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Two-way split
Robin Greaves is an armed robber whose professionalism is put to the test when he discovers his wife has been sleeping with a fellow gang member. Robin plans the ultimate revenge, but things go from bad to worse when the gang bungles a post office robbery, leaving carnage in their wake. Suddenly they are being stalked by the police, sleazy private eyes and a cold-blooded killer who may be the only one not looking for a cut of the money.
231 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2004
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 43 reviews
November 11, 2012
I was beyond pleasantly surprised at just how bloody good this modern British noir was.
And I do mean bloody in multiple senses, Allan Guthrie pulls no punches in his incredible debut that owes as much to Derek Raymond as he does to James Ellroy. I was hooked from the start by his triple threaded narrative, centred around two days in the life of a convicted murderer working as a debt collector, three crazy armed robbers and the two (basically) amateur PI's that get involved in their lives as a holdup of a post office goes wrong, reading at a furious pace as I tried to keep up with the full throttle, no time to breathe, narration. I spent the entire day at work itching to get home and finish it too.
The grim and dirty description of the working classes of Edinburgh was highly reminiscent of the depressing state of the London found in Raymond's He Died with His Eyes Open; the events depicted in this novel are not common place yet the scene is set so well that you unquestionably accept their reality in the world of Robin, Eddie & Pearce.
Much like the America portrayed in the work of Ellroy the characters feel like real people; conflicted, selfish, greedy, angry, liable to take unexpected actions in the face of danger and violence. I think there was only one truly good person in this book and they were killed right at the beginning. If you're not already anticipating a dark, unhappy piece of noir storytelling that fact should clinch it for you. Aside from not being a particularly nice bunch you're hard pressed to find a real protagonist too, in the sense of hero or anti-hero at least; there's no good guy, no black hat there's just Pearce a man who spent weeks sharpening a screwdriver to kill someone and Robin an ex-mental patient who tried to rob a petrol station with a water pistol and thinks nothing of killing people and in the middle is thirty thousand pounds in a duffle bag.
Guthrie tips his head to the classics of the genre, his amateur PI Kennedy referencing his admiration for Hammett and Chandler et al several times throughout as his raison d'etre. One of only a few brief light moments in the text.
The conflict between Don and Robin (which I can't go in to without major spoilers) really detracted from the overall enjoyment for me and was the only real weak point that stopped me from awarding 5 stars. Whilst it was interesting and unexpected and quite an unusual twist (I felt like there was something similar in a classic noir novel but can't put my finger on which one I'm thinking of - another example of Guthries Golden Period schooling in the genre?) it didn't actually feel necessary and slowed the action down a little. Small thing to complain about overall from an otherwise massively enjoyable new discovery.
I'm going to put Guthrie alongside my other new favourite noir author Don Winslow (very high praise indeed) and desperately hope that his other work lives up to this superb debut.
And I do mean bloody in multiple senses, Allan Guthrie pulls no punches in his incredible debut that owes as much to Derek Raymond as he does to James Ellroy. I was hooked from the start by his triple threaded narrative, centred around two days in the life of a convicted murderer working as a debt collector, three crazy armed robbers and the two (basically) amateur PI's that get involved in their lives as a holdup of a post office goes wrong, reading at a furious pace as I tried to keep up with the full throttle, no time to breathe, narration. I spent the entire day at work itching to get home and finish it too.
The grim and dirty description of the working classes of Edinburgh was highly reminiscent of the depressing state of the London found in Raymond's He Died with His Eyes Open; the events depicted in this novel are not common place yet the scene is set so well that you unquestionably accept their reality in the world of Robin, Eddie & Pearce.
Much like the America portrayed in the work of Ellroy the characters feel like real people; conflicted, selfish, greedy, angry, liable to take unexpected actions in the face of danger and violence. I think there was only one truly good person in this book and they were killed right at the beginning. If you're not already anticipating a dark, unhappy piece of noir storytelling that fact should clinch it for you. Aside from not being a particularly nice bunch you're hard pressed to find a real protagonist too, in the sense of hero or anti-hero at least; there's no good guy, no black hat there's just Pearce a man who spent weeks sharpening a screwdriver to kill someone and Robin an ex-mental patient who tried to rob a petrol station with a water pistol and thinks nothing of killing people and in the middle is thirty thousand pounds in a duffle bag.
