The business of dying

Blurb

The Business of Dying is a novel written by Simon Kernick. His first novel, Kernick introduces the character Dennis Milne who becomes the lead character in several novels. The story is a crime thriller which follows Milne, a full-time police officer and part-time hitman whose targets turn out to be customs officers and an accountant. The novel was published in the United Kingdom in 2002 by Bantam and in the United States in 2003 by St. Martin's Minotaur.
A book reviewer for The Daily Telegraph wrote that the novel is an "auspicious debut which leaves me looking forward eagerly to Mr Kernick's next book." The reviewer in Booklist wrote "Kernick's debut is compelling, dark, and suspenseful" and that "while there are a few places where his unusual plot fails to convince, Kernick clearly has a promising future". The reviewer in Publishers Weekly wrote "Kernick does a masterful job of making Milne sympathetic, despite his callous brutalities, by combining a captivating first-person narrative with emotionally complex characterization.