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People Die
Kevin Wignall's debut novel, available on Kindle outside the US for the first time - At 29, JJ has reached the peak of his career. He works out of a small consultancy in Zurich. He dates Aurianne - a beautiful air-hostess - but worries about whether he really loves her. But, thankfully, money is not a worry. You see, JJ is a contract-killer. Working freelance for a select organisation, he has built a reputation as a discreet, professional cleaner who doesn't cause trouble for employer or 'client' (beyond the obvious...). But when - after a disposing of a corpulent businessman - he becomes so fascinated with the man's beautiful companion that he lets her go, he starts a chain of events which will lead him to re-evaluate his whole life and beliefs.
417 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 7, 2002
123 people are currently reading
205 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Wignall
41 books560 followersArmy Child till age nine.
Settled back in a small town in the west of England.
Lancaster University - degree in Politics &
International Relations.
Writer.
Also writes as K.J. Wignall
Email: kevin@kevinwignall.com
Settled back in a small town in the west of England.
Lancaster University - degree in Politics &
International Relations.
Writer.
Also writes as K.J. Wignall
Email: kevin@kevinwignall.com
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
September 5, 2019
Good book...not my usual fare but then I say that every time I read a book about an assassin. Antiheroes aren't my regular reads but there are some good novels out there with antihero protagonists.
Here JJ is, if not happily making his living killing people he's at least not (too) unhappy. The book opens with him "doing a hit" and then for some reason allowing the (extremely [believe me when I say that as JJ goes on about her haunting beauty throughout the book in some of his numerous internal monologues]) beautiful girl who was in bed with the, target, client, mark???(whatever) go. She gets out of bed saying nothing, reaches under the bed, finds "something", takes it...and her clothes and leaves.
Then we jump forward in time, and JJ finds himself and his contacts...being targeted.
And he doesn't know why.
The book has a bit more depth than your usual "hit man saga". Our protagonist sort of delves into life, death and "why"
So good read, not a total breakneck ride as it slows down for "thinking" and then moves on. I can recommend it, enjoy.
Here JJ is, if not happily making his living killing people he's at least not (too) unhappy. The book opens with him "doing a hit" and then for some reason allowing the (extremely [believe me when I say that as JJ goes on about her haunting beauty throughout the book in some of his numerous internal monologues]) beautiful girl who was in bed with the, target, client, mark???(whatever) go. She gets out of bed saying nothing, reaches under the bed, finds "something", takes it...and her clothes and leaves.
Then we jump forward in time, and JJ finds himself and his contacts...being targeted.
And he doesn't know why.
The book has a bit more depth than your usual "hit man saga". Our protagonist sort of delves into life, death and "why"
So good read, not a total breakneck ride as it slows down for "thinking" and then moves on. I can recommend it, enjoy.
December 9, 2018
Quite simply Kevin Wignall is in a class of his own.
I am so pleased that People Die has been made available for the first time outside the U.S.
That it has not previously been accessible, more so as it is his debut novel is almost unforgivable.
I simply devour anything he writes, my interest having been stirred by listening to him a few years ago at a U.K. book festival in Bristol.
His writing is economical, full of personality. Not a word misplaced, a sentence too long or a chapter over written. He tells dark stories that are accessible because he litters them with believable people. They maybe spies or hired assassins but they appear normal and in the main have basic human needs. It is this identification a reader can have within a story. It is not like empathy more like an acceptance of the events as they unfold. Not a cheering for the killers and players in their shady world but an understanding of them as the author opens the story all up.
People Die is a remarkable book. Pinch me it is more like a fifth or tenth novel of a writer who is comfortable within their discipline as a author.
It has a great deal of depth. A familiar plot of an organisation purging itself but is told in ways other books in this genre never aspire to or their writers would deem possible. JJ stumbles across a change in emphasis in his organisation where people don’t get fired, people die. Where employees don’t get the sack but a body bag.
.As a hired gun he has the skills to look after himself but the problem is who can he trust, how widespread is the downsizing going to be felt.
Familiar but told with a freshness but the uncertainty that JJ might not survive, maybe it is his time to die.