Guthrie tips his head to the classics of the genre, his amateur PI Kennedy referencing his admiration for Hammett and Chandler et al several times throughout as his raison d'etre. One of only a few brief light moments in the text.
The conflict between Don and Robin (which I can't go in to without major spoilers) really detracted from the overall enjoyment for me and was the only real weak point that stopped me from awarding 5 stars. Whilst it was interesting and unexpected and quite an unusual twist (I felt like there was something similar in a classic noir novel but can't put my finger on which one I'm thinking of - another example of Guthries Golden Period schooling in the genre?) it didn't actually feel necessary and slowed the action down a little. Small thing to complain about overall from an otherwise massively enjoyable new discovery.
I'm going to put Guthrie alongside my other new favourite noir author Don Winslow (very high praise indeed) and desperately hope that his other work lives up to this superb debut.
January 10, 2011
This is a book that starts with a punch on the nose and doesn't stop beating you up until you reach the final full stop where I dare you not to shake your fist at Allan Guthrie and shout with frustration, 'You bastard!' and then scream.
The book challenges our perceptions of the characters that inhabit the parts of Edinburgh where tourists won't visit, where people have to keep their heads down when they are walking so they don't step in the 'dog shit.'
This is not a charming book in any way. Robin, the main character, suspects his wife Carol of cheating on him with his best friend, Eddie. The detective agency he has employed shows him photographic proof that his suspicions are indeed true but this is when Guthrie delivers his first 'What?' moment to the reader. Robin, who appeared to be a fairly normal, if somewhat inadequate man, punches the investigator on the nose, breaking it and leaves him with blood running down his face.
Should we feel sorry for Robin? His wife, after all is cheating on him. Chaos erupts when Robin, Carol and Eddie hold up a Post Office, forcing Robin to put the issue of adultery aside as he struggles to carry through the robbery. From this point the story quickly spirals into a chaotic world of schizophrenic proportions that none of the characters can control.
Feuds and vendettas abound as revenge is sought for deaths and murders. Guthrie takes great enjoyment describing in minute detail the torture of victims as he does with Thompson in the massage parlour.
Any sense of morality is challenged throughout the book when we are asked to consider if it is just and acceptable that violent people should die violently. Themes of greed and revenge are layered throughout the book but Guthrie also delves deeply into his characters' psyche and describes a full mental breakdown very vividly.
Two-Way Split fits very easily into what is expected from Tartan Noir. But this is Stuart MacBride without the humour or moral compass. Interestingly, none of Guthrie's characters are without blemish, there is no relief to be found anywhere. This is not a comfortable read, but read it you must, and I can't wait to delve into Guthrie's black, dark world again. You may have to come and save me......
The book challenges our perceptions of the characters that inhabit the parts of Edinburgh where tourists won't visit, where people have to keep their heads down when they are walking so they don't step in the 'dog shit.'
This is not a charming book in any way. Robin, the main character, suspects his wife Carol of cheating on him with his best friend, Eddie. The detective agency he has employed shows him photographic proof that his suspicions are indeed true but this is when Guthrie delivers his first 'What?' moment to the reader. Robin, who appeared to be a fairly normal, if somewhat inadequate man, punches the investigator on the nose, breaking it and leaves him with blood running down his face.
Should we feel sorry for Robin? His wife, after all is cheating on him. Chaos erupts when Robin, Carol and Eddie hold up a Post Office, forcing Robin to put the issue of adultery aside as he struggles to carry through the robbery. From this point the story quickly spirals into a chaotic world of schizophrenic proportions that none of the characters can control.
Feuds and vendettas abound as revenge is sought for deaths and murders. Guthrie takes great enjoyment describing in minute detail the torture of victims as he does with Thompson in the massage parlour.
Any sense of morality is challenged throughout the book when we are asked to consider if it is just and acceptable that violent people should die violently. Themes of greed and revenge are layered throughout the book but Guthrie also delves deeply into his characters' psyche and describes a full mental breakdown very vividly.
Two-Way Split fits very easily into what is expected from Tartan Noir. But this is Stuart MacBride without the humour or moral compass. Interestingly, none of Guthrie's characters are without blemish, there is no relief to be found anywhere. This is not a comfortable read, but read it you must, and I can't wait to delve into Guthrie's black, dark world again. You may have to come and save me......
