Product Description

It's cold, it's December - and ex-cop Dennis Milne is intent on revenge. His best friend has been brutally executed, and Milne wants to know who did it - and why. But London is a dangerous place, especially for a man on his own. And although his former colleagues don't know Milne's back in town, it soon becomes clear there are people who do. And that they'll stop at nothing to get him out of the way. From the beaches of the Philippines to the mean streets of London, a hunt for justice becomes a terrifying battle for survival.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6058 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-28
• Original language: English
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 480 pages

Independent
Kernick provides fast and furious storytelling with good, original fights and lots of blood.

Independent on Sunday
A Good Day To Die is a terrific novel, and well worth the wait.

Daily Mail
... Kernick is excellent at capturing the mean streets where crack deals go down and tourists don't linger.

Customer Reviews

Chav Fiction
As an introduction, the author gives his reasons for reviving the character of Dennis Milne, cop turned hitman, who first featured in The Business of Dying, another none-too-subtly titled Kernick book which I admit I had not read. "You can't keep a good or should I say bad man down" was his reason for this novel. To be honest this struck me as a bit arrogant, as if he was doing the reading public a big favour clumsily bringing back the man with no redeeming features whatsoever.

Anyway, rant over. I had previously read Relentless which started well but went all wobbly along its winding path before an unsatisfactory end. Lent this book by a friend (who hadn't bothered to read it himself yet), I opted to check it out as every author deserves a second chance in my view.

The aforementioned Milne had previously "done a runner" to the Philippines before his crimes caught up with him. Running a small hotel with an old informant of his (a dubious pairing if ever there was one), his friend Tomboy, asked him to do one last "job" which soon led the sticky end of Billy West, a crim associate from the old days. In his last words, West confessed to killing Asif Malik in a cafe along with another man. Malik had been a friend and respected colleague of Milne in his "good cop" days and he wasn't prepared to let his death go unpunished. Against Tomboy's advice and all common sense, Milne flew back to a wet and wintry London with vengeance on his mind.

Milne then went on the hunt for the elusive Pope, the name West had given him before meeting his maker. However, Pope had powerful friends and the deeper he dug, the bigger the conspiracy and the more influential the people behind the murder became. Teaming up with local paper reporter Emma who was investigating the case also, the stakes were raised and so was the body count. The plot twisted and turned, friends turning out not to be, before the truth was unveiled and justice "Milne-style" was dished out.

The author's writing style is best described as blunt with little description, charm or wit. Kernick does however to his credit know how to keep a plot moving, but he stretches credibility massively along the way. How Milne arrives at his conclusions is never clear, he seems to stumble from one shoot out to another with alarming ease, and not a single policeman in sight. The meeting with main suspect Nicholas Tyndall (and severed head) is lifted straight from the Colonel Kurtz confrontation in Apocalypse Now, the torture scene in the bathroom is pure Scarface, minus the chainsaw.

This is an OK read for those who think Guy Richie is the new Scorcese; chav fiction if you like. The author knows his target audience and males aged 18-30 on the plane to Ibiza will probably like this but I won't be rushing out for another Kernick caper anytime soon.

A GREAT book to read.....
Kernick delivers.

Dennis Milne returns, and this time its personal.

His old mate from his days as an "honest" copper has been gunned-down in London under mysterious circumstances. Milne leaves his new life in the Far East behind him and returns to London. After some very fine scene-setting in the Philippines, the action switches to London.

Milne meets up with a fit young female journalist, and they begin to make some progress. What follows is an action-packed thriller, full of twists and turns, that will keep you guessing, and more importantly, turning pages, until the gripping conclusion. Kernicks humour again shines through.

Milne is great anti-hero. Despite what he does, and the no-holds-barred manner in which he does it, its hard not to like the guy. It would be good to know someone like like him you could call !

Given the rubbish we are subjected to on-screen nowadays, large and small, I am surprised that none of Kernick's work has been adapted yet. I live in hope.

Left me wanting more
This is the first Simon kernick novel I have read, but I will definitely be working my way through the earlier ones now as I really enjoyed A Good Day to Die. The foreword by Lee Child congratulates Simon Kernick on creating an authentic contemporary England and he is right. I recognise the country he describes which contributes to enjoyment of the action. Also, DS Dennis Milne is more than a flawed hero he is a killer but Kernick still manages to make him a sympathetic character. All in all a good read.