Loss by Tony Black

It must be annoying for Scottish crime writers to be constantly compared to Ian Rankin. Similarly, Ian Rankin must find it quite annoying to be compared to every new Scottish crime writer hoping to create the next Rebus. Fortunately, Tony Black and Ian Rankin can rest assured that neither writer has anything in common, because Loss is as far from the Rebus novels as North Korea is from being democratic.

The novel charts the trials of Gus Dury, the protagonist of Black’s previous two novels Gutted and Paying for It, in his investigation into his brother Michael’s murder. Michael, the prototypical golden boy, has been shot in the Meadows (when was the last time that actually happened?) and for a reason that is never fully explained, this could not be a simple mugging. Dury navigates a barely recognizable Edinburgh, riddled with crime and cold, with a vigilante attitude that may make readers wince. The slang, meant to imbue the work with hard-man authenticity, feels forced and insincere. It's entertaining, certainly, thanks to Black's commendable command of short, punchy sentences. However, Loss is like procrastinating on Facebook with five deadlines looming: it will pass the time, but you may not feel good about it later on. [Caroline Bottger]