Latest news AND REVIEWS – updated 18th AUG

BUY BYE BYE BABY!

The print publication of Allan Guthrie's police procedural novella, BYE BYE BABY, has been put back to 2013. For those who don't wish to wait till then, there's now a digital edition available for the Kindle and for various other electronic formats from Smashwords for $2.99.

"It involves a kidnapping, though there's never been a kidnapping quite like this one." Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine

When a seven-year-old boy disappears after school, the case is handed to Detective Frank Collins. He's been looking to lead a high-profile case for a while, and sets out determined to prove his worth. But the missing schoolboy is only a trigger for another crime. Someone is intent on exploiting the boy's grief-stricken mother. And they have plans for Frank Collins too.

"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

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THEAKSTONS OLD PECULIER CRIME FESTIVAL EVENTS:

CREATIVE THURSDAY
A day-long crime fiction creative writing workshop

Thursday 22nd July 2010
9am-5.30pm
The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

Improve your writing technique courtesy of the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s creative writing course for aspiring writers. Hone your novel and short story writing skills with a day-long programme of workshops and seminars led by bestselling crime writers, publishing industry professionals and real-life crime experts.

The programme includes:

Stuart MacBride & Allan Guthrie
2 hr Intensive Writing Workshop: Character, Narrative and Voice
Two of the UK’s most successful crime authors come together to lead a hands-on workshop aimed to expand any writer’s toolkit.

Joseph Finder
2hr Intensive Writing Workshop: Suspense: How to Create and Maintain It
Get to grasp with one of the hardest aspects of the genre to get right with guidance from the award-winning international thriller writer.

D-I-Y Research: Forensics
Quiz three world-renowned forensics experts.
Professor Dave Barclay, Dr James Grieve and Dr Lorna Dawson from the Macaulay Institute have worked on some of Britain’s highest profile murder cases, this is an exceptional opportunity to ask the forensic questions your novel needs answered.

Dare you enter the Dragons’ Pen?
Four brilliant publishing industry professionals. Two minutes to convince them your novel is worth reading. One audience full of your fellow would-be writers watching how you fare. Our literary version of the popular TV show, the Dragons’ Den, is not for the faint-hearted.

We are offering a limited number of places to Creative Thursday participants with a completed concept for a crime novel the opportunity to pitch their book to two powerhouse agents, Jane Gregory of Gregory and Company and Peter Robinson of Rogers, Coleridge & White, and two highly-esteemed editors, Julia Wisdom of HarperCollins and Daniel Mallory of Little, Brown.

Fail to excite the Dragons’ interest and you’ll be going back to the drawing board – but if your pitch rouses their keen instincts then they will vie with each other for the privilege of being the first to read a synopsis and first chapter of your work. But be prepared… it takes a lot to impress our Dragons!

NO, I'M IAN RANKIN
Saturday 24th July, 3.30pm
The Crown Hotel, Harrogate

Pretty much every writer of crime fiction is held up as “the next Ian Rankin” at some point – is it journalistic shorthand, or just laziness? The man himself (the real Ian Rankin) talks fiction, friction and identity crises with four of the biggest contenders for his throne: Paul Cleave (New Zealand’s Ian Rankin), Allan Guthrie (Scotland’s, erm, other Ian Rankin), Alex Gray (the female Ian Rankin) and Chris Simms (the Mancunian Rankin candidate).

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"GREAT SCOT": PROFILE OF ALLAN GUTHRIE AT THE BARNES & NOBLE MYSTERY BLOG

"Pick up Savage Night and read the first couple chapters. You’ll probably think you’re in for a standard revenge tale. But then the point of view shifts. And then chronology goes out the window. When it’s over, everyone’s paid a terrible price. It’s wild, vicious, bloody and frighteningly funny.

Then take Slammer, about Nick Glass, a rookie prison guard unable to find respect in the eyes of his family, co-workers or the inmates in his charge. He’s used and pushed around, forced to smuggle drugs into the facility and that’s just the beginning. While playing it straight with the yuks, he goes for your gut with surgical precision and it reads like printed crank. When Glass finally shatters, nobody is safe.