July 8, 2011
Recently, Brian Lindenmuth, my editor at Snubnose Press, made a comment about one of my forthcoming novels, The Bitch, which was a wonderful compliment to it. He said, “I thoroughly enjoyed it and I appreciated that it was a dark novel that ended darkly. So many novels are dark in the telling but pull back at the end, leaving me to shake my head.”
Normally, I wouldn’t insert myself or my own work into the review of another’s work—that smacks of crude and blatant self-promotion--but Brian’s quote so perfectly fit my assessment of Allan Guthrie’s novel, Two-Way Split, I wanted to give him credit and then trust that the reader of this review and Mr. Guthrie himself, wouldn’t take offense at doing so.
Like Brian, I am so often disappointed when reaching the end of a noir or crime fiction when the work takes a major turn and ends with a “Hollywood happy-sappy” finale. You know, where the mass intellect is satisfied that the person they’re rooting for throughout the book didn’t end up in jail or get killed or maimed or something terrible. I always recall what screenwriter Callie Khouri went through with her brilliant screenplay of Thelma & Louise, when the “suits” at the studio wanted to let the two women live at the end—perhaps go off to prison for a few years and then emerge as happy campers. Thank god, Khouri resisted all of that silly nonsense and had Thelma and Louise plunge to their deaths off the Grand Canyon!
And, here we get another writer who doesn’t bow down to the knucklehead mouth-breathers who prefer such sappy endings! You know those folks. They’re the ones who keep that political correctness bullshit going and whose spiritual forebears were responsible in earlier ages for changing the Cinderella story where the evil stepsisters originally cut off their toes to fit the slipper into the insipid and soulless version kiddies are subjected to today. Those folks who don’t like to see much truth in their fiction… Or in their own lives…
Two-Way Split starts out dark, gets even darker, and ends in almost total blackness. Superb! A novel for intelligent readers. Halleluiah! Sharon Sheehe Stark, a brilliant writer who led one of my workshops during one of my MFA residencies at Vermont College put forth to us her very original and against-the-common-herd-mentality of fiction teachers, when she dismissed the prevailing writing theory of creating characters, who promoted the technique of “having your bad guy like kittens,” as a sort of trick to get the reader to like him or her.
Sharon gave contrarian advice. “Paint your character as dark as you possibly can. Don’t make him ‘love kittens’ or any of that crapola. Create a real person who hates cats as much as he hates everything else. Do not fall temptation to giving him any of those ‘saving graces.’ If you do that (and here is her genius), then the light will shine through the cracks.”
This is precisely what Guthrie does in his novel. He gives us characters who act honestly, according to their view of life, as flawed as that view may be to those who prefer their characters to end up in AA or forgiving those who trespassed against them. Ain’t happenin’ in Two-Way Split.
And, best of all, this is a novel that is enormously entertaining. The words such as “riveting” and the phrases such as “couldn’t put it down,” or “this was a page-turner,” are overused in assessments like this—many times, undeservedly--but dang it, all of those and more apply to this novel. I couldn’t put it down; it was riveting; it was decidedly a page-turner… and I’ve become a huge, huge fan of Guthrie. This is going to cost me some bucks, as now that I’ve read Two-Way Split, I have to buy the rest of his novels… and he has a few!
I’ll leave it to others to deliver plot points and all that. I just want to get out the message that this is a powerful book and one you’ll thank me for recommending to you. One thing I will mention is the title. It’s one of those killer titles in literature. It works on several levels which I won’t reveal. You’ll just have to read it to find that out.
One note about the ending. As you can guess, this isn’t one of those “happy-sappy Hollywood endings.” It is, quite so, one of the best endings I’ve ever read. A good ending represents both a win and a loss. In Thelma & Louise, for example, the “loss” is fairly clear. They die. The win takes a bit more thought, but it’s also clear. The two women achieve their independence from men. Two-Way Split also has a profound win and a profound loss. You’ll have to read it to see. I promise you it’ll be worth it.
I teach creative writing. You can bet I’ll be using this novel in my classes. I’m already using it to inform my own writing.
