Paying For It

(Paperback)

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Description

A brilliant thriller debut from Edinburgh journalist turned rising crime-writing star Tony Black, introducing Gus Dury, a compelling new hero in the great tradition of Scottish detective fiction. Gus Dury once had a high-flying career as a journalist and a wife he adored. But now he is living on the edge, a drink away from Edinburgh's down-and-outs, drifting from bar to bar, trying not to sign divorce papers. But the road takes an unexpected turn when a friend asks him to investigate the brutal torture and killing of his son, and Gus becomes embroiled in a much bigger story of political corruption and illegal people-trafficking. Seedy doss-houses, bleak wastelands and sudden violence contrast with the cobbled streets and cool bistros of fashionable Edinburgh, as the puzzle unravels to a truly shocking ending.

Reviews

A fine debut. Black is the new noir -- Allan Guthrie
Tony Black's first novel hits the ground running, combining a sympathetic ear for the surreal dialogue of the dispossessed with a portrait of the belly of a city painted in the blackest of humour -- Guardian
Paying For It might just be the most aptly titled novel of the year. Rarely has a title worked on so many levels... the narrative blasts off the page like a triple malt... This is one adrenalin-pumped novel, as moving and compassionate as it is stylishly written -- Ken Bruen, author of The Guards novels
Assuming (and hoping) that this is the first of many featuring the tortured Gus Dury, we've never seen a series character so richly and honestly drawn from the get-go. The emotional punches connect solidly in Paying For It, as the pains of being a father and the pains of being a son are laid bare. The debut of the year * Thuglit.com *
Of all the new writers emerging this year, he is the one to watch * Martyn Waites, author of the Joe Donovan series *

Author Bio

Tony Black lives in Edinburgh. An award-winning journalist, he has written for most of the UK national newspapers. He is currently writing his second Gus Dury novel, Gutted.