And if you think his novels go to unexpected places, they’re nothing next to his utterly unpredictable body of short stories..."

More here

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NOIR ORIGINALS REVIEW

"These stories run the gamut from straight noir to the utterly bizarre. Lethal strippers, trailer park crackers, drug whores, animals in various relationships with humans...all fodder for Hendricks' fertile imagination. Let's face it. You know you're in foreign territory when a story begins with the line, 'The day he flushed his meds and purchased a dress for his iguana, Gregory Waxman's real problems were over.' "

Mike Dennis reviews Vicki Hendricks's Florida Gothic Stories

 

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RECENT REVIEWS

"I've been reading a lot of modern noir writers, and while many of them have impressed me only two or three have absolutely thrown me for a loop and made me re-think my game. Allan Guthrie is one of those writers." Heath Lowrance on Slammer at Psycho-Noir

"All I could do as a reader was hold on tight and get to the end. That’s no hardship. Not a word is wasted. The characters are real, where they live and how makes sense. They tell us about themselves not in what they say but in what they do, how they act, the way they move from one decision to another." Nigel Bird on Killing Mum at Sea Minor

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DAVID GOODIS DOCUMENTARY

Brian Greene talks to Larry Withers, the maker of the excellent new David Goodis documentary. "When my mother died in 1986 we discovered the marriage certificate and divorce decree among her papers related to her marriage to David Goodis. There wasn’t much else to go on. It wasn’t until one of my sisters came across a copy of Difficult Lives, a small volume by James Sallis that we learned the real identity of Goodis and true nature of their relationship. It was shocking, to say the least." Larry Withers

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EUROCRIME REVIEWS SLAMMER

"SLAMMER, an absolute masterpiece, really should be at the top of everyone's "must-read" list." Click here for the full review.

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MORE MIKE DENNIS REVIEWS FOR NOIR ORIGINALS

Tom Piccirilli's The Coldest Mile and Charles Willeford's The Woman Chaser
reviewed by Mike Dennis

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EVENTS CONFIRMED FOR MARCH/APRIL

WRITING CRIME FICTION
Orkney Library, MacGillivray Room
March 6th, 2pm
Allan Guthrie and Stuart MacBride deliver a workshop for crime writers

ALLAN GUTHRIE AND DENISE MINA
Aye Write Festival, Glasgow
March 13th, 12.30pm
Denise Mina’s Still Midnight follows DI Alex Morrow, an up-and-coming Glasgow cop. An elderly man is kidnapped when a group of armed men hold a terrified family at gunpoint and demand millions of pounds. Searching for dark secrets she also has to contend with her half-brother Danny making his name in Glasgow's criminal underworld. She discusses her work with Allan Guthrie whose latest novel, Slammer, sees young prison officer Nicholas Glass finding the stresses of the job increasingly hard to handle, bullied and abused by inmates and colleagues alike. When a group of cons use outside help to threaten his wife and daughter, Glass agrees to help them out with a 'favour'.

CRIME IN THE CITY
Philip Larkin Centre For Poetry And Creative Writing, Hull University
March 16th, 7pm -- Staff House
Allan Guthrie, voted Theakston’s Crimewriter of the Year, finds weird relish in the seamy sides of Edinburgh. Robert Edric traces high crime through Hull and the East Riding in his  ‘Song’ trilogy – ‘like being gripped by a police-issue leather driving glove’ – Mail on Sunday. How does the energy of a city feed crime fiction? With special guest appearance by Nick Quantrill launching his debut novel Broken Dreams, featuring Hull’s private investigator Joe Geraghty.

MANNSLAUGHTER AND MAYHEM
Erin Arts Centre, Port Erin, Isle Of Man
April 24th, 6.30pm
Allan Guthrie joins forces with fellow crime writers Stuart MacBride and Donna Moore for an evening of readings, interviews and Q&As. The Isle of Man winner of the CWA Young Crime Writers’ Competition will also be announced during the evening. Tickets are available from the Erin Arts Centre Box Office and the Lexicon Bookshop in Douglas.

