Hilda's Big Day Out: A Short Story

by Allan Guthrie

A short story about a tough little dog, and three bonus stories.HILDA'S BIG DAY OUT was commissioned by the Sunday Mail as its seasonal short story. It's a tale of violence, abduction, and pilchards, told from the perspective of a Dandie Dinmont terrier called Hilda, who's whisked away from a deserted Edinburgh beach by a skinny stranger on New Year's Day.(word 2640; 10/11 Kindle pages)Also included are three bonus storiesYOUR MOTHER SHOULD KNOW was commissioned as part of Nigel Bird and Chris Rhatigan's PULP INK anthology. It's the story of Southern teen from a repressed background who has issues with her mother and a boyfriend she wants to impress. Unfortunately, her attempt to impress him doesn't work out as planned.(word 1370; 5/6 Kindle pages)BYE BYE BABY was commissioned by Victim Support Scotland for their EVERY CRIME HAS A VICTIM anthology. The story's narrated by Mrs Wilson, whose young son, Bruce, has disappeared without trace. She's grief-stricken and angry and a little drunk, but there's something deeper and more heartbreaking than initially meets the eye of the detectives who pay her a visit. This is the original story that spawned the author's Top Ten Kindle novella of the same name.(word 2670; 10/11 Kindle pages)CALL ME, I'M DYING was commissioned by Busted Flush Press for A HELL OF A AN ANTHOLOGY OF FEMALE NOIR, edited by Megan Abbott. A couple having a meal on their wedding anniversary are not what they seem. An unusual phone call helps reveal the truth, but is it too late? (word 3680; 15 Kindle pages)Total word 10360; 41 Kindle pages.Praise for Allan Guthrie's 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"With razor-sharp characterisation and an evocative sense of place, the novel's pace never 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 ScenePraise for the novella BYE BYE BABY, a Top Ten Kindle Bestseller"The approach is so fresh that it makes the whole thing feel like the first time I've read a police story" Do Some Damage"A story that moves quickly, in short chapters of crisp prose, with plenty of plot turns to hold the attention, and characters you can love and others you can hate... Like Guthrie's full-length novels, Bye Bye Baby is sly, noir as all hell (more noir than some, actually), and it just might bring a tear of pity to your eyes. It's a police procedural filled with incident and back story, and man, what an ending." Detectives Beyond Borders "...a dark, clever, funny and sad story which races along to reach a smart conclusion. A tough and lovely slice of the hard side of life." You Would Say That, Wouldn't You?About the Guthrie is an award-winning Scottish crime writer.

53 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 3, 2012

Reviews

[Nigel Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had some pleasing news yesterday that came completely out of the blue. I became the winner of the Vintage Books Reviewers Competition. That's a lovely to thing and I'm really pleased to hear that my efforts are appreciated. The result is I was able to choose 6 books from the Vintage list; so much for getting on top of the To-Be-Read pile.

Now to today's attempt.

Those who know me will be very much aware of the great respect and admiration I have for Allan Guthrie, for his writing and for his humanity. I'll not say more. What I need to add is that Hilda's Big Day Out may not seem immediately to be something all Guthrie or Crime-book fans should have, but it most definitely is.

You get four stories in this collection - the main attraction and three bonus tracks.

First off comes Hilda's Big Day Out.

This was first published in The Sunday Mail, no less.

It opens with the peculiarities of a New Year's Day dip, something all the more apt for me as I was one of the lunatics who plunged into the North Sea this year.

We meet Hilda. If you've read Guthrie before, it'll be like a reunion with an old friend and if you haven't you should get to be better acquainted.

This time Hilda has her own voice. She's the story-teller and she has a great story to tell. As her owner rests on the beach, Hilda is kidnapped by a man who thinks he needs a three-legged dog.

Using the dog as the main voice must have been challenging, but Guthrie surpasses himself in the description he uses from the perspective of our three-legged friend.

The lighter opening tones darken for a while and by the end of the tale, the result is utterly satisfying.

The next story, Your Mother Should Know, is a piece that Chris Rhatigan and I were honoured to include in our Pulp Ink anthology last year. It's full of atmosphere, a kind of humidity to my mind, as it tells the tale of a young girl whose life is tricky and for whom their aren't many solutions. What I love about this one is that it's set in the States and shows the amazing versatility of voice of the author, one of which I'd love to see him expand in the near future. Early Sissy Spacek comes to mind for this one.

