"Powerful, focused, and intense ... and then it gets better. Get your money down early on this young man -- he's dead serious and deadly accurate."

- Andrew Vachss, Righteous Reading

"Sitting somewhere between the raw grit of Welsh and the genius of Rankin, Gutted deserves to be the thriller hit of the summer."

- The Daily Record

“Tony Black is the latest in a seemingly unending stream of good Scottish crime writers … The dialogue fizzes and the whole is suffused with black humour. Celtic Noir is in rude health.”

- Marcel Berlins, The Times

“Gutted is THE book of the year.”

- Ken Bruen, author of Sanctuary

“Only two books in and Tony Black is already one of my favourite living crime writers. Gutted is simply superb.”

- Nick Stone, author of Mr Clarinet

“This is first-class writing, with the authentic feel of scraped knuckles, battered bodies, damaged minds and the darkness of despair that comes with a tortured soul … Tony Black has been compared with Billingham, Rankin and Kernick, which is praise indeed by anyone’s standards. Personally, going by this book, I think he’s in a league of his own.”

- Adrian Magson, Shots Mag

“Maybe the best novel I’ve read all year … a stunning piece of work.”

- Allan Guthrie, author of Slammer

“Gutsy follow up to last year’s debut Paying for It. Alcoholic involuntary Edinburgh sleuth Gus Dury is an unforgettable if unlikeable character and his travails are very much on the dark side, but you can’t keep away. A bright new talent.”

- Maxim Jakubowski

“More than just a startling, passionately written crime novel, Gutted is a scathing character study and portrait of a city in distress. This is pure noir, sublime and dark as a double dram of Loch Dhu.”

- Craig McDonald, author of Head Games

“Tony Black hit the ground running with Paying for It; with Gutted, he offers an excellent and worthy successor, full of taut energy and thrust, and surely one of the best crime novels of 2009.”

- It’s a Crime! (Or a Mystery)

“Black has rejuvenated the often imitated drunken PI in his work … You want something even more refreshing than a pint or two of the black stuff? Then give Tony Black’s stuff ago.”

- Crime Scene Northern Ireland

"If you haven't read Black, you're missing out on one of the best new voices to emerge from Scotland in the last few years. One of the best new voices to enter the genre, period. Miss out on this one and you will truly be Gutted."

- Russel D. McLean, Crimescene Scotland

“The humour amid the pain is brilliant and should have broadminded readers rocking in their chairs … Gutted confirms Black as a compelling new crime novelist.”

- Robin Jarossi, Suite.101.com

“With GUTTED Black proves he’s no one hit wonder … Sharp pacing and with a wonderful narrative Black delivers a book that can’t be put down and will stick with you after reading. If this were Nascar Black would be holding a lot of checkered flags.”

- Jon Jordan, Crimespree

“Tony Black shows how he's still the leading man in the stream of Ken Bruen's followers, serving up a hardboiled tale in which the protagonist is just as important as the crimes. Don't read this one if you're a bit too depressed though, it might just sent you over the edge.”

- Jochem Vandersteen, Sons of Spade

"The reader is immediately engaged in Dury’s world and this is down to the skill of the writer. Tony Black, take a bow. This first person narrative is a super-charged, testosterone filled force of nature and I defy anyone not to get caught up in it ... Gutted is a rollercoaster ride from riveting start to exhilarating finish."

- Crime Squad

“What gets me is Black’s ability to write stories that are so visceral and brutal in their physicality, and yet so thoughtful and touching in their emotional weight. Damn, damn impressive, Mr, Black.”

- Greg Bardsley

"Tony Black has confirmed his place at the heart of Scottish crime fiction with a superb second book - roll on book number three."

- EuroCrime

Reviews - Paying for It

"A fine debut. Black is the new noir."

- Allan Guthrie

author of Savage Night

"Tony Black's first novel hits the ground running, combining a sympathetic ear for the surreal dialogue of the dispossessed with a portrait of a city painted in the blackest humour."

- Cathi Unsworth, The Guardian

"This is one adrenalin-pumped novel that is as moving and compassionate as it is so stylishly written."

- Ken Bruen

author of The Guards

"Black has managed in his first book to show a maturity in his writing that some authors chase for years. I’d put him up there with Rankin and Kernick and Billingham with just this first novel. I can’t wait for more."

- Crimespree

"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."

- Thug Lit

"Black’s debut novel is incredibly strong; an evocative, unsettling journey to the heart of darkness that is modern Scotland ... This is page-turning, addictive stuff ... told with a voice that demands – and deserves – your utmost attention."

- Crime Scene Scotland

"This is a gritty, grungy ... quality thriller with a bit of a bite."

- The Cairns Post

"A debut that rises from the gutter and the bottom of the glass with bravura. Crime and alcohol will never be the same again." 

- Maxim Jakubowski 

"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’."

    - Ali Karim

Shots Mag