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BEST OF YEAR MENTIONS FOR SLAMMER

Flashlight Worthy: Best Crime Fiction of 2009

Euro Crime: Top 2009 Reads

Bookgasm: Best (And Worst) of 2009

Bookspot Central: Best Mystery/Crime of 2009

Mysteries In Paradaise: Our Best Reads in 2009

Big Beat From Badsville: Favourite Reads of 2009

Bitter Water Blog: Best Crime Novels of 09

Independent Crime: Best of the Year

You Would Say That, Wouldn't You: Best Crime Fiction 2009

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NEW REVIEWS AT NOIR ORIGINALS

Mike Dennis offers his reviews of three modern and three classic noir novels.

Ray Banks's Sucker Punch

Megan Abbott's Die A Little

James Ellroy's Blood's A Rover

Gil Brewer's The Squeeze

David Goodis's The Blonde On The Street Corner

Harry Whittington's Web Of Murder

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BYE BYE BABY

Available from July 2011

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GRAVETAPPING ON SLAMMER

"Slammer is a wonderfully executed novel. It is reminiscent of Guthrie’s first novel Two-Way Split, but it is better and executed with a higher skill set. It is short, 263 pages, but it does not lack meaning or story. The prose is hardboiled, lean and smart. The dialogue is crisp, and the atmosphere is weighty and oppressive. It is a fine example of the new noir: a hopeless, distraught and shameless (in a good way) vision of [the] human condition."
Click here for the full review.

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SLAMMER OUT IN THE USA

Slammer is now officially released in the US.

There's a new interview with Allan Guthrie at Hardboiled Wonderland.

And Bookgasm has just posted a terrific review: "This is Guthrie’s masterpiece to date, grim and brutal in tone, cunning in design and flawless in the telling. He keeps the numerous plot turns both exciting and believable. There is a surprise twist in the middle of the novel that stuns the reader and makes the pace even faster. SLAMMER could pretty much be filmed as is. Years from now we’ll look back on this one as a major leap forward in Guthrie’s career. SLAMMER is not only artful, it’s real art."

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BOOKSPOT CENTRAL ON SLAMMER

"...Slammer is a gripping psychological crime novel. When we speak of those on the forefront of dark fiction -- those whose work scares people at a fundamental level; and those whose work we are hard pressed to try to define and pigeon hole, but can’t --Guthrie’s name is near the top of the list, and Slammer proves why." For the whole review, click here.

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SHATTERED

"Written from the perspective of the victim, this thrilling collection of stories by some of Scotland’s leading crime writers, such as Lin Anderson, Ray Banks, Christopher Brookmyre, Karen Campbell, Gillian Galbraith, Alex Gray, Allan Guthrie, Stuart MacBride, GJ Moffat and Louise Welsh illustrates the devastating impact of crime on the lives of ordinary people. The crimes featured range from fraud and house break-in to domestic abuse, rape and murder, and the stories invert the expected crime genre formula by focussing on the victims of the crime rather than the perpetrators and the investigators. With an introduction by Ian Rankin, this is both a moving and chilling account of the concequences of these sorts of atrocities. All the writers have donated their royalties to the charity, Victim Support Scotland."

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EURO CRIME ON KILLING MUM

"This innocent-looking little book is easily read in an hour or two. It is another fantastic whirlwind of violence and intrigue from Allan Guthrie, who is fast becoming a master in his genre. It hits you a powerful punch in the very first paragraph and just gets darker from there on in." Click here to read more.

 

 

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FIFE LIBRARIES READERS' DAY EVENT

"Established authors Allan Guthrie and David Wishart will be joining with relative newcomers Beatrice Colin, Alan Clements and G J Moffat to talk about their own work and the books which have been an influence on their lives with readers from all across Fife."  Saturday 7th Nov, 10.00, Rothes Halls, Glenrothes. More details here.

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SLAMMER USA

Slammer is now available in the US.

