Tony Black lives in Edinburgh. An award-winning journalist, he has written for most of the UK national newspapers. He is currently writing his second Gus Dury novel, Gutted.

"A fine debut. Black is the new noir" -- Allan Guthrie "Tony Black's first novel hits the ground running, combining a sympathetic ear for the surreal dialogue of the dispossessed with a portrait of the belly of a city painted in the blackest of humour" -- Guardian "Paying For It might just be the most aptly titled novel of the year. Rarely has a title worked on so many levels... the narrative blasts off the page like a triple malt... This is one adrenalin-pumped novel, as moving and compassionate as it is stylishly written" -- Ken Bruen, author of The Guards novels "Assuming (and hoping) that this is the first of many featuring the tortured Gus Dury, we've never seen a series character so richly and honestly drawn from the get-go. The emotional punches connect solidly in Paying For It, as the pains of being a father and the pains of being a son are laid bare. The debut of the year" Thuglit.com "Of all the new writers emerging this year, he is the one to watch" Martyn Waites, author of the Joe Donovan series