Kiss Her Goodbye

Nominated for Edgar, Anthony and Gumshoe awards, Kiss Her Goodbye is a hard-hitting crime novel about a violent man confronting the reality of his daughter's death.

Violence is Joe Hope's business. 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. After all, somebody has to pay.

What They're Saying

"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

"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."
– The Scotsman

"delectably nasty"
– New York Post

"... 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."
– Shots Magazine

"...this dark and violent tapestry will absorb you"
– Sydney Morning Herald

Praise for Two-Way Split

"Seek him out and buy his book."
– Ian Rankin, creator of Inspector John Rebus and author of THE COMPLAINTS

"Excellent."
– George Pelecanos, author of THE CUT

"In the tradition of Irvine Welsh and Ian Rankin, Allan Guthrie chronicles life in the underbelly of Edinburgh with dazzling grace. TWO-WAY SPLIT is a hard-edged, fast-paced noir thriller with outstanding dialogue and plenty of unforgettable bad guys. It's Scottish crime fiction with a unique American hard-boiled twist."
– Jason Starr, author of THE PACK

"… all the beauty of BLUE VELVET and all the insanity of WILD AT HEART"
– Ray Banks, author of BEAST OF BURDEN

"With razor-sharp characterisation and an evocative sense of place, the novel's pace never relents: the supremely damaged characters that Guthrie conjures up are seldom let off the hook, and stew throughout in their fetid juices. Dark and splendid."
– The Guardian

"...a memorable and stunning and pitch-perfect debut and one you should grab forthwith. I can't remember a first novel this good in a long, long time."
– Mystery Scene

About the author

Allan Guthrie is an award-winning Scottish crime writer. His debut novel, Two-Way Split, was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger award and went on to win the Theakston's Crime Novel Of The Year. He is the author of four other novels: Kiss Her Goodbye (nominated for an Edgar), Bad Men (aka Hard Man) Savage Night and Slammer and three novellas: Kill Clock, Killing Mum and Bye Bye Baby, a Top Ten Kindle Bestseller. He's also co-founder of digital publishing company, Blasted Heath, and a literary agent with Jenny Brown Associates.