"Hard-boiled and then some, with no reprieve for the emotionally squeamish. Guthrie has more plot twists up his sleeve than a Vegas card shark, and each is as clever as it is horrific." Kirkus Reviews

"Edgar-finalist Guthrie explores the tenuous division between truth and desperate fiction in the mind of a rookie prison guard in this gritty thriller... Guthrie's visceral style is a perfect match for the grim setting. Fans who prefer their crime fiction ultra hard-boiled will be rewarded." Publishers Weekly

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NOIR ORIGINALS INTERVIEWS
Two heavyweight author interviews up on the site. Tony Black interviews Nick Stone, and Nick Stone interviews Tony Black.

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KILLING MUM REVIEWS

Ed Gorman
"Guthrie packs his prose with real suspense, his usual droll take on human venality and enough surprises to keep you turning the pages quickly. A really nice piece of crime writing."

International Noir
"another fine contribution to hard-core noir by one if its finest contemporary practitioners"

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SHETLAND WORDPLAY FESTIVAL
Two events lined up with Stuart MacBride and his inflammable beard at the Shetland Wordplay festival.

5th Sept at 10 am, TWO HOURS TO KILL, a crime writing workshop, free but ticketed, and limited to 20 places.

6th Sept at 3.30 pm, "two of Scotland's leading crime writers form a killer double act to read from their work and answer your questions." Tickets £5/£3.50

TICKETS FROM SHETLAND BOX OFFICE, ISLESBURGH COMMUNITY CENTRE: 01595 745555

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TOWER INTERVIEW
Craig McDonald interviews Allan Guthrie about the editing of Tower by Ken Bruen and Reed Farrel Coleman. Excellent novel, due out in Sept from Busted Flush Press.

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SLAMMER REVIEWED AT THE EDITOR'S NOTEBOOK

"With nothing to attract in the sepia-tinted cover image of a hefty bunch of keys, for two months I passed over my copy of Slammer, moving it ever lower down the bookstack as I reached for more appealing titles. I was greatly deluded. Bedazzled by the polish and glitz of new literary fiction releases, I nearly missed out on one of the best thrillers of the year." Read more here.

 

 

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MATTHEW LOUKES
Matthew Loukes is next up in the New Writers section of Noir Originals. You can read an extract from his second Slim Gunter novel, Goose Flesh, as well as check out his piece on Jack Black's classic You Can't Win.

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SLAMMER REVIEWED AT THE DROWNING MACHINE
"After reading the synopsis, you may think you know what this book is about and you may even think you have some idea of how it will progress. You'd be dead wrong. In fact, this isn't even a prison story in the usual sense of that term. 'Slammer' isn't just about a physical prison; it's about all the prisons, external and internal, that confine a young man who suffers bullying and abuse and extortion. While some events occur within the prison where Nick works, Nick himself becomes the figurative prisoner of more forceful characters, and he's also a prisoner to those he loves. This is a dark jigsaw-puzzle of a book where mirrors and memories are not to be trusted anymore than Nick can trust the prisoners out to take advantage of his weaknesses."
Read the full review here

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PULP PUSHER INTERVIEW
Short Selling: Allan Guthrie and Ray Banks in conversation. Answering important questions, such as, "If you only had a fiver, what would you spend it on?"

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KILLING MUM REVIEWS

"Dark, warped and funny, and with a surprising number of twists and turns for such a short book... Loved it."
Big Beat From Badsville

"short, sweet and totally fucking hardcore -– a real live one-sitting read. Nobody working today has Guthrie’s way with black humor and sweat-drenched suspense."
Bookspot Central

"a solid effort" Independent Crime

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ON THE RADIO
Allan Guthrie talking about SLAMMER with Alex Dickson for Smooth Radio's Smooth Bookcase program.

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UNCAGE ME RELEASED

The short story anthology Uncage Me is now available from Bleak House Books, featuring Allan Guthrie's 'The Turnip Farm'. Edited by Jen Jordan with an introduction by John Connolly, the anthology also features stories by Scott Phillips, Christa Faust, Victor Gischler, J.A. Konrath, J.D. Rhoades, Declan Burke, Brian Azzarello, Steven Torres, Stuart MacBride, Simon Kernick, Patrick Bagley, Greg Bardsley, Stephen Blackmore, Tim Maleeny, Nick Stone, Martyn Waites, Talia Berliner, Maxim Jakubowski, Gregg Hurwitz, Blake Crouch, and more.

