I haven’t had much time for reading over the Summer school holidays. But seeing as I’ve now packed them both off to Secondary school, I had a bit of time to catch up on some much needed reading time.
I’ve just finished “The Business of Dying” which was Simon Kernick’s first novel back in 2002. From the first few pages, I was hooked on the story of DS Dennis Milne.
This complex character, gets you feeling both angry, as you think he’s just another dirty cop and sympathetic in his quest to “only get rid of the bad guys”. During the story, you can see that Dennis Milne is fighting enough demons in his own mind after he kills 3 innocent people, having been made to believe they were corrupt government employees.
The story enfolds as the chase to clear up his mess and cover his and his friends/colleagues backs. One by one, the people Milne knows, cares or are associated with regarding his latest “hit” all seem to disappear and he knows it’s getting closer to his termination. You are kept on tenterhooks by the author on how his main character will escape one assassination attempt after another.
A really gripping thriller, which is well worth a read. I’ve already have “The Final Minute” by Simon Kernick to read next. Lets hope it’s as good as his first.
I’ve also just ordered “A Good Day to Die” and “The Payback“, which is Book 2 and 3 in the series of DS Dennis Milne. I’m looking forward to seeing how his character develops over the next two novels. 🙂