September 28, 2011
Guthrie’s debut showcases fragmented moments of cruelty delivered in multi POV episodic-like crime noir. The detached from reality Robin Greaves changes perspective roles continually as the story evolves from dour husband seeking proof of a cheating spouse to armed robber with a questionable state of mind. While protagonist, Pearce, a hard man with a heart of gold and fist of full of steel delivers punchy dialog and action as he seeks retribution for harm done to a family member. Bit players and PI’s Gray and Kennedy add a touch of sleuth to the slaughter with eyes firmly on a payday and balance out the craziness of brazen armed robbers Carol (Robin’s wife) and Eddie (Robin’s wife lover). All these characters converge on a central interlocking plot crafted to perfection with a surprising amount of time dedicated to each back-story and 15 minutes of fame. I liked the thought provoking initial interaction between Don and Robin which begs the question ‘Is he crazy? Or did I miss something?’ – a detail not disclosed until the slippery red ending. All in all, ‘Two-Way Spilt’ is a fast paced, well plotted slice of noir with memorable characters and violent scenes aplenty – 4 Stars.
June 19, 2010
Allan Guthrie writes full throttled, bad tempered, and merciless pulp, but with a sense of humor although a remorselessly bleak one. A breathless sequence of betrayals, murder, stupidity, torture, insanity that has as its heart a simple caper gone very wrong story.
September 2, 2011
'The inward fire eats the soft marrow away, and the internal wound bleeds on in silence' (Virgil, The Aeneid, 4.93-94)
Something got me in its grip while reading this masterpiece of noir. Something like a green, bent mamba. TWO-WAY SPLIT prevents access to oxygen by means of a steadily tightening plot. Things start out slow. Robin Greaves, a failed pianist stuck in a fragile state of mind like an animal that's hunted for too small a hole, has hired an oddly styrofoam-esque, clumsy PI. Greaves' wife Carol seems to carry on with the couple's best pal Eddie. When proof of infidelity gets delivered, the pace of events gains sudden momentum, and madness is closer than the reader knows.
Guthrie is scarily in control of his material, which seems completely shaped for a camera. His approach is so sober, so clinical, so external that he just hovers above his made up bunch of battered characters instead of getting involved: explanations, let alone hope never catches up with the goings-on. The style is impersonal and hard; the short, often lewd dialogs both echo and mock the very terror of lowlife existences and appear fit for the darkest side of screenworld. (Can't wait!)
Time, its passage has an especial home in TWO-WAY SPLIT: the reader cannot stay away from annihilation no matter how hard he tries, because the author turns toward ticking clocks all the time. Maybe the story's crimes and corpses itself are a diversion. Brutality and chaos may dominate the narrative, but the real question is, what is happening to sick souls cracked like nuts - souls that won't become whole again, while lives pass a shade faster than you expect? Guthrie zaps his readers with chases, violence and more chases; there's beating and killing and swearing and revenge attempts until the plot rotates into something that can best be described as the final, calm taking back of all future possibilities and prospects: game over.
In the course of pulpy events the reader gets to know a messy crew of underdog protagonists whose fates appear oddly glued together, then flung into a Scottish winter. The sky above Edinburgh is cold and empty - no deities to turn to. Robin, his wife Carol and accomplice Eddie screw up a post office robbery. Pearce, an ex-convict who drifts forlorn through his stony garden of thoughts ever since his sister Muriel's drug-related death more than a decade ago, loses his mother during said heist, which prompts him to turn to lunatic thoughts of revenge - the theme of his itchy life set on the edge of nothing. He also happened to trust the wrong woman and struggles with loan shark issues, a fact that leads to Ailsa's door. Her situation's black, bleak, sick as well: no money, no hiding from a hot-headed ex-bedfellow for her and her daughter. A deep deep yes would be her answer to a caring guy, but this is Guthrie land, where good does no good, and even potted plants look evil. Which is why Robin's brother Don can't free himself from harmful formulas in his attempt to reconnect, and gumshoe Kennedy fails to become that very different person, one hope away.
Go get a hold of this book. It listens carefully to how underdogs talk. It offers believable, though not lovable characters. This is Guthrie land - a nice place that makes you consider to sleep with a gun under your pillow.