What is so special in reading Kevin’s books is the ease of the relationship he has with his readers and this subject. There is no overkill, no glorifying of death and the justification for killing is ever made, beyond, it is a job and often it was them or me.
People Die has that other magic ingredient. It tells a story, the characters grow as they reflect and interact. The book is brimming with ideas and nuances of this secret world of the dark arts. Many of them have been revisited by the author in subsequent works.
There is no apology here for violence and taking life, but we are offered an implied understanding as we read of JJ self awareness and personal insights as the plot develops.
The reader gets an experience that beats a day out at Alton Towers. That equals the most lavish banquet imagined and assimilates the story like a comfortable relaxing experience. Like the most pleasant of smells or the most romantic of dates.
I am so pleased that People Die has been made available for the first time outside the U.S.
That it has not previously been accessible, more so as it is his debut novel is almost unforgivable.
I simply devour anything he writes, my interest having been stirred by listening to him a few years ago at a U.K. book festival in Bristol.
His writing is economical, full of personality. Not a word misplaced, a sentence too long or a chapter over written. He tells dark stories that are accessible because he litters them with believable people. They maybe spies or hired assassins but they appear normal and in the main have basic human needs. It is this identification a reader can have within a story. It is not like empathy more like an acceptance of the events as they unfold. Not a cheering for the killers and players in their shady world but an understanding of them as the author opens the story all up.
People Die is a remarkable book. Pinch me it is more like a fifth or tenth novel of a writer who is comfortable within their discipline as a author.
It has a great deal of depth. A familiar plot of an organisation purging itself but is told in ways other books in this genre never aspire to or their writers would deem possible. JJ stumbles across a change in emphasis in his organisation where people don’t get fired, people die. Where employees don’t get the sack but a body bag.
.As a hired gun he has the skills to look after himself but the problem is who can he trust, how widespread is the downsizing going to be felt.
Familiar but told with a freshness but the uncertainty that JJ might not survive, maybe it is his time to die.
What is so special in reading Kevin’s books is the ease of the relationship he has with his readers and this subject. There is no overkill, no glorifying of death and the justification for killing is ever made, beyond, it is a job and often it was them or me.
People Die has that other magic ingredient. It tells a story, the characters grow as they reflect and interact. The book is brimming with ideas and nuances of this secret world of the dark arts. Many of them have been revisited by the author in subsequent works.
There is no apology here for violence and taking life, but we are offered an implied understanding as we read of JJ self awareness and personal insights as the plot develops.
The reader gets an experience that beats a day out at Alton Towers. That equals the most lavish banquet imagined and assimilates the story like a comfortable relaxing experience. Like the most pleasant of smells or the most romantic of dates.
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December 14, 2018
Audiobook - 7:09 hours - Narrator: David John
Listened to: 5:00 hours; balance: 2.09 hours
This book had been highly praised by one reviewer in particular and I was so impressed by the review that I had purchased the Audible audiobook and downloaded it onto my iPhone within five minutes of reading the review.
This book simply dribbled along. I thought the key character "JJ" (Somebody Hoffman) was boring. At first I blamed the narrator, David John, but eventually I realised that the actual character was boring. When he kills, he does it quickly, efficiently, and with limited drama. Then he burbles along looking for his next would-be assassin and 'despatches' him coldly and calmly, and then the next and so on.
I have tried very hard to finish listening to it, but even with only two hours to go I have given up and awarded it a late-in-the-year DNF!
Listened to: 5:00 hours; balance: 2.09 hours
This book had been highly praised by one reviewer in particular and I was so impressed by the review that I had purchased the Audible audiobook and downloaded it onto my iPhone within five minutes of reading the review.
This book simply dribbled along. I thought the key character "JJ" (Somebody Hoffman) was boring. At first I blamed the narrator, David John, but eventually I realised that the actual character was boring. When he kills, he does it quickly, efficiently, and with limited drama. Then he burbles along looking for his next would-be assassin and 'despatches' him coldly and calmly, and then the next and so on.
I have tried very hard to finish listening to it, but even with only two hours to go I have given up and awarded it a late-in-the-year DNF!
