Tony Black

A strangled prostitute, laid out on a prize-winning fairway. A stabbed pensioner, found wasting away in a rubbish-strewn house. And a brutally murdered banker, his expensive car sabotaged en route to a plush home. All three have suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, something DCI Kenny Gillespie knows all about. It's certainly bad luck that the Edinburgh detective picked today to tell his wife about his recent affair. But with Scotland's capital city falling into lawlessness and a rabid media calling for his head, Gillespie has much more to worry about than just who has blood on their hands. And with a boss who cares more about his golf average than the body count and a rookie partner who knows more about coffee than he does about crime, the detective has never felt more of an outsider. That's just the way he likes it. Slings & Arrows is a fast-paced psychological thriller that pulls at the edges of a fraying society.

"We have a dead child, and a crime scene that has been remarkably well kept for us." A young child lies mummified in a barrel. His hands, cable-tied, appear to be locked in prayer. As forensic officers remove the boy they are in for an even bigger shock-he is not alone. With his near-fatal stabbing almost a memory, DI Bob Valentine is settling back into life on the force but he knows nothing will ever be the same. Haunted by unearthly visions that appear like waking dreams, he soon understands he is being inducted into one of Scotland's darkest secrets. When the boy in the barrel is identified as a missing child from the 1980s, it re-opens a cold case previously thought unsolvable. When further remains are unearthed, the facts point to a pedophile ring and a political conspiracy leading all the way to the most hallowed corridors of power. Critical Acclaim for Books by Tony Black "Black has created a sympathetic and fascinating character in Valentine...Strong characters and tight pacing elevate this police procedural." -Publishers Weekly "Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer" -Irvine Welsh "If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you" -The Scotsman "Black is one of those excellent perpetrators of Scottish noir: a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu." -The Times "This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism brochures." -The Sun "Taut, with a heart-wrenchingly honest protagonist and impressive literary style, it is among the best of the new Tartan Noir" -The Daily Mail "Irvine Welsh adores him, Ken Bruen can't praise him highly enough-Tony Black is the new Scottish noir king you need on your bookshelf" -Shortlist Magazine "An accomplished and impressive piece of tartan noir" -The List "Black's visceral prose makes this a superior offering in a crowded market" -Big Issue

Detective Inspector Bob Valentine returns to duty, after a narrow escape with death, only to be confronted with the discovery of a corpse on a kitchen table with a horrific neck wound. A mystery also surrounds the victim's missing partner and her daughter. When the murder investigation reveals a tragic family drama, Valentine struggles with rapidly unfolding events and the terrifying visions that haunt him. As he uncovers the family's illicit secrets, can he keep a grip on the case and on his own sanity before the body count starts to rise? Praise for Books by Tony Black: "Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer." -Irvine Welsh "If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you." -The Scotsman "Black is one of those excellent perpetrators of Scottish noir: a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu." -The Times "This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism brochures." -The Sun "Taut, with a heart-wrenchingly honest protagonist and impressive literary style, it is among the best of the new Tartan Noir." -The Daily Mail "Irvine Welsh adores him, Ken Bruen can't praise him highly enough-Tony Black is the new Scottish noir king you need on your bookshelf." -Shortlist Magazine "An accomplished and impressive piece of tartan noir." -The List "Black's visceral prose makes this a superior offering in a crowded market." -Big Issue

The discovery of a dead banker sends shockwaves through the sleepy coastal town of Ayr. And it's up to DI Bob Valentine, recently back on the force after his near-fatal stabbing, to find the killer. But leads are hard to find and the pressure is on from an anxious Chief Superintendent who is being hounded by the media and still has serious concerns about her DI's mental health. And as it becomes clear that there's a serial killer on the loose, Bob Valentine must battle the demons of his post-traumatic stress, an investigation team that's leaking like a sieve and frightening visions that might just be the key to unlocking the mystery. Valentine is close to breaking point, but can he crack the case before he cracks up? Praise for Books by Tony Black: "Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer." -Irvine Welsh "If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you." -The Scotsman "Black is one of those excellent perpetrators of Scottish noir: a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu." -The Times "This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism brochures." -The Sun "Taut, with a heart-wrenchingly honest protagonist and impressive literary style, it is among the best of the new Tartan Noir." -The Daily Mail "Irvine Welsh adores him, Ken Bruen can't praise him highly enough-Tony Black is the new Scottish noir king you need on your bookshelf." -Shortlist Magazine "An accomplished and impressive piece of tartan noir." -The List "Black's visceral prose makes this a superior offering in a crowded market." -Big Issue

