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A review by paulabrandon
A Good Day to Die by Simon Kernick
4.0
Dennis Milne is an ex-cop now living in the Philippines running a hotel, since his side work as an assassin (who only kills those who deserve it, of course) means he can't go home to London. Except that's exactly what he does when his latest hit reveals before his death that he was the one behind the murder of a cop Milne considered a friend. Not a close friend, or one he had seen in three years, but enough for him to return to London to uncover the conspiracy behind his death. Of course, he exposes far more than he expects, and finds people keep trying to kill him.
I found Milne's reason for returning to London a bit flimsy. The murdered cop wasn't a best friend. He hadn't even talked to him in three years! Why put yourself in so much danger and risk exposing yourself for that sort of minor connection? The book didn't quite do a good enough job of convincing me that this was something Milne absolutely had to do, whether he was atoning for his past or not.
Other than that, this was a solid Jack Reacher knock-off. Sometimes the book doesn't feel like much more than Milne going to meet a new contact so we can get a detailed description of how Milne gets there and what the place he goes to looks like, which got a bit exasperating, but at least the story moves. (Although that chapter in the pub with the stripper didn't need to be there.) Something is always happening. There's exciting action sequences, and a complex conspiracy for Milne to untangle, and it all mostly makes sense by the time we get to the end, with a couple of plot twists that also make sense. It's an entertaining action thriller in which you can turn your brain off for a couple of hours.
I found Milne's reason for returning to London a bit flimsy. The murdered cop wasn't a best friend. He hadn't even talked to him in three years! Why put yourself in so much danger and risk exposing yourself for that sort of minor connection? The book didn't quite do a good enough job of convincing me that this was something Milne absolutely had to do, whether he was atoning for his past or not.
Other than that, this was a solid Jack Reacher knock-off. Sometimes the book doesn't feel like much more than Milne going to meet a new contact so we can get a detailed description of how Milne gets there and what the place he goes to looks like, which got a bit exasperating, but at least the story moves. (Although that chapter in the pub with the stripper didn't need to be there.) Something is always happening. There's exciting action sequences, and a complex conspiracy for Milne to untangle, and it all mostly makes sense by the time we get to the end, with a couple of plot twists that also make sense. It's an entertaining action thriller in which you can turn your brain off for a couple of hours.