'When I'm laid in earth, may my wrongs create no trouble in thy breast. Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate'
Henry Purcell, Dido's lament, Dido and Aeneas
Something got me in its grip while reading this masterpiece of noir. Something like a green, bent mamba. TWO-WAY SPLIT prevents access to oxygen by means of a steadily tightening plot. Things start out slow. Robin Greaves, a failed pianist stuck in a fragile state of mind like an animal that's hunted for too small a hole, has hired an oddly styrofoam-esque, clumsy PI. Greaves' wife Carol seems to carry on with the couple's best pal Eddie. When proof of infidelity gets delivered, the pace of events gains sudden momentum, and madness is closer than the reader knows.
Guthrie is scarily in control of his material, which seems completely shaped for a camera. His approach is so sober, so clinical, so external that he just hovers above his made up bunch of battered characters instead of getting involved: explanations, let alone hope never catches up with the goings-on. The style is impersonal and hard; the short, often lewd dialogs both echo and mock the very terror of lowlife existences and appear fit for the darkest side of screenworld. (Can't wait!)
Time, its passage has an especial home in TWO-WAY SPLIT: the reader cannot stay away from annihilation no matter how hard he tries, because the author turns toward ticking clocks all the time. Maybe the story's crimes and corpses itself are a diversion. Brutality and chaos may dominate the narrative, but the real question is, what is happening to sick souls cracked like nuts - souls that won't become whole again, while lives pass a shade faster than you expect? Guthrie zaps his readers with chases, violence and more chases; there's beating and killing and swearing and revenge attempts until the plot rotates into something that can best be described as the final, calm taking back of all future possibilities and prospects: game over.
In the course of pulpy events the reader gets to know a messy crew of underdog protagonists whose fates appear oddly glued together, then flung into a Scottish winter. The sky above Edinburgh is cold and empty - no deities to turn to. Robin, his wife Carol and accomplice Eddie screw up a post office robbery. Pearce, an ex-convict who drifts forlorn through his stony garden of thoughts ever since his sister Muriel's drug-related death more than a decade ago, loses his mother during said heist, which prompts him to turn to lunatic thoughts of revenge - the theme of his itchy life set on the edge of nothing. He also happened to trust the wrong woman and struggles with loan shark issues, a fact that leads to Ailsa's door. Her situation's black, bleak, sick as well: no money, no hiding from a hot-headed ex-bedfellow for her and her daughter. A deep deep yes would be her answer to a caring guy, but this is Guthrie land, where good does no good, and even potted plants look evil. Which is why Robin's brother Don can't free himself from harmful formulas in his attempt to reconnect, and gumshoe Kennedy fails to become that very different person, one hope away.
Go get a hold of this book. It listens carefully to how underdogs talk. It offers believable, though not lovable characters. This is Guthrie land - a nice place that makes you consider to sleep with a gun under your pillow.
'When I'm laid in earth, may my wrongs create no trouble in thy breast. Remember me, but ah! Forget my fate'
Henry Purcell, Dido's lament, Dido and Aeneas
January 2, 2014
Robin Greaves is having a bad day. A PI has confirmed his wife, Carol, is having an affair with his friend and colleague, Eddie Soutar. Trouble is the three of them work together and have a long planned job today – robbing a post office. Then things go from bad to worse when Robin kills the cashier…
It’s hard to believe Two-Way Split is the author’s debut novel. This is a gritty slice of noir that develops additional layers as it progresses with plenty of twists along the way from a crime novel into a psychological thriller. Description is thin on the ground, resulting in fast paced prose where the reader is right in the midst of the action – no words are wasted.
Guthrie neatly sets off four arcs. First, he immediately creates tension and mystery when, in the opening pages, Robin meets the PI to discover his wife is having an affair. Robin reacts badly and strikes Gray. There’s clearly something dark simmering in Robin’s mind.
We then meet Pearce. He’s an ex-con, just finished a ten year stretch for murdering the drug dealer who supplied his deceased sister and is currently (albeit reluctantly) employed as a debt collector for a local crime boss. He’s big and tough. Short on temper, long on morals.
Three, there’s Kennedy, he works for Gray and under the latter’s instruction follows Robin when he leaves the PI’s office. Finally, there’s Eddie and Carol, Robin’s partners in crime, but now his betrayers as well.
