Death Is a Lonely Business is a mystery novel by American writer Ray Bradbury, published in 1985.

The story, set in 1949, is about a series of murders that happen in Venice, California, then a declining seaside community in Los Angeles where Bradbury lived from 1942 to 1950.

The main character and narrator (who never mentions his name) is a sensitive, modest writer, with a girlfriend studying in Mexico City.

In the course of the story he meets Elmo Crumley, a detective who helps him solve the mystery behind all the semi-murders occurring among a series of eccentric characters in the forgotten town.

The main character is based on Bradbury himself from a period of his life just before his marriage and his success with The Martian Chronicles.