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"Prime hard boiled detective novel"

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

Reviewed by PNR Group Member
Posted May 16, 2003

It's a typical cold November night and Detective Sergeant Dennis Milne, a very atypical policeman, waits in the Traveller's Rest Hotel parking lot for the arrival of three men. Cynical and jaded, Milne earns money on the side by doing what he does best: punishing the bad guys. But this time he's been duped. Instead of blowing away drug dealers, he kills three innocent people, their deaths starting an investigation that sees him and his conscience heading for trouble.

Less than twelve hours later, Milne is out on the streets again. Eighteen-year-old Miriam Fox has been found dead by Regent's Canal---her throat slashed. Desperate to find Miriam's killer, Milne uncovers a web of depravity far more shocking than he could ever have imagined. Can he evade arrest for his own crimes and solve a case so sickening that it may provide the key to his personal redemption?

The clock is ticking and everyone's watching their backs as a war of morality is fought in the mind of one renegade policeman in this gripping first novel by a talented young crime writer.