Why We Die [Paperback]

Mick Herron (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1, 2009

When Zoë Boehm agrees to track down some robbers, she’s just looking for cash to pay off the taxman; she’s not expecting to wind up in a coffin. But death, like taxes, can’t be avoided forever.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. In Herron's dazzling third Zoë Boehm adventure, the second to appear in the U.S. (after 2004's The Last Voice You Hear), the struggling London PI gets mixed up with, among others, a suicidal widower, a battered wife, a baby-faced giantess and a disgraced policeman. Stirred and shaken, the result is potent and surprising, as Zoë scrambles to stay ahead of her creditors. Soon after she's hit by a big back-taxes claim and her car is stolen, Zoë receives a call from a robbed jeweler, Harold Sweeney, who offers a reward big enough to cover her bills. Two thieves, including one armed with a crossbow, took things Sweeney couldn't tell police about. All Zoë has to do to collect her reward money is identify the two men, but the case proves far from simple. Herron's tale, as the title suggests, is suffused with death, but without a needlessly high body count. Smart, dogged and never down for the count, Zoë is a fine addition to the ranks of female PIs. (Oct.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

The seamy side of Oxford, England, takes center stage as lives and plans collide in this bleak crime novel. Tim Whitby, ready to commit suicide after the death of his wife, meets Kay Dunstan, an abused wife, at a local hotel. When he sobers up, he remembers her black eye and believes she was reaching out to him for help. Meanwhile, brothers Baxter, Arkle, and Trent Dunstan rob a jewelry store, and private investigator Zoe Boehm needs money for back taxes. When Zoe is hired to find the jewelry-store robbers, events are set in motion, leading to tragedy, as she and Tim try to protect Kay from the wrath of brothers-in-law Trent and the sociopathic Arkle, as the two blame Kay for the death of her husband, Baxter, whom she killed in self-defense. They also want the money Baxter has hidden. Double-crosses, revenge, and violence permeate this novel, full of well--developed but (except for Zoe and Tim) mostly unlikable characters. British noir reminiscent of Jerry Raine's Smalltime (1997). Barbara Bibel
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 320 pages
• Publisher: Soho Constable; 1ST edition (April 1, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1569475687
• ISBN-13: 978-1569475683
• Product Dimensions: 5.2 x 0.9 x 7.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,768,135 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Death by Crossbow?, January 15, 2007

By 

Robert Derenthal "bucherwurm" (California United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Why We Die (Hardcover)

Zoe Boehm is one British lady who does not lead a quiet life. Her private eye exploits in this novel bring her up against a couple of brothers who have rather violent natures, and seem to be a bit dimwitted. That's a dangerous combination, especially when one of the duo prefers a crossbow as his weapon of choice. Other characters include a woman who has just offed her husband, who was another brother of the bad guys, and then there's a woman chauffeur who could easily be someone's S&M fantasy, being a barrel-chested, six foot gal with branchlike arms and thick columns of legs. She's someone that you usually don't say no to when she makes a request.

The plot revolves around some stolen money that every one of the above wants desperately to find. There's a good amount of suspense and action in this story. The book is a special delight as it's not just a good adventure story, but is also a good work of literature. The action slows periodically as various characters stop to reflect on the meaning of life. That's good stuff, though, and the book is full of black humor, although sometimes things just get very very black.

Very highly recommended.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Unusually well done suspense book, March 8, 2007

By 

David Kennedy - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Why We Die (Hardcover)

Interesting characters and a surprise at the end. A fun read.

0 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Dying is not Easy...but Eternal., September 16, 2009

By 

Betty Burks "Betty Burks" (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Why We Die (Paperback)

For his age, he dwells a bit much on sexuality and a philosophy teacher is not a biology teacher. I suffered through a Socio-Economics class at Troy State (Ala) College but, instead of fostering his evocative thoughts, the professor taught by osmosis (having discussions daily among his students -- he called on me every day which I hated as I felt he was not doing his job.) I was there to learn not to talk. Anyway, I was shy.

The author skips around from one strange thought or observation of his own, a very distractible way to lecture about love, life and death. He quotes philosophers of old we've all read in college but, as the Biblel, they are for a particular time and place. Some people want to die, but not me. Why not have life everlasting? There will always be insufferable pain throughout our lives, but that's better than feeling no pain at all (dead). Theree is no joy in death, only a void which can erase out very existence. All of us are not capable of writing and getting published books to keep out spirits alive.

In this age of euthanasia, our bodies, minds, and fact that we were on this earth is borned away. Who knows you ever lived? Justin was euthanized as was Star which broke my heart. I had to return to the old hometown so that fate would not fall to me, also. I was near death. That, my friend, is a hard thing to endure. Thank God, He was with me.

This was not a book of comfort. Who needs unimportant "facts" about life and death (each individual who lived was unique and esoteric thoughts mean little to the survivor who must grieve). It was the opposite; it was depressing. "Like Faust, the mythical devourer of experiences, we refused to be satisfied." Here's to Life!