Robin can barely suppress his feelings when they meet. His head is all over the place. But meet they must because they’ve been planning a robbery at a local post office. Eddie and Robin go inside, with Carol as the driver. Violence is Eddie’s key to maintaining control, but it goes horribly wrong and the cashier winds up dead, all witnessed by Kennedy. The cashier, howeve,r is Pearce’s mother and he sets off to gain revenge on her killer.
If this sounds horribly complicated, that’s my fault, because it’s not. Guthrie manages the strands well and gradually draws them together. He employs a ‘ticking clock’ with each section opening with the time to enhance the pace and tension. However, this novel is much more than greed, murder and revenge. Robin’s mental state deteriorates and Two-Way Split then encompasses his collapse and the aftermath, whilst in parallel Pearce is closing in, aided and abetted by Kennedy and Gray for their own ends. I’d love to say more here, but I don’t want to give the story away.
I thoroughly enjoyed Two-Way Split. The characters are well drawn, the dialogue is excellent. The sense of place is almost entirely up to the reader to create, as mentioned previously the descriptive element is kept to a minimum. Just enough of a brushstroke to give a sense of the background. Difficult to do, but Guthrie pulls it off. All in all an excellent read.
**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**
It’s hard to believe Two-Way Split is the author’s debut novel. This is a gritty slice of noir that develops additional layers as it progresses with plenty of twists along the way from a crime novel into a psychological thriller. Description is thin on the ground, resulting in fast paced prose where the reader is right in the midst of the action – no words are wasted.
Guthrie neatly sets off four arcs. First, he immediately creates tension and mystery when, in the opening pages, Robin meets the PI to discover his wife is having an affair. Robin reacts badly and strikes Gray. There’s clearly something dark simmering in Robin’s mind.
We then meet Pearce. He’s an ex-con, just finished a ten year stretch for murdering the drug dealer who supplied his deceased sister and is currently (albeit reluctantly) employed as a debt collector for a local crime boss. He’s big and tough. Short on temper, long on morals.
Three, there’s Kennedy, he works for Gray and under the latter’s instruction follows Robin when he leaves the PI’s office. Finally, there’s Eddie and Carol, Robin’s partners in crime, but now his betrayers as well.
Robin can barely suppress his feelings when they meet. His head is all over the place. But meet they must because they’ve been planning a robbery at a local post office. Eddie and Robin go inside, with Carol as the driver. Violence is Eddie’s key to maintaining control, but it goes horribly wrong and the cashier winds up dead, all witnessed by Kennedy. The cashier, howeve,r is Pearce’s mother and he sets off to gain revenge on her killer.
If this sounds horribly complicated, that’s my fault, because it’s not. Guthrie manages the strands well and gradually draws them together. He employs a ‘ticking clock’ with each section opening with the time to enhance the pace and tension. However, this novel is much more than greed, murder and revenge. Robin’s mental state deteriorates and Two-Way Split then encompasses his collapse and the aftermath, whilst in parallel Pearce is closing in, aided and abetted by Kennedy and Gray for their own ends. I’d love to say more here, but I don’t want to give the story away.
I thoroughly enjoyed Two-Way Split. The characters are well drawn, the dialogue is excellent. The sense of place is almost entirely up to the reader to create, as mentioned previously the descriptive element is kept to a minimum. Just enough of a brushstroke to give a sense of the background. Difficult to do, but Guthrie pulls it off. All in all an excellent read.
**Originally reviewed for Books & Pals blog. May have received free review copy.**
September 12, 2016
Edinburgh, dead of winter Robin Greaves is an armed robber whose professionalism is put to the test when he discovers his wife has been sleeping with a fellow gang member. Robin plans the ultimate revenge, but things go from bad to worse when the gang bungles a post office robbery, leaving carnage in their wake. Suddenly they are stalked by the police, sleazy private eyes, and a cold-blooded killer who may be the only one not looking for a cut of the money. This lean and muscular crime caper with a seriously twisted dark side.-From book's description
“Jesus, he wanted to reach out & stroke her cheek, touch her lips, trace the straight line of the one part of her body she liked. But he couldn't. Instead he imagined ramming his knuckles into the slender bridge of her oh-so-cherished nose. Wham. The surprise in her eyes. Wham. Blood spurting out of those pinched slits of nostrils. Wham. Blood running down her face, wham, through her fingers, wham, on her lips, wham, in her mouth, wham, wham, wham.”
