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Hilda's Big Day Out: A Short Story
 
 

Hilda's Big Day Out: A Short Story [Kindle Edition]

Allan Guthrie
5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)

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Product Description

Product Description

A short story about a tough little dog, and three bonus stories.

HILDA'S BIG DAY OUT was commissioned by the Sunday Mail as its seasonal short story. It's a tale of violence, abduction, and pilchards, told from the perspective of a Dandie Dinmont terrier called Hilda, who's whisked away from a deserted Edinburgh beach by a skinny stranger on New Year's Day.
(word count: 2640; 10/11 Kindle pages)

Also included are three bonus stories

YOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW was commissioned as part of Nigel Bird and Chris Rhatigan's PULP INK anthology. It's the story of Southern teen from a repressed background who has issues with her mother and a boyfriend she wants to impress. Unfortunately, her attempt to impress him doesn't work out as planned.
(word count: 1370; 5/6 Kindle pages)

BYE BYE BABY was commissioned by Victim Support Scotland for their SHATTERED: EVERY CRIME HAS A VICTIM anthology. The story's narrated by Mrs Wilson, whose young son, Bruce, has disappeared without trace. She's grief-stricken and angry and a little drunk, but there's something deeper and more heartbreaking than initially meets the eye of the detectives who pay her a visit. This is the original story that spawned the author's Top Ten Kindle novella of the same name.
(word count: 2670; 10/11 Kindle pages)

CALL ME, I'M DYING was commissioned by Busted Flush Press for A HELL OF A WOMAN: AN ANTHOLOGY OF FEMALE NOIR, edited by Megan Abbott. A couple having a meal on their wedding anniversary are not what they seem. An unusual phone call helps reveal the truth, but is it too late?
(word count: 3680; 15 Kindle pages)

Total word count: 10360; 41 Kindle pages.


Praise for Allan Guthrie's TWO-WAY SPLIT

"Seek him out and buy his book." Ian Rankin, creator of Inspector John Rebus and author of THE COMPLAINTS

"Excellent." George Pelecanos, author of THE CUT

"In the tradition of Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin, Allan Guthrie chronicles life in the underbelly of Edinburgh with dazzling grace. TWO-WAY SPLIT is a hard-edged, fast-paced noir thriller with outstanding dialogue and plenty of unforgettable bad guys. It's Scottish crime fiction with a unique American hard-boiled twist." Jason Starr, author of THE PACK

"With razor-sharp characterisation and an evocative sense of place, the novel's pace never relents: the supremely damaged characters that Guthrie conjures up are seldom let off the hook, and stew throughout in their fetid juices. Dark and splendid." The Guardian

"...a memorable and stunning and pitch-perfect debut and one you should grab forthwith. I can't remember a first novel this good in a long, long time." Mystery Scene


Praise for the novella BYE BYE BABY, a Top Ten Kindle Bestseller

"The approach is so fresh that it makes the whole thing feel like the first time I've read a police story" Do Some Damage

"A story that moves quickly, in short chapters of crisp prose, with plenty of plot turns to hold the attention, and characters you can love and others you can hate... Like Guthrie's full-length novels, Bye Bye Baby is sly, noir as all hell (more noir than some, actually), and it just might bring a tear of pity to your eyes. It's a police procedural filled with incident and back story, and man, what an ending." Detectives Beyond Borders

"...a dark, clever, funny and sad story which races along to reach a smart conclusion. A tough and lovely slice of the hard side of life." You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?


About the author:

Allan Guthrie is an award-winning Scottish crime writer. His debut novel, TWO-WAY SPLIT, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award and went on to win the Theakston's Crime Novel Of The Year. He is the author of four other novels: KISS HER GOODBYE (nominated for an Edgar), HARD MAN, SAVAGE NIGHT and SLAMMER and three novellas: KILL CLOCK , KILLING MUM and BYE BYE BABY, a Top Ten Kindle Bestseller. He's also co-founder of digital publishing company, Blasted Heath, and a literary agent with Jenny Brown Associates.

