Gus Dury once had a high-flying career as a journalist and a wife he adored. But now he is living on the edge, a drink away from Edinburgh's down-and-outs, drifting from bar to bar, trying not to sign divorce papers. But the road takes an unexpected turn when a friend asks him to investigate the brutal torture and killing of his son, and Gus becomes embroiled in a much bigger story of political corruption and illegal people-trafficking. Seedy doss-houses, bleak wastelands and sudden violence contrast with the cobbled streets and cool bistros of fashionable Edinburgh, as the puzzle unravels to a truly shocking ending.
Paying For It (Gus Dury 1)
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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 )
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. (Cathi Unsworth The Guardian )
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 )
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. (Cathi Unsworth The Guardian )
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 )
Book Description
First crime thriller by a really smart young Edinburgh journalist. Features on-going hero Gus Dury, down-and-out alcoholic and hack-turned-investigator
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
It doesn't happen often, but sometimes you're completely blown away by a book. It's even rarer for it to happen with a debut novel... but Tony Black makes a myth of all that with Paying for It. It's a stunning tale, narrated by a character who, in reality, you'd cross the road from, but whose life sparks a deep and unrelenting fascination. Edinburgh-based PI Gus Dury is a drink away from destruction, his marriage and career in tatters. He needs a focus and when he's asked to probe the brutal murder of a young man, his dedication and deep desire for justice comes to the fore. Gus wades through prostitution, Eastern European gangsters and even comes face-to-face with a wolf. Tony's stark portrayal of modern Scotland and its rulers is hard-hitting, yet blisteringly recognisable. Buy this, read it, then make your friends read it. When you finally, bleary-eyed in the small hours after one sitting, put it down, you'll tell yourself you had no problem Paying for It.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By T. Maxwell
Format:Hardcover
It's hard to believe that Paying For It is Tony Black's first book. He delves deep into Edinburgh's underworld and paints a vivid picture of the dark side of Scotland's capital. The book opens with the aftermath of a brutal murder which Gus Dury, an alcoholic ex-journalist, has been asked to investigate. What follows is a gripping story full of fascinating characters and shocking revelations. It also has a truly mindblowing ending. You won't want to put it down. I can't wait for the next installment - Tony Black is definitely one to watch.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By Take the 5th
Format:Paperback
Loved the book so much i want to carry on reading about Gus Dury and so glad i found that there is another book out for me to get into.
Loved Tony Black's writing. Any book that actually makes me feel i care about the people being wrote about is a winner for me.
Hope he writes many more.
Loved Tony Black's writing. Any book that actually makes me feel i care about the people being wrote about is a winner for me.
Hope he writes many more.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By C. Kidd
Format:Hardcover
Whilst on holiday I picked up a couple of short man fiction books, the first of which was Paying For It by Tony Black.
Set in Edinburgh this is an atmospheric and gritty novel, but also full of dark humour. Gus Dury is an ex-journalist and his wife is divorcing him as the demon drink has taken a strong hold of him. His friend Col's son is found dead, but the police say that he committed suicide. Gus finds out this isn't true and Col asks him to find the killer of his son and what's with the cover-up? Gus endeavours to find the truth and along the way we meet some unsavoury characters, as well as a wolf, and see Gus facing his own demons regarding his upbringing with his cruel and harsh father.
What a fantastic crime novel, I found this exceptionally entertaining. At times it felt you could really warm to Gus, but then at others you just wanted to yell at him to get a grip, but then I guess that's the way it can be with alcoholics. I found that characterisation was great, plot was superb and it was really fast paced and also contained emotional depth. For me this had everything that I love in a book, although be careful if you don't like strong and sometimes course language. I have visited Edinburgh, but feel I only scratched the surface and there's much more to it than meets the eye if this novel's anything to go by. What I also find strange is that I've read Ian Rankin, but his books have never really shouted at me, but this book most certainly does!
Gus is definitely a character I wish to follow.
Set in Edinburgh this is an atmospheric and gritty novel, but also full of dark humour. Gus Dury is an ex-journalist and his wife is divorcing him as the demon drink has taken a strong hold of him. His friend Col's son is found dead, but the police say that he committed suicide. Gus finds out this isn't true and Col asks him to find the killer of his son and what's with the cover-up? Gus endeavours to find the truth and along the way we meet some unsavoury characters, as well as a wolf, and see Gus facing his own demons regarding his upbringing with his cruel and harsh father.
What a fantastic crime novel, I found this exceptionally entertaining. At times it felt you could really warm to Gus, but then at others you just wanted to yell at him to get a grip, but then I guess that's the way it can be with alcoholics. I found that characterisation was great, plot was superb and it was really fast paced and also contained emotional depth. For me this had everything that I love in a book, although be careful if you don't like strong and sometimes course language. I have visited Edinburgh, but feel I only scratched the surface and there's much more to it than meets the eye if this novel's anything to go by. What I also find strange is that I've read Ian Rankin, but his books have never really shouted at me, but this book most certainly does!
Gus is definitely a character I wish to follow.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
By S. Lloyd
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Hardcover
Tony Black's style of writing gives the feel that you are following the main character's, Gus Dury, flow of thoughts with him and that as events unfold you are experiencing them at the same time.
Gus Dury himself though was in danger of having the standard background of a drink problem, a divorce looming, a lost career and a troubled childhood. Through his strong and convincing writing, Black pulls this round so that on the other side there is a compassionate, educated and witty man who develops into a likeable character.