More unhinged mayhem from Allan Guthrie.
4 stars.
“Jesus, he wanted to reach out & stroke her cheek, touch her lips, trace the straight line of the one part of her body she liked. But he couldn't. Instead he imagined ramming his knuckles into the slender bridge of her oh-so-cherished nose. Wham. The surprise in her eyes. Wham. Blood spurting out of those pinched slits of nostrils. Wham. Blood running down her face, wham, through her fingers, wham, on her lips, wham, in her mouth, wham, wham, wham.”
More unhinged mayhem from Allan Guthrie.
4 stars.
June 9, 2022
My previous experience with Allan Guthrie was delightful, so I was excited to read this book. Unfortunately, Two-Way Split, though full of potential, fell just a tad short for me.
There's a lot to unpack in this novel that follows the story of a small gang of miscreants who rob a post office. Their plan is to use violence to intimidate the employees into full cooperation and, at first, it seems to be working. However, the best laid plans... well, you know things will go off the rails the minute that the son of the postal worker who is being held hostage shows up to take her to lunch. He's not just any old boy, either. He's an ex-con, fresh out of prison for having killed the murderer of his sister. A man with a cool demeanor and one who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
The gang consists of three rather strange individuals, centered around Robin Greaves, who is a deeply disturbed man. He's even more unhinged since discovering that his wife has been sleeping with a fellow gang-member. Robin is also apparently schizophrenic, actively hallucinating an alter ego called Donald, who appears to have a psychopathic streak bent on violence. And of course, the gang is being pursued by the police, followed by a PI, and ultimately, the very dangerous ex-con bent on revenge.
Thing is, the plot is an interesting one, but where it loses a star for me is the absolute confusion caused by Guthrie writing the hallucinatory dialogue between Robin and Donald. It's just difficult to keep it all straight, especially at first when one wonders if there is, in fact, another individual involved. The author does offer a very interesting twist toward the end that helps clarify things somewhat, but ultimately, I found it just a bit too confusing. Also, the most sympathetic character in the entire book is the ex-con who'd been bent on revenge and had a chance for redemption with a woman whom he'd protected earlier in the story. Guthrie kinda leaves that one hanging out there and, for this reader at least, failed to bring that character's arc home.
So, a good, but less than great novel, from an author who clearly had some writing chops.
There's a lot to unpack in this novel that follows the story of a small gang of miscreants who rob a post office. Their plan is to use violence to intimidate the employees into full cooperation and, at first, it seems to be working. However, the best laid plans... well, you know things will go off the rails the minute that the son of the postal worker who is being held hostage shows up to take her to lunch. He's not just any old boy, either. He's an ex-con, fresh out of prison for having killed the murderer of his sister. A man with a cool demeanor and one who doesn't suffer fools gladly.
The gang consists of three rather strange individuals, centered around Robin Greaves, who is a deeply disturbed man. He's even more unhinged since discovering that his wife has been sleeping with a fellow gang-member. Robin is also apparently schizophrenic, actively hallucinating an alter ego called Donald, who appears to have a psychopathic streak bent on violence. And of course, the gang is being pursued by the police, followed by a PI, and ultimately, the very dangerous ex-con bent on revenge.
Thing is, the plot is an interesting one, but where it loses a star for me is the absolute confusion caused by Guthrie writing the hallucinatory dialogue between Robin and Donald. It's just difficult to keep it all straight, especially at first when one wonders if there is, in fact, another individual involved. The author does offer a very interesting twist toward the end that helps clarify things somewhat, but ultimately, I found it just a bit too confusing. Also, the most sympathetic character in the entire book is the ex-con who'd been bent on revenge and had a chance for redemption with a woman whom he'd protected earlier in the story. Guthrie kinda leaves that one hanging out there and, for this reader at least, failed to bring that character's arc home.
So, a good, but less than great novel, from an author who clearly had some writing chops.
