nominated for an Edgar award
(best paperback original), 2006
and a Gumshoe
(Best European Crime novel), 2006
and an Anthony award
(best paperback original), 2006
Kiss Her Goodbye
When people in Edinburgh want to borrow money,
they go to Cooper. When they don’t pay it back, they get a visit from Joe
Hope. But now Joe’s got problems of his own. His teenage daughter is found
dead, an apparent suicide. Then the police arrest him for murder. But for once
in his life, Joe’s innocent—and with help from Scotland’s hardest men (and
one of Scotland’s hardest women), he sets out to find the person who framed
him and deliver his own brutal brand of justice.
'Guthrie writes with an urgency,
energy, cynical realism and mastery of casual violence that is rarely
encountered in British crime writing' Marcel Berlins, The Times
Full
Review
"A virtual classic that takes
the genre to its pared-back, squealing limit. The writing is tight, the story as
poised and precisely plotted as the finest of Ed McBain's procedural gems.
Guthrie's control of this dark material is sheer wizardry. Every detail earns
its keep, every slyly placed punctuation mark is a perfectly weighted tic in the
slipstreamed unfurling" Tom Adair, The Scotsman
Full Review
"a minor noir classic" Gary Lovisi, Crime Time
"This tough, uncompromising crime thriller grabs the reader's attention
from the first page and does not let hold of its grip until the
final...Recommended for fans of quality hardboiled fiction" Canberra
Sunday Times
"...this dark and violent tapestry will absorb you" Sydney
Morning Herald
"A classic underworld story
that moves along fast" Hobart Mercury
"... prose and scenes are lean and sharp, built for speed, built for
excitement, with characters who immediately make an impact as forceful as a
baseball bat through a car windscreen." Calum Macleod, Shots Magazine
Full
Review
"...a surprisingly
sophisticated and well crafted tale that subtly weaves in subplots and
observations of his characters that keep the suspense going until the final
chapters." Brian Lindemuth, MysteryBookSpot
Full Review
"I have seldom read a faster-paced novel and the energy in Guthrie's prose drags the reader along by the hair into an Edinburgh peppered with petty thugs, gangsters, whores and hapless cops that is never less than compelling." Doug Shepherd, The Herald
"...a master storyteller"
FishComCollective
Full
Review
"...a masterpiece of noir" Benjamin Boulden, Adventure Fiction Magazine
"This book impressed me in a
whole lot of ways..." Ron Fortier, Paperback Bazaar
Full Review
"...a good solid slice of gritty urban noir" Bullet Magazine
"...delectably nasty..."
Ruth Gutman, New York Post (online edition)
Full Review
"Guthrie adroitly shifts
suspicions and bends allegiances over the course of his assured second novel. In
a manner that recalls the best of James Ellroy's L.A. Quartet, unexpected
alliances are forged ... characterizations are deftly revised and the terrain
remains engagingly uncertain ... Guthrie's is a stellar sophomore turn and Kiss
Her Goodbye is the noir equivalent of a double dram of Talisker: silky
liquid lava to die for." Craig McDonald, This Week Newspapers
Full
Review
"The simplicity of the
novel's family-centred plot gives ample room for the development of characters -
and they are very vivid, the whole of the central cast, tough and funny, as in
the first novel, but also moving and vulnerable in ways that make the reader
anxious for their safety." Lee Horsley, Crime Culture
Full
Review
"Guthrie builds characters a
bit more complex than the familiar Brit-noir toughs" Kerry J. Schooley, Murder
Out There
Full Review
"...a good book, well worth
the read." Megan Powell
Full
Review
"...lives up to Hard Case's reputation for gritty noir thrillers that pull no punches." Publishers Weekly
"Guthrie has this stuff
nailed." Charlie Stella, Knucksline
Full
Review
"This intense, well-written mystery -- featuring a wide and deep cast of
characters and a complex situation -- is a worthy offering in the noir field and
well worth your time." Kevin Tipple, The Readers Room
Full Review
"Scottish writer Allan Guthrie’s second novel, set in Edinburgh, is a page-turning countdown to Joe’s violent explosion in his hunt for the person he believes is behind Gemma’s death." Giant Magazine
"Kiss
Her Goodbye is tough-as-nails Scots noir. Deftly characterised, with witty
dialogue and a mean plot, Guthrie’s excellent second novel is lean, keen and
pure hardboiled heaven. Its rare that a British writer comes along who just
pulls you into his world so easily. But Guthrie leads you willingly with a
tough, no-nonsense style and the kind of easy-going storytelling ability missing
from so many new writers trying their damndest to break the marketplace
today." Russel D McLean, Crime Scene Scotland
Full
review
"Guthrie is a fiend
with his pen ... [Kiss Her Goodbye has] enough violence and pathos to satisfy
even the most jaded crime reader, and it offers solid insight into the
realization that everybody is crazy, no matter where you live." Craig's
Book Club
Full
review
"Guthrie
has a nice clipped way with scenes that in this age of bloat usually go on far
too long. He gives you the moment, like a snapshot, and goes on to the next
moment. Don't confuse this with underplaying. It's playing just right." Ed
Gorman
"Kiss
Her Goodbye
moves fast, and there are plenty of interesting characters to meet along the
way. My favorite is Tina, a prostitute who can handle a baseball bat almost as
well as Joe. (Check out that great cover.) The climax is as nerve-wracking as
anybody could ask for." Bill Crider
Full
review
"Kiss Her Goodbye is very well done, the Scottish scene vividly depicted and the characters memorably three-dimensional. Allan Guthrie has a bright -- or should I say dark? -- future in crime fiction. I look forward to reading more by him." Bill Pronzini, author of Blue Lonesome
"Kiss Her Goodbye is a slice of Scottish granite, hard and bitter as the dialect of an Edinburgh public bar, dark as the news that Joe Hope receives on the very first page. Allan Guthrie's style is the spectre of Jim Thompson, drenched in Highland rain, soaked in whiskey that burns across the page. Like the master, there is a wicked gallows humour that has you laughing nervously as your teeth hurt from clenching them. Raw, vivid and so in your face you can smell the beer. Cooper, Joe's employer, is the most fascinating thug to wield a bat since Lou Ford stepped up to the plate. In 'panic flicker', he gives us a whole new concept. The ending is a kick in the gut that is as shocking as it is haunting. A novel with moments of compassion to shrieve the cold heart and a cast of characters—Tina, Monkman, Park—who scream off the page. Joe asks, the narrative asks, almost mockingly: can you be still? Not with this keg of gelignite in your hands. Awesome." Ken Bruen, author of The Guards
"Kiss Her Goodbye is one hell of a page-turner. I couldn't have turned those pages any faster if Guthrie had put a gun to my head and said, "Turn those fucking pages faster, you bastard."" Charlie Williams, author of Deadfolk