She's missing, and her mother knows who to blame. But nobody's listening. When the case falls to DCI Bob Valentine, however, he has no choice but to listen. Haunted by the girl's cold gaze and her mother's hurt, the detective soon finds himself at the centre of the most harrowing investigation of his police career. Uncovering a ring of ritualistic abuse that leads to the highest echelons of a degraded and Satanic society, Valentine wonders how the world could contain such evils. And then the bodies start to mount. And the demons' defenders appear. Can the detective fight on so many fronts? Can he even hope to find the missing, never mind the guilty? Her Cold Eyes is a harrowing journey down the most twisting, turning rabbit hole, where the screams from below might just be preferable to the ones above. Critical Acclaim for Books by Tony Black "Black has created a sympathetic and fascinating character in Valentine...Strong characters and tight pacing elevate this police procedural." -Publishers Weekly "Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer" -Irvine Welsh "If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you" -The Scotsman "Black is one of those excellent perpetrators of Scottish noir: a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu." -The Times "This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism brochures." -The Sun "Taut, with a heart-wrenchingly honest protagonist and impressive literary style, it is among the best of the new Tartan Noir" -The Daily Mail "Irvine Welsh adores him, Ken Bruen can't praise him highly enough-Tony Black is the new Scottish noir king you need on your bookshelf" -Shortlist Magazine "An accomplished and impressive piece of tartan noir" -The List "Black's visceral prose makes this a superior offering in a crowded market" -Big Issue

This thrilling anthology of crime fiction stories by the eight-times Crime Writers' Association (CWA) Dagger nominated author of the Gus Dury series includes 'The Ringer', which was performed on stage by Outlander star, Brian Larkin and 'The Holy Father', a hilarious retelling of the nativity, set on a Scottish housing scheme, and 'Stone Ginger', a fast-paced London noir heist. AUTHOR: Tony Black is an award-winning journalist and the author of some of the most critically-acclaimed British crime fiction of recent times. Acclaimed titles include 'The Storm Without' (the first Doug Michie crime thriller) and the Gus Dury series 'Paying for It', 'Gutted, 'Loss' and 'Long Time Dead'.

In a cold, windswept field on the outskirts of Edinburgh, lies the brutally mutilated body of a young woman. As DI Rob Brennan looks at the tangled mass of limbs and blood, he feels his heart freeze. Like Fiona Gow five years earlier, this girl has been strangled with her own stockings, sexually mutilated and her eyes have been gouged out. Is this the work of an Edinburgh Ripper? The press certainly think so. Rob Brennan is determined to uncover the truth - however painful that might be. But truth is hard to come by in a world of police rivalries, media hysteria and copycat crime. Praise for Books by Tony Black "Tony Black is one of those excellent perpetrators of Scottish noir...a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu." -The Times "If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you." -Scotsman "Black renders his nicotine-stained domain in a hardboiled slang that fizzles with vicious verisimilitude." -The Guardian "Ripping, gutsy prose and a witty wreck of a protagonist makes this another exceptionally compelling, bright and even original thriller." -The Mirror "This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism ads." -The Sun "Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy...Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn." -Daily Record