March 27, 2015
When you're a hitman, one killing is pretty much the same as another. The method may vary, but essentially, you're going in, catching someone by surprise and sending them on to the great beyond. It's all in a day's work, actually, most of the time. But every once in a while, there's something unique about the kill, something that stays with you long after the event. That's what William "JJ" Hoffman discovers after assassinating David Bostridge while in Moscow. When he made the hit, Bostridge was in bed with a much younger woman. Normally, JJ would have offed her too. But there was something about her that stopped him from doing so. She looked at him with no fear, removed a package from under the bed and left with JJ doing absolutely nothing about it.
Even a few years later, that hit stays with JJ. The people around him are being killed, and he finds that he is a target too. His girlfriend is murdered; his former contact is slaughtered—all indications are that JJ is next. Trusting in a man who is also under the gun, he stays in a bed-and-breakfast in Vermont. And unlikely as it may seem, the inn is run by Bostridge's widow who lives there with her son and daughter. Of course, JJ cannot reveal that he killed her husband; but he finds that against all odds, he likes this family, that they are good and decent people and that they like him in return. He knows that he is breaking one of the cardinal rules of his profession by becoming involved with a victim's family.
As the book moves forward, JJ needs to determine why he is slated for elimination. Doing so involves him in some international intrigue, and he faces the likelihood that it may be his turn to die. All along the way, he murders anyone who poses a threat to him.
People Die is an excellent debut novel. As might be expected given the profession of its protagonist, there are a lot of murders. JJ doesn't usually think twice about killing people; in most cases, it's somewhat of a necessity and he experiences no remorse about what he does. What is unexpected is how Wignall delivers us into the mind of the assassin. Although written in third person, the narrative is written in a way that provides the reader entry into JJ's introspective mind.
I was a bit confused at the start of the book when various characters were discussed to whom I had not been introduced, but the book rapidly fell into place. There were several unexpected twists. The one thing that made the book stand out is the fact that JJ, in spite of being a stone cold killer, is not a psychopath. He actually does have a heart, and the reader hears his heartbeat running throughout the book. Excellent writing, dialog and pacing combine to make this book one you'll want to read, especially if you're a fan of noir.
Even a few years later, that hit stays with JJ. The people around him are being killed, and he finds that he is a target too. His girlfriend is murdered; his former contact is slaughtered—all indications are that JJ is next. Trusting in a man who is also under the gun, he stays in a bed-and-breakfast in Vermont. And unlikely as it may seem, the inn is run by Bostridge's widow who lives there with her son and daughter. Of course, JJ cannot reveal that he killed her husband; but he finds that against all odds, he likes this family, that they are good and decent people and that they like him in return. He knows that he is breaking one of the cardinal rules of his profession by becoming involved with a victim's family.
As the book moves forward, JJ needs to determine why he is slated for elimination. Doing so involves him in some international intrigue, and he faces the likelihood that it may be his turn to die. All along the way, he murders anyone who poses a threat to him.
People Die is an excellent debut novel. As might be expected given the profession of its protagonist, there are a lot of murders. JJ doesn't usually think twice about killing people; in most cases, it's somewhat of a necessity and he experiences no remorse about what he does. What is unexpected is how Wignall delivers us into the mind of the assassin. Although written in third person, the narrative is written in a way that provides the reader entry into JJ's introspective mind.
I was a bit confused at the start of the book when various characters were discussed to whom I had not been introduced, but the book rapidly fell into place. There were several unexpected twists. The one thing that made the book stand out is the fact that JJ, in spite of being a stone cold killer, is not a psychopath. He actually does have a heart, and the reader hears his heartbeat running throughout the book. Excellent writing, dialog and pacing combine to make this book one you'll want to read, especially if you're a fan of noir.
