3 star:
 (3)
2 star:
 (1)
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Average Customer Review
4.1 out of 5 stars (23 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
25 of 25 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Great first novel, 11 Jan 2005
This is the debut novel by Kernick, and one I picked up at the Bodies in the Bookshop in Cambridge event in July 2004. Given that a usually slothful reader like me managed to whip through it in less than a week is testament to the pace of the book.

Before the event, I hadn't heard of Kernick, but a brief bit of research beforehand made it clear that he was probably for me the most interesting bloke there. His novels (there are three currently published, including this one) are variously described as 'dark', 'savage' and 'rancidly rendered' - which makes perfect crime reading for me.

The Business of Dying, despite being pretty bleak at times, is nothing like as depressing as, say, David Peace or James Ellroy. There isn't the sense of total desolation that seems to accompany books by those gloomy writers, and indeed throughout the book, until perhaps the climactic closing chapters, a black humour is ever present. I'm never certain about so-called 'humorous' crime books, though here the laughs are on the periphery and largely stem from the fairly misanthropic hero. The writing is less stylised too, and perhaps more in line with the likes of Rankin and Booth. No fancy typographical tricks here, which makes for a pacy read.

The story, then. DS Dennis Milne is a pretty fed up detective with too many unsolved cases on his hands than he'd like. Oh, and he also earns a bit of cash on the side as a hit man for a dodgy local 'businessman'. The story begins with Milne capping three blokes in a hotel car park before rushing to the scene of another murder, this time of a teenage prostitute. As Milne digs deeper, his grip on both his police work and his grisly side line begins to loosen and by the last third of the book he loses control almost completely.

Kernick manages to control the plot superbly, the twists and turns are never obvious nor unlikely, and Milne is a likeable yet flawed anti-hero.

This is an excellent crime novel, particularly when you consider that it is his first. More crime fiction should be like this, where the lines between the good guys and the bad are blurred, and the ending is not really all that happy. With The Business of Dying, Kernick has proved that he should do well in the business of writing.

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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Gritty and entertaining, 6 Nov 2006
By N. Brett (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
I was lead to this by links and positive reviews on Amazon and I was pleased I made the effort.

An apparently experienced and dedicated CID officer acts as an occasional hit man for a local gangster. In this tale the repercussions of a 'hit' become more and more significant during the investigation of a murder. As the net closes in on our CID officer, he struggles with the need to make a run for it while wanting to identify the murderer.

This was a very enjoyable page-turner and the author managers to make you root for a man who is actually a bad guy. Very refreshing and entertaining throughout.
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars Not a typical first novel, 23 Jul 2006
By lmhh (UK) - See all my reviews
  
Having read the second Dennis Milne novel first, I was prepared to be disappointed by "The Business of Dying" but was far from it. It has none of the hallmarks of a typical first novel, isn't at all derivative, and the moral contradiction of the hero being a policeman who is also a professional hitman is well handled.

Add to that action bursting out of every page, and descriptions of a real London which I recognised and you have a recipe for enjoyment if you like your crime fiction gritty and bloody.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars The Business of Dying
I am an avid fan of thriller writers and I've read the novels of James Patterson, Stephen Leather and Peter James all in the last 12 months. Read more
Published 6 days ago by Paul Hanratty

5.0 out of 5 stars Big Business
I have always felt that being a police officer in the UK must be a pretty harsh and bleak job at times and Simon Kernick agrees. Read more
Published 6 months ago by Sam

4.0 out of 5 stars Indeed a lucrative Business!
I have read the Murder Exchange and the Crime Trade, both of which are excellent books, before picking up The Business of Dying. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Sterile

3.0 out of 5 stars Tempted to upgrade the book
This is the first Kernick novel I have read, although I now have all the others waiting in the wings! Read more
Published 8 months ago by Michael Watson

5.0 out of 5 stars A great debut
Just finished this book after a couple of days glued to it!

I thought overall this book was brilliant but I do agree with a previous reviewer regarding the "new"... Read more
Published 10 months ago by littleskippy

2.0 out of 5 stars Hmm
Not sure about the bent copper angle - I like my copper heroes to be morally upright! Or at least if like Tom Thorne then only bent in the interests of justice. Read more
Published 12 months ago by C. E. Elliott

3.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not brilliant
This is a decent and fast paced crime story, and the fast pace does make you forgive many of the flaws in the story. Read more
Published 14 months ago by Al

1.0 out of 5 stars Bought this on the basis of Relentless - Don't bother!
I'll start by saying what I thought of this overall. Rubbish.
I don't read books often, however my last holiday I read and thoroughly enjoyed Relentless (apart from where I... Read more
Published 15 months ago by A. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars better than relentless - really good
i picked this up having read and enjoyed 'relentless' and i thought it was better. I liked the main character even though he was a corrupt police officer and wanted to see him... Read more
Published 20 months ago by megamarble

5.0 out of 5 stars After reading it 10 times...
I hadnt really had any interest in crime novels...until i read this one! Kernick is a great writer, he really knows how to draw the reader into the centre of the story. Read more
Published on 26 Nov 2006 by K. Madgin

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