Long Time Dead
By (Author) Tony Black
Cornerstone
Arrow Books Ltd
1st April 2011
United Kingdom
General
Fiction
Modern and contemporary fiction: general and literary
823.92
Paperback
272
Width 129mm, Height 198mm, Spine 17mm
189g
Gus Dury is back on the skids, but even worse is the murder case which his best friend needs help with. Gus Dury is back on the drink. While in hospital after a hit-and-run accident, his best friend, Hod, asks him to investigate the ritual, on-campus hanging of an Edinburgh University student. The murder victim's mother is a high-profile actress, who has promised a big-money reward. Gus, desperate for money, goes undercover at the university, taking a janitor's job, and soon uncovers a similar ritualistic hanging which took place in the 70s. Few of the students are prepared to talk about it - until another one of their group turns up dead by the same method. But Gus now moves into very dangerous waters as he begins to discover what and who is really behind it all - and he becomes the next target for the executioner.
Ripping, gutsy prose and a witty wreck of a protagonist makes this another exceptionally compelling, bright and even original thriller from a writer yet to explode * Daily Mirror, 4 stars *
If you've yet to discover the hardcore brilliance of Gus Drury, pour yourself a large one and start here * Daily Record *
From the word go, the no-nonsense cynicism of Dury is back and in full throttle ... Dury has the potential to be a long-running success story of Tartan Noir * Scotsman *
A dark, personal journey with convincingly raw emotions and a protagonist who is digging beyond rock bottom * Eurocrime 4 stars *
Tony Black is an award-winning journalist, who has written for most of the national newspapers. He is the author of Paying for It, Gutted and Loss. www.tonyblack.net