Deeply researched . . . admirable . . . One hopes that Lechner and others continue to tell the stories of people and countries that the Western media shamefully neglects, even when the Russian bogeyman doesn't dominate the headlines.

The Washington Post

Gripping and superbly researched, featuring interviews with dozens of Wagner members. It's remarkable to consider that the couple of hundred years hiatus on mercenary armies is now over, that nation states won't be the only entities fielding military firms in the decades to come. This is one of those non-fiction books that gives this spy novelist ideas. It's full of great material.

David McCloskey, Daily Mail

In this in-depth, beautifully written chronicle and analysis of atrocities, massacres, war crimes, and theft on a scale scarcely to be believed, Lechner illuminates Prigozhin's Wagner PMC, drawing on his extensive interviews with members, and its trail of devastation across Ukraine, Syria, and Africa. He also delves deeply into the history of Russia, the rise of Vladimir Putin and Prigozhin, and the lesser and greater conflicts across much of the globe…An invaluable look at a very dark dimension in geopolitical affairs.

Booklist

Thugocracies fall in and out of fashion, but Death Is Our Business suggests that the market for private armies is so rich right now that, much like drug cartels, it will soon become lucrative enough for smoother, subtler iterations of Prigozhin and Utkin to ooze into the global economy. Hopefully, someone of Lechner's skill and bravery will be there to watch it.

Washington Independent Review of Books

[A] brilliant, deeply researched book by the indefatigable John Lechner, who has spent years traveling where few dare to go.

Clarissa Ward

A close look at the late Yevgeny Prigozhin - Vladimir Putin's close confidante-turned-suspiciously killed rebel - and his soldiers for hire, known as the Wagner Group.

New York Post, Best New Books to Read This Week