Book description
A hired killer on his final job; a burned-out detective whose wife
is dying slowly and in agony; a young boy abandoned by his parents and
living alone by his wits. Three people, solitary and disconnected from
society. The detective is looking for the killer, Christian, though he
doesn't know that. Christian is trying to find the man who stepped in
and took down his target before he had the chance. And the boy,
Jimmie, is having the killer's dreams. While they never meet, they are
inextricably linked, and as their stories unfold, all find the solace
of community. In what is at one and the same time a coming-of-age
novel, a realistic crime novel and a novel of the contemporary
Southwest, The Killer Is Dying is above all the story of three men of
vastly different age and background, and of the shape their lives take
against the unforgiving sunlight and sprawl of America's fifth largest
city, Phoenix.
James Sallis is a renowned poet, critic, essayist, editor,
translator, musicologist, biographer and novelist. He lives in Arizona
with his wife Karyn
