Long Time Dead

Gus Dury is back on the drink. While in hospital after a hit-and-run accident, his best friend, Hod, asks him to investigate the ritual, on-campus hanging of an Edinburgh University student. The murder victim's mother is a high-profile actress, who has promised a big-money reward. Gus, desperate for money, goes undercover at the university, taking a janitor's job, and soon uncovers a similar ritualistic hanging which took place in the '70s. Few of the students are prepared to talk about it - until another one of their group turns up dead by the same method. But Gus now moves into very dangerous waters as he begins to discover what and who is really behind it all - and he becomes the next target for the executioner. LONG TIME DEAD is the fourth novel in the Gus Dury series, crime writing that hits you like a shot of whisky and aims straight for the gut... Critical acclaim for Tony Black "a compelling and convincing portrayer of raw emotions in a vicious milieu" The Times "if you're a fan of Ian Rankin, Denise Mina or Irvine Welsh, this is most certainly one for you" The Scotsman "Black renders his nocotine-stained domain in a hardboiled slang that fizzles with vicious verisimilitude" The Guardian "Ripping, gutsy prose and a witty wreck of a protagonist makes this another exceptionally compelling, bright and even original thriller" The Mirror "Comparisons with Rebus will be obvious. But that would be too easy... Black has put his defiant, kick-ass stamp on his leading man, creating a character that deftly carries the story through every razor-sharp twist and harrowing turn." Daily Record "An authentic yet unique voice, Tony Black shows why he is leading the pack in British crime fiction today. Atmospherically driven, the taut and sparse prose is as near to the bone as you are ever likely to encounter in crime noir. Powerful." New York Journal of Books "With comparisons to the like of Irvine Welsh and William McIlvanney echoing in his ears, Tony Black has become a top-class author in his own right." 3AM Magazine About the author Tony Black is the author of the Gus Dury PI series (PAYING FOR IT, GUTTED, LOSS and LONG TIME DEAD). His police inspector series, featuring DI Rob Brennan, includes the titles TRUTH LIES BLEEDING and MURDER MILE. He is also the author of THE STORM WITHOUT (Doug Michie #1) and the heist novella, R.I.P ROBBIE SILVA. He lives in Ayr, Scotland.