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| The Business of Dying | 
 enlarge | Author: Simon Kernick
Publisher: Corgi Books
Category: Book
Buy New: £17.95
Buy New/Used from £1.08
Avg. Customer Rating:  (21 reviews)
Sales Rank: 70917
Languages: English (Original Language), English (Unknown)
Media: Paperback
Edition: New edition
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 329
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 6.9 x 4.2 x 1.3
ISBN: 0552149705
EAN: 9780552149709
ASIN: 0552149705
Publication Date: June 2, 2003
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews: Read 16 more reviews...
Indeed a lucrative Business! November 1, 2008
I have read the Murder Exchange and the Crime Trade, both of which are excellent books, before picking up The Business of Dying. I decided to go back to the debut before carrying on with the latest in his armoury!
The book is just as good as the books I have mentioned above and in the Crime Trade he 'name drops' from this earlier novel, using DS Malik again as a character.
The middle of the tale does slope off slightly for me but the last third of the book really makes up for it with plenty of story line and pace. I found it intelligently written, and quite believable. Dennis does have a heart - and does care about people! I would recommend starting with this book, as not only is it the debut but the characters are used again in The Crime Trade and A good Day to die, which incidentally is the follow-up to The Business....
 Tempted to upgrade the book October 28, 2008
This is the first Kernick novel I have read, although I now have all the others waiting in the wings!
Initially, I found the story and the protagonist, DS Milne, to be rather slow moving. I was also surprised that he could buy a bacon buttie, an apple and a drink for 2.00 until I realised that the book has been around for five years or so! Silly me; I thought it was a 2008 realease!
Anyway, once the pace picked up, I found, rather akin to the author, to somewhat like Dennis Milne, despite his moonlighting as a hitman. The story is intriguing, the action, once it gets going really does move along at a pace. So much so that, as soon as I had finished this book, I moved on to 'A Good Day To Die'. I knew, of course, that Milne survives so it's no secret to any future reader though I won't spoil the ending of the second book.
For anyone wishing to catch up on a very good British author, I recommend this book. I nearly decided on 4 stars but I'll see how we go with the sequel!
 A great debut August 26, 2008
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" characters being brought into the story towards the end.
I have read all this author's books to date and this was one of the best.
Definitely worth a read.
 Hmm July 16, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
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. There just doesn't seem to be enough reasons for this copper to start on a business as a hitman. All a bit silly, I think I'll stick to Mark Billingham.
Good, but not brilliant April 28, 2008
0 out of 4 found this review helpful
This is a decent and fast paced crime story, and the fast pace does make you forgive many of the flaws in the story.
I'm not giving anything away by explaining that two storyline threads run through most of this book. The central character is a cop who murders people on the side, and the book follows both the fall-out from his latest killings and the case he is investigating. This works well for most of the book, but the first of these threads approaches its conclusion way ahead of the other, so the last part of the book is uneven as the other thread catches up. Also, as the net closes on our corrupt cop he seems obsessed with solving the crime he is working on rather than saving his own skin, to the point of being ridiculous. There are a number of barely credible episodes in the story, particularly the big finale.
In the preamble to the book, the author cites his many contacts in the police who have helped him research that side of the story so well. But reading the book I found no insight into police procedures or anything to indicate a particular knowledge of how the police work (at least, nothing more than you would get from watching a couple of episodes of The Bill).
Overall this book is a good read, and as I say the fast pace keeps the pages turning and you easily forgive the shortfalls.
This was the author's first book, and the first I have read by him. There was enough good in this book to make me want to read the next one.
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