Prolific author James Sallis is probably best known for his Lew Griffin mysteries (Ghost of a Flea). His latest novel, The Killer Is Dying, is both stark and beautiful. Christian, an aging contract killer confronted by his own mortality, is caught in a web of mystery when his final target, a seemingly innocuous accountant, is taken down by an unknown assailant. The job was botched, and Christian aims to complete his task. At the same time, seasoned detective Dale Sayles is searching for his terminally ill wife, who has left him. All the while, a young boy abandoned by his parents in the anonymous suburbs of Phoenix is haunted by the killer's dreams. As the story unfolds, their disparate paths spiral closer, bound for collision.
Though marketed as a thriller, The Killer Is Dying reads as treatise on the human condition. It's not your typical "whodunit." If you hate a wild goose chase with loose ends, this book will challenge you. But it's well worth while to suspend your need for closure, as the author's sparse use of language forces detail into brilliant focus. His characters are so completely human that you slip seamlessly between their minds and memories, ensuring that while Sallis's tale is steeped in loss, it is never bleak. Devoid of even the slightest hint of sentimentality, the story suggests that we are all connected--if not in life, then certainly in death. --Tom Lavoie, former publisher