PAYING FOR IT

 A keen journalistic eye is evident in Black’s debut novel set in the dark heart of Scotland ’s capital city - Edinburgh . Featuring Gus Dury, who like Black is a journalist, but unlike Black, Drury’s career is imploding following an incident related to a minister involved in the hot topic of immigration. Dury now living in a flat above a pub gets involved in finding out what happened to Billy, the landlord’s [and his only friend’s] son. The trail leads deep into the world of people trafficking, East European and Russian gangsters, who are entangled with cops on the take and lowlifes as well as innocent’s trapped in the linkages between these worlds.

At first I was a little cautious due to the usual [and familiar] genre trappings, such as Dury’s marriage failure, his love for the bottle and a tale involving people trafficking and the criminal gangs from the East; however within a few pages I was captivated by Black’s command of language, his sense of pace and the narrative striated with humour pulled right off the gallows. Black’s debut is a superb effort, and one for those who are lamenting the passing of Rebus and his Edinburgh . Perhaps Dury’s Edinburgh is as interesting, if not more than Rebus’. In short a slice of criminal noir, but be wary, as this story casts a long shadow over such a beautiful Scottish city, but one that hides its dark heart from the light.