Wonderfully written and detailed! Both my son and I enjoyed this story. Thank you for giving us something to talk about! If you can get your hands on this book - DO IT! ( )

Issue when saving my review means it was lost and I can't be bothered retyping it out. ( )

More gargoyles, please? Yes!? Thank you!

Dying is My Business was a great read featuring a disreputable guy who you couldn’t help rooting for by the end. Now, Trent didn’t mean for all those people to die…but it’s still his fault anyway. Because every time he dies, the physically closest person to him has the life sucked out of them and put into Trent​ – essentially bringing him ​back from the dead. Sounds like one awesome problem to have if you’re in the habit of getting killed.

It’s not as easy as it looks to come back from the dead. – pg 1

​Why does he bite​ the big one so often you might wonder…well because he works for ​a criminal douche bag who makes him do all sorts of dirty work, “collecting” things for him. Usually from the rightful people and places those things belong to. But he stays under this guy Underwood’s thumb in the hopes he might give him information about his own past. So, that is the second crappy thing about Trent’s life, he doesn’t know who he is, nor does he have any memories that go further back than a year.

When Trent is out on a job to retrieve a certain box and kill the people in possession of it he ends up getting rather fond of them instead. Especially a particular pointy eared damsel in distress by name of Bethany. Admittedly it took me awhile to warm up to Trent but I think that was due to the fact that he doesn’t really know who he is so his unique personality was a bit slower in showing itself.

I was a freak, but at least I was a meticulous freak. – pg 2

​There was a nice smattering of humor that readers will appreciate. This particular part gave me a few good snorts of laughter and is probably one of my favorite scenes.

There were a few nighttime pedestrians on the block, but they continued on their way, dutifully ignoring the zombie vomiting blood out of the back of my car. Good old New Yorkers. – pg 42

“Don’t worry?” Thornton’s pale lips glistened a dark red. He wiped his sleeve across his mouth. “I’m dead and vomiting blood, Bethany. I think that’s pretty fucking worrisome.” – pg 42

​If you like your urban fantasy with a healthy helping of your favorite creatures you won’t be disappointed. Dying is My Business is packed with gargoyles, yet also boasts a mage, necromancer, Black Night, werewolf, vampire and a few other people that I don’t have names for what they are.

Read it and enjoy, you know I did. ( )

Dear Mr. Kaufmann,

First you invade my dream with creepy pictures. Now this.

I had plans, you know. I had things to do. But no, you had to provide me with the awesome that is Dying is My Business. Now my laundry remains unfolded. Stacks of papers and other detritus continue to clutter my shelves. All the words I planned to write remain unwritten. And I'm can't seem to rub the glue from my eyes, as I try to recover from the hours of sleep I lost last night in the desperate need to finish reading.

I was absorbed by the story from page one, when Trent wakes from being shot and killed yet again with another dried out husk of a body nearby. The trade off for his return to life is that someone else must die. As an apparent side effect of his condition, Trent has also lost all of his memories beyond one year before. He's been taken in by Underwood, a twisted and violent crime boss, who exploits his abilities and sends him out to "collect" various things. Trent's latest assignment to collect a mysterious box quickly leads him into a new understanding of the world, a world that includes magic, gargoyles, and a whole slew of things most people never knew existed.

Having an amnesiac main character can potentially be annoying, if not handled well. But Trent as a character is spot on. His loss of self and personal history has caused him to be cynical and fatalistic in understandable ways. He longs for the truth about his past without becoming tedious or whiny, and it's easy to see how Underwood could have drawn him in by promising those truths. Trent is sometimes protagonist, sometimes antagonist, and sometimes both. He carries a great level of guilt for the lives he's taken and the crimes he's committed, making for a conflicted and fascinating character.

Now, can I just take a moment express my love for Bethany? This diminutive, spright-like young woman with a passion for the rules, a troubled past, and vest full of charms that will lay you on your ass has won my heart. She is hard edged, intelligent, honest, and kind. She is, in a phrase, many kinds of awesome.

And then there is poor, poor Thompson Thornton (Whoops. Knew I was getting it wrong). My heart is all asunder from his hopeful bravery and ability to crack jokes in the face of his tragedy.

I have love for all the characters really, even the nasty ones. Underwood and his cronies are cruel and unsettling in the most delightful ways. The Black Knight is destructive, powerful, and greedy for power. I shiver at the thought of ever meeting anyone of them in a dark alley.

Last night, I could not stop reading. I turned page after page, ignoring the episodes of Big Bang Theory my roommate turned on and loosing — as I mentioned — much sleep. I continued reading even as my friend began to turn of all the lights in the house, leaving only a single lamp behind my head to illuminate the pages.

Upon finally reaching the end, I began to flail. "No!" I cried, waking my roommate from her deep slumber. "Why?! Why is it over? I need more book! Why isn't there more book?!"



You're ending gave me chills, and I find myself awash with feels, saddened and maddened that it's over. How can it be over, when I want so much to keep reading, to know what happens next, to know the fates of the characters I've come to love?

Why would you do this to me, Mr. Kaufmann? What am I supposed to do with my life now?

This had better be the beginning of a series with the second book to come in the near future. Because if I do not have the sequel soon, I will be forced find a way to flay you in a manner that would make Underwood grin.

Sincerely, you're humble reader,

Andrea ( )

http://www.zomboscloset.com/zombos_closet_of_horror_b/2013/10/dying-is-my-busine... ( )