THE BUSINESS OF DYING By Simon Kernick Transworld, £6.99, ISBN 0552149705, Reviewed by Russel Dennis Milne is a DI in London who also happens to sideline as a hitman. He has his own reasons and his own code about who he will kill and who's off limits. But when a hit goes badly wrong, Milne is thrown into a desparate situation where he risks not only exposing his double life but having both of them end violently. Kernick's breakneck debut is not only slick and fast, but pulls you into Milne's way of thinking so that, despite your own moral compass, you find yourself sympathising with this amoral copper turned hitman.

SERPICO By Peter Maas, Harper Perrenial, $13.95 (£8.01), ISBN 0060738189, Reviewed by Russel Its hard to forget the image of Al Pacino as Serpico in the classic 70's movie, but the book is even more affecting in its portrayal of one cop fighting a corrupt system. Serpico's no angel - he's just a normal guy - and that only adds to his struggle against a system of policing with a code as tight as the Mafia's Omerta. A brilliantly written portrait of a man whose place in modern history should not be forgotten.

EVERY DEAD THING By John Connolly Coronet Books, £6.99, ISBN 0340728981, Reviewed by Doug Connolly's first novel is assured, beautifully written and a wonderful evocation of an American South steeped in myth and mystery. But any hints of the supernatural are beautifully underplayed as Connolly follows psychologically damaged Detective Charlie "Bird" Parker on the trail of a vicious killer known only as The Travelling Man. Philosophical, psychological and plain chilling, Every Dead Thing is a fantastic start to one of the most intriguing ongoing series in crime fiction.

EDDIE'S WORLD By Charlie Stella, Eddie Senta's looking to settle down. Or rather his wife is. Eddie's bored, trying his best to live the straight life but word processing just isn't cutting it for him any more. When a score comes his way that sounds hard to resist, you just know that things can only get worse for Eddie. Stella's first novel crackles with energy and the kind of dialogue that make him one of our favourite writers at Crime Scene Scotland. If you haven't read Stella before, then shame on you. Buy this book right now.