The plot moves along at a strong pace and flows extremely smoothly.The texture of Edinburgh is conveyed through clever descriptions of the high and low lights of the city.
This is a gritty read and it will be interesting to see how the characters develop in the next novel.
Gus Dury himself though was in danger of having the standard background of a drink problem, a divorce looming, a lost career and a troubled childhood. Through his strong and convincing writing, Black pulls this round so that on the other side there is a compassionate, educated and witty man who develops into a likeable character.
The plot moves along at a strong pace and flows extremely smoothly.The texture of Edinburgh is conveyed through clever descriptions of the high and low lights of the city.
This is a gritty read and it will be interesting to see how the characters develop in the next novel.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
By S. Tait
Format:Paperback
The gist of the book has been explained in other reviews therefore do not feel the need to reiterate, therefore will just comment on the author. Really enjoyed this book. I don't think Tony Black should be classed as the next Rankin, as having read all the Rebus books, I feel Tony's style is very different and he is his own writer and shouldn't really be compared. On starting the book, I felt I was viewing a film and he was the narrator of the story but after the first couple of chapters, I was totally engrossed and couldn't put the book down. I have just started the second book, Gutted, and I'm sure will enjoy it just as much. Here's to the 3rd book and hopefully the next chapter in Gus Dury's life, if he hasn't drunk himself to death by then! I feel there is much more to come from Tony Black.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
By Alison McVey
Format:Paperback
Set in contemporary Edinburgh, this novel follows ex-journalist Gus Dury as he tracks down the truth about how the son of a friend of his came to be so brutally murdered.
In former times, Dury had a good career and lived a professional Edinburgh life. However, we meet him as a fallen man - divorce looming, career gone and an overwhelming need for strong drink and cigarettes to get him through the day. A dark character, he has no problems entering the seedy Edinburgh underworld where people live life on the edge and violence is second nature.
Written in the first person, this dark and gritty book seems to be a stumble from one drink to the next interspersed by punchy in your face dialogue and the occasional fight. I'm not a big fan of stories written in the first person as there is frequently a tendency to draw on too much inessential detail - the bath scene on page 166 for instance - yet when the story goes to his family and his relationship with his father, I found the writing to be compelling.
It's hard to say whether I want to follow the Gus Dury series - I probably will, because of a curiosity about how Edinburgh is portrayed, but I'm also undecided about how much I really want to read about an almost washed up alcoholic who does impossible damage to his body. Time will tell.
In former times, Dury had a good career and lived a professional Edinburgh life. However, we meet him as a fallen man - divorce looming, career gone and an overwhelming need for strong drink and cigarettes to get him through the day. A dark character, he has no problems entering the seedy Edinburgh underworld where people live life on the edge and violence is second nature.
Written in the first person, this dark and gritty book seems to be a stumble from one drink to the next interspersed by punchy in your face dialogue and the occasional fight. I'm not a big fan of stories written in the first person as there is frequently a tendency to draw on too much inessential detail - the bath scene on page 166 for instance - yet when the story goes to his family and his relationship with his father, I found the writing to be compelling.
It's hard to say whether I want to follow the Gus Dury series - I probably will, because of a curiosity about how Edinburgh is portrayed, but I'm also undecided about how much I really want to read about an almost washed up alcoholic who does impossible damage to his body. Time will tell.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good read
I read this book after reading another, later, book written by the author. This is a good, solid read, pacy and well-written. Read more
Published 1 month ago by J. Ellis
4.0 out of 5 stars
Very readable
An enjoyable book. Some words need a translation as they are clearly local dialect but didn't hinder the overall story.
Published 2 months ago by JOJO
5.0 out of 5 stars
A highly recommended read
It must be difficult for an author to find a different angle for a crime story set in Edinburgh but Tony Black is no ordinary author and Gus Dury is no ordinary crime fighter! Read more
Published 5 months ago by Neil Wright
5.0 out of 5 stars
Love Gus
The first Gus Dury novel in the series which introduces us to the washed up journalist and all his problems in gritty detail as he investigates the murder of a friend's son in... Read more
Published 5 months ago by K. Nixon
2.0 out of 5 stars
Rather a downer!
A rather depressing novel set in the murky underworld of Edinburgh. The principal charcter (I can't countenance the term "hero") is an ex-journalist sinking ever-deeper into... Read more
Published 8 months ago by James Brydon
2.0 out of 5 stars
poor and badly written
Did not enjoy this book at all. The writing was poor, and to me it was not in anyway shape or form a book based in Edinburgh. Read more
Published 8 months ago by RETIRED AND READING
3.0 out of 5 stars
enjoyable enough start to a series
Paying For It is written from a first person perspective, the reader viewing the world through Gus Dury. And it's the view from one step away from the gutter. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Rob Kitchin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Worth the bawbeees
Another few, quite a few, bawbeees spent via my beloved Kindle. I like to try Scottish authors and I found this one as a good book when checking out reviews for Craig Russell. Read more
Published 12 months ago by happybooks
5.0 out of 5 stars
Pay For It, Now.
Tony Black has redefined the myth of the mean Scotsman. Paying For It reads like the manifesto of a man who has to pay for his country's crisis out of his own pocket. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Mary Helen
5.0 out of 5 stars
Dark and bitter.
With Paying for it, Tony Black introduces us to Gus Dury. Dury is a booze soaked, washed up investigative journalist who just can't keep his nose out of other peoples dirty... Read more
Published 17 months ago by Paul D Brazill
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