Tony Black Books In Order

Publication Order of DI Bob Valentine Books

Publication Order of DI Rob Brennan Books

Publication Order of Doug Michie Books

Publication Order of Gus Dury Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Publication Order of Short Stories/Novellas

Publication Order of Collections

Publication Order of Non-Fiction Books

Publication Order of Anthologies

Tony Black is best known as an award-winning journalist and bestselling mystery fiction author. Black was born in Australia but spent much of his childhood in Ireland and Scotland.
He holds the honor of being Irvine Welsh’s favorite British crime fiction author who published his debut novel “Paying for It” in 2008.

The novel was a hard-boiled expose of alcoholism, human trafficking, and criminal gangs in Edinburgh that did so well that it spawned the very popular “Gus Drury” series of novels.
Tony now has at least two dozen works to his name and has shown no sign of slowing down any time soon. Over the years, he has been nominated for the CWA Dagger half a dozen times.
Black currently makes his home in Edinburgh where he works as a journalist in addition to writing his novels.

He is an important writer for The Scotsman and The Edinburgh Evening News and was once a reviewer of nightclubs when he worked for The Daily Record.
Since he is a huge fan of crime writing, he edits Pulp Pusher an online magazine and is a regular contributor to Shot Magazine and Thug Lite.

Black began writing a long time ago when he realized that he was no good for anything else. Growing up, he had the privilege of reading a lot of books since his parents used to buy all manner of books that he used to religiously read.
Tony Black still rates highly the likes of “The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn” and “Treasure Island” by R.L. Stevenson, which were very influential to him as a young reader.

As an adult, he read all manner of literary fiction and hence it was not surprising that his early attempts were in the genre. When he began transitioning into crime fiction writing, it was particularly hard to train himself out of that.
Nowadays, his writing is a combination of novelists he admires such as Ken Bruen, Jim Thompson, and Irvine Welsh.

As for how he came to write his debut, he never had a Damascene experience where he got an inspiration. But just like most authors, he spent years working with an agent and getting the obligatory rejections.
It was after about seven years that he finally sold his debut novel “Paying For It” published by Random House. He first considered himself a writer when he got his first book published.

When Tony Black is not working on his novels, he can usually be found reading, studying writing, and eating a lot of takeaway food.

In recent times he has gotten into art which he claims has always been his first love. However, he never dreamed that he would ever make a living from it.

He used to lock himself in his garage and paint and at some point, people began coming around to look at the paintings on his walls. He was even more surprised when some began offering money for his painting and this tipped the balance.
While he was attending a book reading one night, there was an artist’s agent who offered him representation. It was not long before he started getting visits from folk galleries and in no time his works were in galleries all over the UK.
He now spends more time working on his painting than on his Edinburgh protagonists having moved back to Ayrshire to paint full-time.
Nonetheless, he exhumes his protagonists from time to time for a TV show, film, or book whenever he can.

Tony Black’s “Artefacts of the Dead” is the work that introduces Bob Valentine a detective inspector.

He had nearly lost his life after two stabbings that pierced his heart and this has left him disillusioned. But then he is called to Ayr, a small coastal town to work on the brutal homicide of a retired banker.
Right at the start of the investigation, a pedophile is found killed in a very similar fashion and the big question is if the two murders are linked.

The chief superintendent is anxious about his detective inspector’s mental health, given the recent happenings and hence there is pressure right from the very start.
With pressure from the media, he suggests bringing in a greasy hack who seems to have inside information.

It is soon evident that there is a serial killer out there, even as Bob Valentine has to deal with an investigation team that seems to have too many leaks.

He also has to deal with the demons of his post-traumatic stress that have been causing him frightening visions, which he believes might be the key to solving the murder mystery.
Close to breaking point, will he have the mental strength to crack the case before it gets to him?

In Tony Black’s “A Taste of Ashes,” Bob Valentine the detective inspector is back on duty following a harrowing escape from near death.

He is now working on a murder in which a body had been found on a kitchen table with a gaping wound in the neck.

There is also the mystery of the victim’s daughter and partner who have gone missing. The murder investigation indicates that there had been a lot of tragic family happenings.
As Bob Valentine is dealing with the many twists and turns that are unfolding faster than he can keep track of, he also has to deal with some haunting visions.

As he learns more about the illicit secrets that the family has been keeping for years, he struggles to maintain a grip on his own sanity and on the case, even as the body count continues to rise.
It is skillfully written work with fully rounded characters, realistic dialogue, twists and turns, creepy coincidence, and casual cruelty that will keep you turning the pages.

“Summoning the Dead” by Tony Black is another fascinating crime fiction work that is very different from the other novels in the “DI Bob Valentine” series of novels.

The detective has been called to the crime scene where a young child has been found mummified in a barrel. His cable-tied hands appear to be in a prayer pose in what is a remarkably preserved crime scene.
As forensics remove the body, they are shocked even further to find he is not alone. His stabbing a distant memory, Bob Valentine has been getting back to his best, even though things will never be the same.
Investigations reveal that the kid had gone missing in the 1980s and the discovery of the body reopens the cold case that the police once believed could never be solved.

When more remains are discovered, the evidence points to a political conspiracy and a pedophile ring that could be connected to the most powerful people in government.