Clay Moloney, a cynical reporter with a regional Australian newspaper, is expecting an easy Sunday at work when the body of a young woman washes up at the Bay of Martyrs. The death is an inconvenience for Clay, who's content filing obituaries and re-writing government press releases on the new multi-million-dollar airport. But the more he digs into the Bay of Martyrs incident, the more he realises the girl's death is not a case of misadventure, despite what the police tell him. Clay becomes obsessed with the murder investigation, putting himself and his colleague Bec, an Irish-born photographer, in danger. Will Clay achieve justice for the young student, or will those in power stop him before he uncovers the truth? Master of "tartan noir" Tony Black collaborates with Australian author and reporter Matt Neal to create a thrilling criminal case of murder and corruption set on Australia's south coast. Praise for BAY OF MARTYRS: "This is one hell of a read. Two authors is a tricky gig and most times results in a desultory effect. But here are two writers so in sync that it is seamless. A get-in-yer-face, down and dynamic read that grips and enthrals. Tony Black at the very height of his terrific talent and now with a double act to enrich his solid rep." -Ken Bruen, author of The Guards and Priest "Bay of Martyrs is a piece of perfectly-crafted Australian coastal noir, from the body on the remote beach that sparks journalist Clay Moloney's obsession, to the cast of bent cops, developers and a politician on the make. A dark gem from the first wave of Aussie mysteries that's sweeping the world." -Jock Serong, author of The Rules of Backyard Cricket and On Java Ridge "This was a great read. Really cool, interesting and unusual locales, with a fast-paced thriller narrative and some very sexy lead characters. Highly recommended." -Tony Cavanaugh, author of Promise and Dead Girl Sing

Edinburgh's Gus Dury is back...and so are his troubles. After swearing off the drink and reviving his flagging writing career on a webzine, Dury stumbles across a missing person's case that he can't say no to. He thinks the job's a slam-dunk-one missing employee, one decent-sized paycheck-but, when he's woken by police and told the man he'd just found has been tortured to death, Dury realises he's already over his head. Warring drug gangs, corrupt cops and the siren's call of drink all want to see Dury wrecked. Praise for WRECKED: "Wrecked is my novel of the year." -Ken Bruen, bestselling author of the Jack Taylor thrillers

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. Praise for LONG TIME DEAD: "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 Mail, 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

Gus Dury is a changed man. He is off the Edinburgh streets and back with estranged wife, Debs. He has promised her that he won't get involved in any more dodgy cases which the police can't or won't solve. And above all, he's off the drink. In his pocket at all times is a half bottle of Scotch, but although the label is worn to shreds, he has never so much as loosened the cap. Then his brother Michael is found dead with a bullet in his heart and Gus' life begins to unravel all over again. How can he keep the promises he has made and still avenge his brother's murder? Praise for LOSS: "Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer and Gus Dury the genre's most interesting protagonist. Like his previous books, Loss has the power, style and street swagger that makes most of his contemporaries a little bland by comparison." -Irvine Welsh "Tony Black has written two of the finest crime novels to come out of the UK in the past twenty years and I'm willing to bet that in twenty years, Paying for It and Gutted will be on the top ten list of any crime list. But now comes Loss...Phew-oh...It's like having yer ass kicked and yer heart shrived simultaneously. What a privilege to watch a master writer achieve everything you'd hoped for and then some." -Ken Bruen "Tony Black delivers a story with a hard edge and fast-moving action. In this third book, he yet again produces a story that never lets up and delivers a superb book that you just can't put down. I can't wait for the next instalment of Gus Dury." -EuroCrime "A brilliant, sweeping and heartbreaking novel, Black truly deserves your attention." -International Thriller Writers "As washed-up private detectives go, Gus Dury is compelling-he's as hard as any criminal and twice as self-destructive." -Evening Standard "This is modern crime at its most brutal, its most affecting, its most honest and its most intelligent." -Russel D McLean, author of Do Some Damage "Black writes about urban blight and the curse of alcohol like no other, but his down at heel tales are also full of everyday humour. Harrowing but indispensable." -Maxim Jakubowski Praise for Tony Black: "Tony Black is one of those excellent perpetrators of Scottish noir...a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu."- The Times "If you're a fan of the Ian Rankins, Denise Minas and Irvine Welshes of this world, this is most certainly one for you."- Scotsman "Black renders his nicotine-stained domain in a hardboiled slang that fizzles with vicious verisimilitude."- The Guardian "Ripping, gutsy prose and a witty wreck of a protagonist makes this another exceptionally compelling, bright and even original thriller."- The Mirror "This up-and-coming crime writer isn't portraying the Edinburgh in the Visit Scotland tourism ads."- The Sun "Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy...Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn."- Daily Record

