Genre:
Crime
Description:
Joe
Hope sorts problems out, usually by the application of violence with
a baseball bat, on behalf of his loan shark boss, Cooper. But for
once it’s Joe that has the problem, first his daughter, Gemma,
commits suicide. Joe immediately flies to the Orkneys where she’s
been living at a writer’s retreat with a relative, Adam. But as
soon as he arrives Joe is arrested. The accusation? The murder of his
wife, battered to death with Joe’s work tool.
But,
there are further complications, Gemma kept a diary in which she’d
revealed the reason behind her death – she’d been raped by
someone she called ‘Daddy’. But for once Joe is innocent and he
sets out to track down the killer.
Author:
Allan
Guthrie developed a taste for writing at school. He is now the author
of five award-winning novels. When not writing Allan is a literary
agent and co-founded the e-publisher, Blasted Heath. Born on the
Orkney Islands, Allan now lives in Edinburgh with his wife.
Appraisal:
This
is a straightforward, no-nonsense, high quality crime novel which
focuses on anti-hero Joe Hope. It’s a well plotted, well written
and a very satisfying read. One of the strongest aspects of this
novel are the characters. All are well drawn, believable and have a
part to play.
First
is Joe himself. He’s not the most pleasant of people, sorting out
non-payers on behalf of Cooper, often beating them senseless. Joe
even keeps a baseball bat in his car. He has a terrible relationship
with his wife and instead spends time with a prostitute, Tina (Joe
pays her, but interestingly it’s for no more than company) or in
the dubious company of Cooper, seemingly his only friend. But despite
everything he does have a degree of morality – Joe won’t kill
people – interesting, considering murder is the crime he’s
accused of. Also of note is that Joe is clearly intelligent, he had
been taking a degree before dropping out to work for Cooper, who
himself was training to be a lawyer.
Which
leads us to Cooper. He’s thoroughly unpleasant and loyal only to
himself, and maybe his young son. No one else matters. Tina the
prostitute is an interesting character, literally hard-nosed and
lived a tough life. They’re ably backed up by Adam (who’s
initially wet and useless, but finds some backbone) and Joe’s
youthful lawyer, Ronald Brewer.
The
plot is also very strong, several story arcs brought together for a
satisfying conclusion where everyone gets what they deserved. Joe
receives several shocks (on top of the suicide and murder) and
perpetually seems to be in an almost constant state of turmoil and
flux.
The
story is mainly set in Edinburgh. It’s seedy and grim, but then
again the characters themselves live this kind of existence – loan
shark, thug and prostitute. The scenes suit the narrative. The pace
is high and maintained throughout, it’s a real page turner and
enjoyable to boot (or should I say bat).
FYI:
Swearing
and violence.
Added
for Reprise Review: Kiss
Her Goodbye was a winner
in the Crime Fiction category for B&P 2014 Readers' Choice
Awards. Original review ran January 12, 2014
Format/Typo
Issues:
None.
Rating:
***** Five Stars
Reviewed
by: Keith Nixon
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