TONY BLACK is Opening a new Vein

It was round about the publication time of my second Gus Dury novel, GUTTED, that a friend of mine said to me, ''Jesus, Tone, you've given the cops a bit of a going over there.''
I disagreed. I thought I'd been quite fair. I say quite.
In the context of what Dury had been up to, I surmised that some harsh treatment from Lothian & Borders finest was likely.

''You better watch you're not introduced to the slippery steps yourself!'' was my mate's next line.
''So you do think they're that bad,'' was my smart-arse reply.

We eventually settled on a draw. But I wasn't convinced either of us was fully right.
In my previous career as a journalist, I'd had dealings with police on every level. I wrote about corruption. Had 'moles' on the force feeding me tales that regularly made my toes curl. At one stage, I even had an irate Chief Constable lose it with me at a televised press call.
I'd also met some fabulous cops; hard-working, committed . . . just good people. That I'd also met a few bastards only confirmed what the police I knew would always say - there are good and bad in the ranks.
In my four Gus Dury novels I'd portrayed the 'good cop' in DI Fitzsimmons - Dury's man on the inside - he's an old-school type that isn't afraid to come down on the side of right, even if it does mean pissing off a few of his less-enlightened colleagues. But, Fitz aside, I was rattled by my friend's remark that I'd maybe tipped the balance in favour of the of the force's bastards. So, when an email came via my website (www.tonyblack.net) from a retired Assistant Chief Constable who said, much as he enjoyed the books, he thought I could have been a wee bit kinder to the Boys in Blue, a seed was sewn . . .
I've never been much of a fan of the police procedural. I've tried to read them but, somehow, they rarely did it for me. The sheer banality of the 'procedure' and the back-biting of the canteen culture turned me off. There were a few notable exceptions - the Scottish big-hitters of the sub-genre; Irvine Welsh's hilarious send-up, FILTH, and Derek Raymond's Factory novels (if you can include them). And, of course, any number of TV cops from DI Frost to Helen Mirren's fantastic Jane Tennyson. There was a bit of an interest, then, but it was far from a conventional one, and hardly enough to tackle the challenge I'd set myself: to start writing a new police series.
TRUTH LIES BLEEDING - the first of my novels to feature DI Rob Brennan (the second, MURDER MILE, is out later this year) started off as a somewhat ambitious attempt to shake-up the form, but in the writing settled into a more traditional character exploration. If my editor and agent had their doubts about my changing tack so completely, they never let on - something I'm grateful for - that they actually fell in love with the finished book and proclaimed it my best yet I was ecstatic about!
DI Rob Brennan is indeed a world away from Gus Dury. A family man, committed to his duty and fully in possession of his faculties (something you could never say of alcoholic Dury) he is a more solid, but no less complex character.
TRUTH LIES BLEEDING opens as Brennan returns from prolonged psychiatric leave following the senseless killing of his only brother. Quite why this affected Brennan so much, and his own involvement in the case, is revealed as the novel progresses - as are old resentments and enemies on the force. Brennan is a man with scores to settle, not just with others, but with himself.
When the body of a young woman turns up in an Edinburgh alleyway the case is given to Brennan in the hope that it will get him back on track. It is very much his last chance to prove he is fit for the job. At first, the killing looks like just another sink-estate tragedy but as Brennan digs deeper - and uncovers the girl had recently given birth, and no-one knows where the child is - it's clear he is not dealing with a random act of violence.
If my PI Gus Dury was all about bungling through, about stirring people up and sticking his nose in where it wasn't wanted, DI Rob Brennan can be said to be the polar opposite. He is methodical, determined - he does share Dury's desire for justice - but he is a professional who knows how to get the job done. In contrast to Dury’s hard-core drinking, Brennan doesn’t like to touch alcohol around colleagues; he is a man who likes to stay in control, something he finds increasingly hard to do as the case progresses and he is sorely tested. The case of the dumpster girl holds demons for Brennan and closely mirrors the problems in his personal life - an out of control teenage daughter, a crumbling marriage, and, a newly-pregnant mistress. It is a lot for any man to juggle on a daily basis, for a man investigating a brutal murder and the disappearance of a young child in the full glare of a ravenous media, the burden is immense.
There can be no doubting TRUTH LIES BLEEDING is a departure for me, a move away from the biting noir of the Dury books. A chance to portray a protagonist with a clear head and try something completely new to me . . . I needed the challenge - to stretch myself - and this novel did just that.