 

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ALLAN GUTHRIE INTERVIEWED AT ONLINE BOOK REVIEW
Big interview about writing, agenting and publishing. Click here for more.

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KINDLE NEWS
For readers in the US, there's now the option of buying three Guthrie books for the Kindle. And at very affordable prices.

 

TWO-WAY SPLIT

** winner of the Theakston's Crime Novel Of The Year **

a surreal ride on the coattails of a clinically psychotic ex-concert pianist turned armed robber who's stopped taking his meds

 

 

 

KISS HER GOODBYE

** nominated for an Edgar award, an Anthony award and a Gumshoe award **

Violence is Joe Hope's business. So when his teenage daughter commits suicide, someone's got to pay.

 

 

 

KILLING MUM

-- a novella --

Carlos arranges contract killings. An anonymous client pays a deposit and sends word of the next target: Carlos's mother!

 

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CRIME SCENE NI
Gerard Brennan at Crime Scene NI has some very kind words on Slammer. "Slammer is at the top of my list of favourite prison stories, in any medium." Read more here.

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DETECTIVES BEYOND BORDERS
Couple of great blog entries recently from the fine folk at Detectives Beyond Borders. Firstly, the humour in Savage Night is the subject of Allan Guthrie: Family Guy, and then come the first words on Killing Mum in Savage Morning After: "...contains a lot of twists for a book of about ninety pages, and they're good twists, throwing the plot in unexpected directions without seeming manipulative."

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NICK QUANTRILL
Hull-based Nick Quantrill is the latest author to feature in the New Writers section of Noir Originals. You can read an extract from his novel, Broken Dreams, as well as check out his interview with those radgepackets at Byker Books.

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NOVELLA
Due out at the end of June from Five Leaves Publications, Killing Mum is part of the CWA-nominated Crime Express series.

Receiving the package hadn't been that much of a surprise. The fact that someone knew that Valerie Anderson was Carlos Morales's mother worried him. He was careful to hide that, never spoke to anyone about his private life. But what was deeply troubling was the fact that the letter had arrived addressed to Charlie. There were only two people who called him Charlie: Maggie and his mother. He'd discussed the situation with Maggie and she'd agreed he had no choice. He had to ask his mum straight out: "Mama," he said. "Why would someone want you dead?"

 

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FORTHCOMING EVENT
Tony Black, Helen Fitzgerald and Allan Guthrie
Waterstone's, Edinburgh West End Branch
128 Princes Street
Thu 25th June, 6pm

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SHORT STORY
Thuglit Presents... Sex, Thugs, and Rock 'n' Roll (Kensington) is now available, featuring an original short story by Allan Guthrie about 'a pair of bisexual, ass-kicking Vikings on a slaughter trip'. 'Haermund Hardaxe Was Here' was inspired by some very old graffiti on the walls of Maeshowe, a Neolithic chambered tomb in Orkney. Kent Gowran singles it out for special praise at Blood, Sweat and Murder.

 

 

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EVENING NEWS INTERVIEW
My Edinburgh, the Allan Guthrie version.

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TRIPLE PEARCE REVIEW
"This leads me on to another unexpected element of Guthrie’s work. Mired as it is in violence, it’s quite surprising that at times it is also shockingly funny."
Gerard Brennan on Two-Way Split, Hard Man and Kill Clock at Crime Scene NI.

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EUROPEAN INTERVIEWS
Matteo Strukul interviews Allan Guthrie for Sugarpulp (in Italian), and Juri Nummelin asks the questions at Pulpetti for the Finnish edition of Kiss Her Goodbye.

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SLAMMER REVIEWS
Independent Crime concludes that Slammer is "... a nerve-wracking page turner that stands apart from Guthrie's earlier work" and Bill Crider's Pop Culture Magazine decides that, "This is potent stuff that stretches the boundaries of crime fiction."

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CRIME ALWAYS PAYS INTERVIEW
Declan Burke's the question master for Crime Always Pays