Next is Bye Bye Baby, the sperm and egg that came to form the very successful novella. It's a story that keeps up the power of the opening salvo.

Finally we come to 'Call Me I'm Dying'. It's from 'A Hell Of A Woman: An Anthology Of Female Noir' (edited by Megan Abott and Val McDermid. It brings the collection to a nicely-rounded finish as another canine gets a brief mention. What you get is a head-to-head between an extremely unusual man and his guest as they celebrate their tenth anniversary over their dinner. This one's electric. Full of power. By the time the metaphorical explosive package is revealed, the story already had me hooked. Sparse, sharp and a brilliant example of what can be done when all the flab is cut from a narrative.

It's a great collection all round and a testament to the genius of the man at the helm.

Better still, if you go now it's free.

Fetch.

[Keith Nixon · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fine collection of stories. Hilda's Day Out is highly unusual, we see the action from a dog's perspective (Hilda). He's kidnapped to cheer up a little girl. It's very, very well done. The dog has a dialogue (barking to the humans) and his view of the world is a happy, naive one and dominated by sounds and smells. Smartly done.

Then there's Mother Should Know. A girl who's experienced little in life meets a boy and tries to impress him, but it doesn't work out well.

Bye Bye Baby is a psychological thriller which is also separately published as a novella with the same title. However this is the original and is written from the mother's perspective. Her 7 year old son has gone missing from school and two police constables investigate. Well done with a good twist.

Finally Call Me I'm Dying constructed in a bit of a trademark fashion whereby time is ticking away throughout. A man and woman are having an anniversary dinner but everything is not as it seems. For one the pair only meet once a year and run through a routine. Then the man receives a call, he's told he'll be dead inside 30 minutes. Tense, clever stuff.

[Pearce Hansen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilda is very sweet . . . which I'll bet you thought you'd never hear either from me, or from Al Guthrie. It's so easy to induce a diabetic coma if you overdo the treacle in an animal story -- Al succeeds in making Hilda a vibrant, believable little character, an ANIMAL, not an anthropomorphized little Disney creature, but still sympathetic and (dare I say it again?) sweet. This is a fun tale, worth the read.

If you're looking for dark and nasty noir and feel the title piece isn't quite your cup of tea, the other three bonus shorts are as cold and bitter as the masochist in you could ever hope for. It's hazardous to discuss plot dynamics too much in a short story -- plot spoilers are a real danger when reviewing them. But I will specify that Bye Bye Baby was a real wrencher for me.

This is a decent sampling of Al Guthrie doing some shorts you can while away a bit with. The writing quality is high, the stories are top notch, and this piece is worth your attention.

And Hilda is a little sweetheart :)

[Midnight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilda, the Dandie Dinmont Terrier, tells a short story of abduction and adventure. The Dandie Dinmont is a breed included on the Kennel Club's list of Vulnerable Native Breeds, so it's good to see the breed highlighted to increase extra interest in this old Scottish breed.

Allan Guthrie's excellent works are exceptionally well written, gritty, hard boiled noir thrillers - this story is fast paced, punchy and has a twist to the tale but in a much gentler vein than usual.

A very entertaining quick read with a handful of other short stories thrown in as a bonus - don't miss it!

[Heath Lowrance · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hilda is a lovable and friendly three-legged dog who happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time and gets caught up in the half-baked plans of some sleazy kidnappers. The story is told from Hilda’s P.O.V., and that’s what makes it all so damn charming and fun, elevating what could have been a fairly standard noir-ish tale into something truly memorable. I know, I know—it sounds kinda cutsey. But leave it to Allan Guthrie to make something like this work. Personally, I wouldn’t mind more Hilda stories.

[John · Rating 3 out of 5]

4 short stories and the titular first story is fantastic and worth the price of admission. Told from the perspective of the dog on the cover. the other 3 stories get pretty dark and I found they stuck with me more... not necessarily a *happy* outcome but hats off to Mr Guthrie for creating memorable situations in a few pages.

(FWIW, if I were more of a short story reader I would possibly give this a fourth star.)

[Gregor · Rating 5 out of 5]

haha a must read . Guthrie is the king.

[Colin Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Classic Guthrie! This is great crime story told from a unique perspective. Takes a little shift to get used to it, but once you're in you gotta keep going! 5 stars!