Product details

  • Format: Kindle Edition
  • File Size: 147 KB
  • Publisher: Criminal-E (3 Jan 2012)
  • Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
  • Language English
  • ASIN: B006T8404Y
  • Text-to-Speech: Enabled
  • Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #27,200 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)
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Allan Guthrie
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Customer Reviews

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Average Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars (4 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Fetch, 7 Jan 2012
By 
This review is from: Hilda's Big Day Out: A Short Story (Kindle Edition)
Those who know me will be very much aware of the great respect and admiration I have for Allan Guthrie, for his writing and for his humanity. I'll not say more. What I need to add is that Hilda's Big Day Out may not seem immediately to be something all Guthrie or Crime-book fans should have, but it most definitely is.

You get four stories in this collection - the main attraction and three bonus tracks.

First off comes Hilda's Big Day Out.

This was first published in The Sunday Mail, no less.

It opens with the peculiarities of a New Year's Day dip, something all the more apt for me as I was one of the lunatics who plunged into the North Sea this year.

We meet Hilda. If you've read Guthrie before, it'll be like a reunion with an old friend and if you haven't you should get to be better acquainted.

This time Hilda has her own voice. She's the story-teller and she has a great story to tell. As her owner rests on the beach, Hilda is kidnapped by a man who thinks he needs a three-legged dog.

Using the dog as the main voice must have been challenging, but Guthrie surpasses himself in the description he uses from the perspective of our three-legged friend.

The lighter opening tones darken for a while and by the end of the tale, the result is utterly satisfying.

The next story, Your Mother Should Know, is a piece that Chris Rhatigan and I were honoured to include in our Pulp Ink anthology last year. It's full of atmosphere, a kind of humidity to my mind, as it tells the tale of a young girl whose life is tricky and for whom their aren't many solutions. What I love about this one is that it's set in the States and shows the amazing versatility of voice of the author, one of which I'd love to see him expand in the near future. Early Sissy Spacek comes to mind for this one.

Next is Bye Bye Baby, the sperm and egg that came to form the very successful novella. It's a story that keeps up the power of the opening salvo.

Finally we come to 'Call Me I'm Dying'. It's from 'A Hell Of A Woman: An Anthology Of Female Noir' (edited by Megan Abott and Val McDermid. It brings the collection to a nicely-rounded finish as another canine gets a brief mention. What you get is a head-to-head between an extremely unusual man and his guest as they celebrate their tenth anniversary over their dinner. This one's electric. Full of power. By the time the metaphorical explosive package is revealed, the story already had me hooked. Sparse, sharp and a brilliant example of what can be done when all the flab is cut from a narrative.

It's a great collection all round and a testament to the genius of the man at the helm.

Fetch.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars A Dandie Tail, 7 Jan 2012
By 
Midnight - See all my reviews
(TOP 100 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: Hilda's Big Day Out: A Short Story (Kindle Edition)
Hilda, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, tells a short story of abduction and adventure. The Dandie Dinmont is a breed included on the Kennel Club's list of Vulnerable Native Breeds, so it's good to see the breed highlighted to increase extra interest in this old Scottish breed.

Allan Guthrie's excellent works are exceptionally well written, gritty, hard boiled noir thrillers - this story is fast paced, punchy and has a twist to the tale but in a much gentler vein than usual.

A very entertaining quick read with a handful of other short stories thrown in as a bonus - don't miss it!
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Dog Noir, 6 Jan 2012
By 
James Oswald "JamesO" (United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
This review is from: Hilda's Big Day Out: A Short Story (Kindle Edition)
Kidnapped from his owner, notorious Edinburgh hard man Pearce, Hilda the three-legged Dandy-Dinmont goes on an adventure. A wonderful short story, this has a lighter tone than Guthrie's other titles - which you should read anyway - but nevertheless shines a torch on the murky depths of the human condition.
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