Paying For It

Reviews / Votes

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 * Tony Black makes an amazing debut with this book, a dark and emotional piece of work ... [he] has managed in his first book to show a maturity in his writing that some authors chase for years. I'd put him up there with Rankin and Kernick and Billingham with just this first novel. I can't wait for more * Crimespree * Tony Black is already one of my favourite living crime writers -- Nick Stone, author of Mr Clarinet