Allan Guthrie

Absolutely grotesque but I couldn't stop reading the bloody thing. Not read Guthrie before, but I had been meaning to do so for years. Tried one of his others and it didn't take, but I couldn't put this down. But like a Scottish version of The Killer Inside Me, but really I'm not sure if it's fair to call this noir or neo-noir. It's got some fast-paced tension alright, but the scale of the gore puts it in a different category. It's closer to the horror genre. In fact, the gore is the only show more reason I haven't given it a higher rating, and I would mark it down further, but this book really proves what Mr Guthrie can do as a writer. The suspense, the structure, the prose: the high qualities of these combine to make it an excellent bit of pulp fiction. show less

Simply fantastic. Guthrie skillfully weaves together the story of a seriously dysfunctional band of robbers, a just-released ex-con with a mother fixation, and a couple of private detectives into an ultraviolent, unforgettable crescendo of a story that, nevertheless, still finds time for a bit of humanity amongst all the pain. On his blog, Guthrie says there are two types of writers: those who can write well and those who can tell a story well. In this book, Guthrie does both. Don't miss it.

This book offered just two dramatic features: the plotting was a farce and the characterisation was a tragedy.

Since the success of Christopher Brookmyre's early novels featuring Jack Parlabane there has been a plethora of would-be imitators, of whom Allan Guthrie had hitherto been one of the more successful, who feel that an excess of squalor and a sprinkling of gallows humour is all that is needed to generate another 'Scottish Noir' winner. Sadly, I feel that a bit more is required, such as show more a coherent plot and at least one plausible character. I did look for them but I must have blinked and missed them. show less

Kiss Her Goodbye by Allan Guthrie is a hard-boiled, gritty crime story set in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is difficult to find a single likeable character in this book, it is full of bad guys, bad women and bad cops. The main character, Joe Hope earns his living by being the muscle for a loan shark. He has just spend the night breaking bones with a baseball bat when he learns that his daughter, Gemma, has committed suicide. After arguing with his wife, Ruth, and desperately wanting someone to show more blame Joe flies to the Orkney Islands to confront his wife’s cousin, Adam, with whom his daughter had been staying but once. But once there is he arrested and charged with the murder of his wife who had been beaten to death and left in the trunk of his car.

Joe and Adam actually become unlikely allies as it becomes obvious that someone close to the family is trying to frame Joe. When Adam places Gemma’s diary in Joe’s hands, he immediately knows who he is seeking. Dark secrets emerge from the past and lead to an inevitable and brutal showdown.

Kiss Her Goodbye pulls no punches, the book is populated by rough, violent people who live on the fringe. The story is grim but it moves along at a rapid pace and amid the swinging bats and thrown punches the reader finds themselves involved in a classic pulp fiction story. With it’s tight narrative and thug-like characters this story about treachery was a fun and satisfying crime read. show less