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. Praise for PAYING FOR IT: "A fine debut. Black is the new noir." --Allan Guthrie, winner of the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award for Two-Way Split "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." --The 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." --Tod Robinson, Thuglit.com "Of all the new writers emerging this year, he is the one to watch." --Martyn Waites, author of the Joe Donovan series

Not The Booker Prize Runner-up Twelve-year-old Myko and his family have fled Eastern Europe for the freedom of America, only to discover their ship has arrived in Tasmania, the former prison island of the British Empire. Myko wonders what will become of them as he watches his parents grow anxious how they will survive in this new land, settled by the wild sons of convicts, and where tigers roam. When his father takes work as a tiger trapper, and Myko discovers the den of the remaining tigers, the family are thrust into conflict over the last of these beautiful, wild beasts. Their battle forces dark secrets to the surface, and pits father against son, in brutal ways. 'A beautiful, powerful tale to move the hardest heart' THE SUN

This is the new Doug Michie crime novel by Tony Black, the acclaimed Scottish writer. Full of intrigue, lies, secrets, and illicit sexual encounters, this is a must-read for all fans of crime noir. Doug Michie is still holed up in Burns Country, trying to lick his wounds after the death of his mother and the disaster of his last case, when he finds himself something of a local celebrity in Ayrshire. His name, it seems, is now synonymous with the eradication of corruption - but, living up to the expectations of others has never been a strong point of his. After selling off the family home, he finds himself looking for something to fill his long days. What he finds is the case of a murdered member of the Orange Order, who could have been a poster-boy for the sectarian bigotry he despises so much. His sense of justice is alerted when he hears the facts of the case and he feels compelled to dig deeper. Uncovering a victim whose lifestyle was anything but wholesome, and with potential killers mounting up by the minute, Doug feels he has taken on an unsolvable case. Knowing the territory, and calling in old favours from contacts in the north of Ireland, Doug endeavours to root out the true reasons behind the Ayrshire killing, and finds a wider conspiracy than he ever imagined possible. If you love hard boiled crime you'll love this book.

'Last Orders' is an exciting and thrilling anthology of original short crime fiction by the up-and-coming and critically acclaimed crime writer Tony Black - Irvine Welsh's favourite british crime writer. Features the return of Edinburgh's reluctant investigator Gus Dury in 'Last Orders' and 'Long Way Down'. When he receives a mysterious letter on expensive paper, reluctant investigator Gus Dury decides to take the case, if for no other reason than he needs the cash. But there's something about his well-heeled client that doesn't sit right with Dury in 'Last Orders'. Meanwhile a low-life drug-dealer has a sudden change of heart as he takes revenge on his cheating partner in 'London Calling'. Find out how a victim of high school date rape takes the ultimate revenge and explore the grisly aftermath of a bank job with a crew who suspects one of their number has tipped off the police. And follow a performance-enhanced bodybuilder who loses control with bloody consequences in this collection of original novellas and short stories by Irvine Welsh's 'favourite British crime writer', Tony Black.

In a cold, windswept field on the outskirts of Edinburgh, lies the brutally mutilated body of a young woman.

Still recovering from the harrowing case that ended his police career, Doug Michie returns to his boyhood home of Ayr on Scotland's wind-scarred west coast. He hopes to rebuild his shattered life, get over the recent failure of his marriage and shed his demons, but the years have changed the birthplace of the poet Robert Burns. When Doug meets his old school-day flame Lyn, however, he feels his past may offer the salvation of a future. But, Lyn's son has been accused of murder and she begs Doug to find the truth. Soon Doug is tangled in a complicated web of corrupt politicians, frightened journalists and a police force in cahoots with criminals. Only Burns' philosophical musings offer Doug some shelter as he wanders the streets of Auld Ayr battling The Storm Without.

Four teenagers find the mutilated corpse of a young girl stuffed into a dumpster in an Edinburgh alleyway. His superiors think that the case of the dumpster girl will be perfect to get him back on track. What he discovers about the murdered girl blows the case - and his life - wide open.