![\"People](\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com\/images\/I\/411PM-JxoSL.jpg?w=474&ssl=1\")
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He did feel bad for burdening her, yet at the same time he\u2019d wanted to tell her much more: that he was lonely, that he felt like indistinct bits of him were dying, that nothing was clear anymore. It was enough though, what he\u2019d told her was enough, like a gasp of pure oxygen, burning the tissue of his lungs.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
I\u2019m not entirely sure<\/strong> what to make of People Die<\/a><\/em>, Kevin Wignall\u2019s debut novel. It\u2019s not exactly amoral, but not exactly moral either. I suspect it\u2019s one of those sophisticated books not intended for middlebrows like me.<\/p>\n
JJ Hoffman is a freelance hit man, based in Geneva. He has an impeccable reputation in his field \u2013 he does his work efficiently and dispassionately, leaving no metaphorical messes behind.<\/p>\n
But now he has found his handler murdered, and rumor says that several others of his colleagues have been killed too. Almost by coincidence (I think it counts as a minor deus ex machina<\/em>) he is contacted by an American who tells him he knows what\u2019s going on. He wants JJ to come and visit him, at an inn in New England.<\/p>\n
The problem is that the inn is owned by a woman whose husband JJ murdered a few years ago.<\/p>\n
People Die<\/em> is a well-written tale. I thought it passed the bounds of plausibility a few times \u2013 and not in the normal way of thrillers, on the action side. The implausibilities here are psychological. And the resolution just made no sense to me. There\u2019s a kind of grace at work here (in fact the book could be seen as a sort of Christian metaphor), but there\u2019s an amorality at the same time. I couldn\u2019t work out what to think about it in the end.<\/p>\n
Worth reading though. Cautions for language, violence, and adult themes.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He did feel bad for burdening her, yet at the same time he\u2019d wanted to tell her much more: that he was lonely, that he felt like indistinct bits of him were dying, that nothing was clear anymore. It was enough though, what he\u2019d told her was enough, like a gasp of pure oxygen, burning … Continue reading ‘People Die,’ by Kevin Wignall<\/span>