Prolific Scottish writer Black has made a strong impact with his gritty Gus Dury series but his second novel featuring Ayr cop DI Bob Valentine proves his versatility in all matters noir following the introduction of the mentally fragile character in ARTEFACTS OF THE DEAD last year in which Valentine narrowly escaped death. Now back on duty, he is called to investigate a horrific murder of a woman found on a kitchen table and the disappearance of her partner and daughter. Valentine delves nervously into the family's past because of its similarities to his own life and has to negotiate the narrow path between sanity and madness as secrets from the past rise to the surface and the bodies multiply. An unrelenting and disturbing slice of realistic crime fiction that unfolds with solemn inevitability and a character to embrace. ~ Maxim Jakubowski
When DI Bob Valentine returns to duty after a narrow escape with death, he is faced with the discovery of a corpse on a kitchen table with a horrific neck wound and a mystery surrounding the victim's missing partner and her daughter. It's all too close to his own near-fatal stabbing. When the murder investigation begins to reveal a tragic family drama, Bob Valentine struggles to deal with the rapidly unfolding events and the terrifying visions that haunt him. As he starts to uncover the illicit secrets of the family's past, can he keep a grip on the case and on his own sanity before the body count starts to rise? Tony Black is my favourite British crime writer. IRVINE WELSH
Tony Black is the author of twelve previous novels, including Artefacts of the Dead and His Father's Son. An award-winning journalist, he was born in Australia and grew up in Scotland and Ireland. Tony has been described by Irvine Welsh as his 'favourite British crime writer'. Tony was shortlisted for The Guardian's Not the Booker Prize in 2014 and has been nominated for the Crime Writers Association Dagger six times.
Maxim Jakubowski's view on Tony Black...
Tony Black's third novel LOSS is another bleak investigation for his poignant Edinburgh washed up journalist turned involuntary private investigator Gus Dury. 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.