July 6, 2015
On rereading, I bumped Wignall's first book up a star. The plot is a standard one among novels about hit men: what happens when the hit man is himself targeted. LAwrence Block and Tom Wood have made good use of that plot line. In this case, William Hoffman (AKA J.J.) is a non-ideological hired gun with a highly developed set of skills and a relatively low view of himself. How much moral self-esteem could a hit man have, after all? When his agent/broker, Viner, is killed, as well as anyone associated with him, J.J. goes on the run, and on the attack. He would have, anyway, but the torture and murder of his girlfriend, who had no idea what he does for a living, makes the matter even more personal. He works his way through several of those responsible, and ends up in Vermont to meet a CIA guy who is also on the run, but who has a close relationship with the family of a man J.J. hit a couple of years before in Russia. It is that man's death that has set the present situation in motion, but J.J. finds himself staying at the inn run by the man's perfectly nice family. (The fact that the hit was done to a man spending the night with a prostitute, whom J.J. didn't kill, makes J.J. wonder about how close the man was to his family.) As he is drawn into the life of the man's family, and as he begins to work closely with the CIA man, J.J.'s heart thaws a bit. It sounds trite, but it isn't, and there is a particularly good scene involving L.J., a really dangerous Russian magnate, and the man behind the elimination of Viner's stable of hit men.
June 10, 2018
Good read
This is a well written, unique story. You'll find yourself going against the grain and actually liking a hired gunman. It's a fast paced easy to follow story with likeable characters. Only downside - I wish I knew what the future held for JJ and Jem. I'm about to download another book by this author which, for me, is a high recommendation!
This is a well written, unique story. You'll find yourself going against the grain and actually liking a hired gunman. It's a fast paced easy to follow story with likeable characters. Only downside - I wish I knew what the future held for JJ and Jem. I'm about to download another book by this author which, for me, is a high recommendation!
February 15, 2021
An underrated writer
I wouldn't choose to read a book about a contract killer usually! But there really is something about this guy's writing which is genuinely exceptional in places - a rare shrewdness about the human condition and a wryly perceptive way of conveying it. He surprises me with how well he writes every time.
I wouldn't choose to read a book about a contract killer usually! But there really is something about this guy's writing which is genuinely exceptional in places - a rare shrewdness about the human condition and a wryly perceptive way of conveying it. He surprises me with how well he writes every time.
February 21, 2011
This was a very dark and violent book yet original in that you think of a hit man as being cold, calculated and uncaring. This story is told from the viewpoint of the hitman, and despite the person he is you can see that there is still a heart in there somewhere.
May 3, 2023
this book was pretty good as a whole, it kept me interested enough.
but i didn’t like how he found girls half his age attractive. it was increadibly creepy and unneccesary for the story. it would’ve been fine if he just found them pretty i suppose but it was more than that and it was just not good.
but i didn’t like how he found girls half his age attractive. it was increadibly creepy and unneccesary for the story. it would’ve been fine if he just found them pretty i suppose but it was more than that and it was just not good.
July 9, 2018
Superb read
I have read a few kevin wignall books and loved them all so I wasn't disappointed by this either story was brilliant lots of twists simply put a superb read 5 stars from me
I have read a few kevin wignall books and loved them all so I wasn't disappointed by this either story was brilliant lots of twists simply put a superb read 5 stars from me
June 21, 2018
Protagonists in Kevin Wignall's books are always pretty damaged people, either by events (like Conrad Hirst) or by their personality and nature (like JJ in this novel).
JJ is professional hitman working for the assassin network (for a lack of better term) that is hired by all sides - governments, criminal underground, basically whoever has the money. Everything works fine until by sheer accident JJ finds out that one of the intelligence agencies that his network works for began the cleanup of all witnesses (and all those linked to them) to one of the missions that took place a few years before.
JJ is a cold-blooded assassin and he steadily finds his way up the chain but in the process, he gets confronted with the results of his past actions.
A very interesting book. As one of the reviewers noted there is part were JJ develops a relationship with the teenage girl. What some found unsettling are JJ's thoughts at the beginning. My opinion is that JJ knows he is missing something, part of humanity he maybe never had (at one point he is surprised that people are ready to recognize him as a killer although he does not see himself as such) - call it empathy or guilt for killing so many - and he tries to find that in himself through relationship with this girl, by being simply a friend and staying in contact with someone who is outside his bloody trade (very much like attempts of the assassin in Kevin Wignall's other book The Hunter's Prayer to help a girl hunted by assassins).
Good thriller, highly recommended.
JJ is professional hitman working for the assassin network (for a lack of better term) that is hired by all sides - governments, criminal underground, basically whoever has the money. Everything works fine until by sheer accident JJ finds out that one of the intelligence agencies that his network works for began the cleanup of all witnesses (and all those linked to them) to one of the missions that took place a few years before.
