title: The Crime Trade: A Novel
author:  Simon Kernick 
description: The third entry in Kernick's loosely knit London gangland series opens with a bang, as the ironically named Colombian narcotics sting, Operation Surgical Strike, dissolves into a bloodbath when uninvited thugs make the scene. Among the dead is the partner of nasty undercover cop Stegs Jenner. Things get perplexing fast as DI John Gallen, whose recent promotion seems to have rubbed off some rough edges, finds the probable leak shot dead and must include Stegs among a dwindling pool of suspects. In Kernick's world, coppers mostly come in three varieties: bent, twisted, and broken; not surprisingly, then, much of this book's suspense hinges on just how far Stegs will go and whether we will end up respecting or loathing him when the smoke has cleared. Although Stegs is not as compelling as Milne, the antihero at the black heart of the series debut, <i>The Business of Dying</i> (2003), this remains a solid, morally ambiguous mystery with some great tricks up its sleeve. Kernick belongs on the second tier of Brit noir, right below Bruen, Lawrence, and Harvey. <i>David Wright</i><br /><i>Copyright  American Library Association. All rights reserved</i>
zlib_text: The Murder Exchange
  
  by
  
  Simon Kernick
  
  Also by Simon Kernick
  
    
  
  THE BUSINESS OF DYING THE CRIME TRADE
  
   **THE MURDER EXCHANGE**
  
  Simon Kernick
  
   **CORGI BOOKS**
  
  THE MURDER EXCHANGE A CORGI BOOK : 0 552 14971 3
  
    
  
  Originally published in Great Britain by Bantam Press, a division of
  Transworld Publishers
  
   **PRINTING HISTORY**
  
  Bantam Press edition published 2003 Corgi edition published 2004
  
    
  
  13579108642
  
  Copyright Š Simon Kernick 2003  .
  
    
  
  The right of Simon Kernick to be identified as the author of
  
  this work has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the
  Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988.
  
    
  
  All the characters in this book are fictitious,
  
  and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead,
  
  is purely coincidental.
  
    
  
  Condition of Sale
  
  This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not,
  
  by way of trade or otherwise, be lent, re-sold, hired out or
  
  otherwise circulated in any form of binding or cover other
  
  than that in which it is 