JJ is a cold-blooded assassin and he steadily finds his way up the chain but in the process, he gets confronted with the results of his past actions.
A very interesting book. As one of the reviewers noted there is part were JJ develops a relationship with the teenage girl. What some found unsettling are JJ's thoughts at the beginning. My opinion is that JJ knows he is missing something, part of humanity he maybe never had (at one point he is surprised that people are ready to recognize him as a killer although he does not see himself as such) - call it empathy or guilt for killing so many - and he tries to find that in himself through relationship with this girl, by being simply a friend and staying in contact with someone who is outside his bloody trade (very much like attempts of the assassin in Kevin Wignall's other book The Hunter's Prayer to help a girl hunted by assassins).
Good thriller, highly recommended.
March 9, 2019
Wignall’s first book; he got better so I’ll give it 3 stars but this doesn’t really work. A hitman with a conscience - supposedly - who mediates on life’s purposes, synchronicity and causation among other big thoughts gets targeted because of a job he did in Moscow. He solves the problem becoming friends with the family of the Moscow hit along the way. The action isn’t bad but the moralism that he’s somehow a good guy is fatuous. Emotionally the story from the first scene to the revelation at the end is false. And if he’s such a good guy why does he kill the second prostitute?
August 30, 2018
I believe this was the first book by this author. I have read many of his other books before this one. I am glad that I did.
I found this book so slow. So boring. I cannot believe I even finished it. I expected more. I have bought another one of this author. I do hope it is better than this one. I do know that he has written some really good ones. Thank goodness. Otherwise he would be looking for another profession.
I found this book so slow. So boring. I cannot believe I even finished it. I expected more. I have bought another one of this author. I do hope it is better than this one. I do know that he has written some really good ones. Thank goodness. Otherwise he would be looking for another profession.
March 24, 2020
I've read a few of Kevin Wignall's novels and like them, came across this one and I think it's a really good story. Read it in a day (Thanks Covid19 Lockdown!). The main character JJ is an assassin who gets involved in a "clean up" plot where he is one of the hits. It goes at a good pace and I got to like JJ and became quite involved in whether he would make it at the end of the story. For me the ending kind of tailed off a little so 4 instead of 5. Well worth reading
March 30, 2021
I received a copy of People Die for review purposes.
Not all the characters are folks I would choose as my friends, but they aren’t flat, two-dimensional cartoons. As much as I did not want to like the book, I found myself being drawn back to see what happens next. It is definitely going onto my “loan” shelf.
My biggest complaint: The man on the cover is the wrong age for the person being portrayed!
Enjoy.
Not all the characters are folks I would choose as my friends, but they aren’t flat, two-dimensional cartoons. As much as I did not want to like the book, I found myself being drawn back to see what happens next. It is definitely going onto my “loan” shelf.
My biggest complaint: The man on the cover is the wrong age for the person being portrayed!
Enjoy.
September 15, 2025
Coldest heart
The author’s first novel contains the nuggets of those stories he has yet to tell. The writing is smooth, keeping the narrative moving forward. But in this case and in several others, the ending fails to satisfy. It’s a bit creepy, not only because it’s about a killer for bureaucrats, themselves complicit in the murders, but that they all are able to view their actions as simply another day at the office.
The author’s first novel contains the nuggets of those stories he has yet to tell. The writing is smooth, keeping the narrative moving forward. But in this case and in several others, the ending fails to satisfy. It’s a bit creepy, not only because it’s about a killer for bureaucrats, themselves complicit in the murders, but that they all are able to view their actions as simply another day at the office.
February 8, 2018
I would have ranked this book with more stars if there wasn't the inappropriate relationship that developed between JJ and Jem, a man nearly thirty and a girl only sixteen. Not cool. Even though the author made the relationship a "close friendship," it started with something far less pure, and it was hard for me to read JJ's thoughts about Jem. They weren't graphic, but they were bad enough.
July 9, 2019
Contract killer JJ's life is turned upside down when he himself is targeted for death. Backed into a corner and with nothing left to lose, he turns the tables on whoever is after him, determined to find and kill them first.
Sure, it's not the most original premise, but it's one that tends to make for excellent entertainment when done well - and Wignall does it very well indeed.
Sure, it's not the most original premise, but it's one that tends to make for excellent entertainment when done well - and Wignall does it very well indeed.
March 22, 2020
Kevin Wignall's debut book, having read his later books, wanted to see were it started. This is a good book, but you can tell he has improved so much since it. JJ is a hitman who has been targeted and he needs to find out why. What you need to know, is you never want to meet him, as very few survive the experience. The only downside for me was the relationship with the daughter!
January 11, 2023
Kevin WIgnall's novels are like a good light fare lunch; there's not a lot of substance, but they are fairly enjoyable. This one, however, was extra light, and not put together very well. Imgaine a salad, that doesn't cover the whole plate, lacks dressing and most other items for which you were hoping, such as croutons, onions, or a few tomatoes.
December 24, 2023
I have read everything by Kevin Wignall and have enjoyed them immensely. But I had never had the opportunity to read his first novel. But now it is averrable of Kindle Unlimited, so I dove in. I am amazed to find that his first novel is perhaps his very best. I could not put it down. The paced development of the characters is spellbinding.
October 27, 2018
Great Story
Another great story by Kevin with plenty off action and good strong characters. Lots of different locations and again an unexpected ending. Looking forward to reading more.
Another great story by Kevin with plenty off action and good strong characters. Lots of different locations and again an unexpected ending. Looking forward to reading more.
November 19, 2020
Great characters and story
I like Kevin Wignall books, they are all similarly different which is a great quality. This book is an easy read considering the amount of murder. It's a welcome distraction from Covid. Thanks
I like Kevin Wignall books, they are all similarly different which is a great quality. This book is an easy read considering the amount of murder. It's a welcome distraction from Covid. Thanks
February 2, 2021
I have read most of Kevin Wignal books and this is his premier effort.
You could tell this one is his first but still a really good read. JJ is a freelance killer who is targeted. He goes out to find the people and to stop them from killing him and revenge those already killed.
You could tell this one is his first but still a really good read. JJ is a freelance killer who is targeted. He goes out to find the people and to stop them from killing him and revenge those already killed.
February 16, 2021
Great read
Kevin Wignall is a fantastic writer. He draws you into the characters so easily. You feel like you have known them forever. You definitely want to read this book and every other book he has written.
Kevin Wignall is a fantastic writer. He draws you into the characters so easily. You feel like you have known them forever. You definitely want to read this book and every other book he has written.
June 30, 2021
A bit cliched
Not believable but wignalls take on it is good. But he’s better writing about europeAn trains and third man type stuff. The assassin stuf should become beneath him (wignall) But I enjoyed the yarn
Not believable but wignalls take on it is good. But he’s better writing about europeAn trains and third man type stuff. The assassin stuf should become beneath him (wignall) But I enjoyed the yarn
June 25, 2023
i've recently found this author and have enjoyed his books, but not this one. it was his first one, and i think it showed, the characters weren't that well developed. i couldn't feel any empathy for the main character, he was basically a professional hit man who was depressed about it!
January 7, 2025
This is a no read.
This book is very disappointing, and so confusing. It seems like wingnal is just as confused and directionless as to the plot as the reader.
The plot and characters seem to be multiple choice.
So atypical of wignall.
Don't waste your time.
This book is very disappointing, and so confusing. It seems like wingnal is just as confused and directionless as to the plot as the reader.
The plot and characters seem to be multiple choice.
So atypical of wignall.
Don't waste your time.
Read
May 31, 2025Wow
This is Kevin Wignall's first book, and what a story it is. It flows well, and Kevin's prose is like velvet. I've now read all of his stories and can say he's easily my favorite storyteller. How many authors can take a hit man and humanize him this well?
This is Kevin Wignall's first book, and what a story it is. It flows well, and Kevin's prose is like velvet. I've now read all of his stories and can say he's easily my favorite storyteller. How many authors can take a hit man and humanize him this well?
August 11, 2025
A contract killer finds himself in a situation which appears to require him to shoot everyone he talks to. It's hard to get past the kill rate to consider the possibility of plot or character development. I tried to innure myself to the casual violence but couldn't and gave up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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