August 17, 2022
Disturbed bank robber Robin discovers his wife is playing away with a mate, which you just know won't end well. Mum-loving Pearce is just out of the nick after meting out a bit of street justice on the dealer responsible for the OD of his sister. A post office robbery goes a bit pear-shaped and a couple of sleazy Philip Marlowe wannabes have their own axe to grind. I'll be honest and say that this one lost me in places, necessitating a bit of flipping back to work out which Edinburgh hardcase was beating up which and why, but overall this was a good read. Makes Ian Rankin look like P.G. Wodehouse.
October 3, 2018
Personalmente ho fatto fatica a finirlo e quando si fatica a finire un giallo non è mai un buon segno. Probabilmente non gli ho dato la doverosa continuità di lettura o forse, semplicemente, non ci sono entrato in sintonia. Fatto sta che la trama mi è risultata contorta e i personaggi confusi. Ho letto sicuramente di meglio e il finale un po' onirico mi ha dato il colpo di grazie!
Want to read
May 28, 2020Recommended as one of his Top 10 Scottish Crime Novels by Craig Robertson in his Guardian article dated 27 May 2020.
August 2, 2020
Darkest of the dark
Wow! These characters are lost, hopeless, and desperate. I'm not sure how many people died in this story but it was a misadventure of the lowest order. So brilliantly written by Guthrie that you can taste the blood.
Wow! These characters are lost, hopeless, and desperate. I'm not sure how many people died in this story but it was a misadventure of the lowest order. So brilliantly written by Guthrie that you can taste the blood.
September 14, 2020
Who's Talking?
Multiple characters, each with his/her point of view and individual storylines, are deftly managed by Guthrie. A fully entertaining crime story that requires a reader's attention to the completion of all stories - but wait. There might be more.
Multiple characters, each with his/her point of view and individual storylines, are deftly managed by Guthrie. A fully entertaining crime story that requires a reader's attention to the completion of all stories - but wait. There might be more.
May 20, 2019
Un bellissimo noir. Non smette mai sorprenderti. E tra una risata e tanto amato in gola, questa storia ti si aggrappa dentro. Bello.
Che gran lettura davvero, gente.
Che gran lettura davvero, gente.
June 29, 2019
My second Guthrie and I have to say I'm impressed. Tight character and plot.
January 21, 2021
A 21st century "Gun Crazy", with Scotland standing in for California. Off beat doesn`t begin to tell this tale.
January 2, 2022
Different, would read him again
September 1, 2013
Two way split è il titolo originale di questo romanzo tartan noir di Allan Guthrie, titolo che rende maggior ragione di uno dei personaggi chiave del libro , il pianista classico Robin Greaves, che le contorte strade della vita hanno reso rapinatore di banche e psicopatico affetto , appunto, da sdoppiamento della personalità.
Le vicende si svolgono nell'arco di due giorni in una grigia e invernale Edimburgo, ben lontana dai ricordi festivalieri e divertiti che possano averne degli "allora" giovani studenti, andati lì ad imparare l'inglese.
Casermoni vissuti d'abbandono, sobborghi violenti , una generale assenza di speranza che contorna la città e i personaggi di questa vicenda.
Edimburgo è stata piuttosto parca nell'offrire musicisti di talento al ricco panorama inglese e, nell'associare libro e musica, preferisco proporvi agli sconosciuti Idlewind , troppo simili agli Smiths (di Manchaster), un altrettanto sconosciuto ai più , James Grand, la cui canzone ,Winter , riflette il clima di questo particolare noir.
Linguaggio crudo, a tratti violento, Guthrie alterna periodi brevissimi, a sottolineare l'azione, a periodi più lunghi e descrittivi ad immergere nel circostante; il risultato sono alcune pagine di ottima scrittura, immersi nella vicenda, nei suoi ambienti e nei suoi protagonisti.
"Scala a sinistra. Su per i gradini a tutta velocità. A perdifiato. "Muriel!" Ascensore subito davanti, la porta che gli sbadigliava in faccia. Petto in tensione, polmoni in fiamme, entrò nell'ascensore, inghiottito dalla sua bocca graffiata e di un colore grigio acciaio. La porta si chiuse con un rumore metallico che gli fece spuntare il sudore sulla fronte. L'aria stantia gli riempì le narici. La mano gli tremava quando premette il pulsante per l'ottavo piano. Era arrivato troppo tardi."
I personaggi si muovono tra miseria, tradimenti, droga, rapine, ricatti, all'interno di rapporti umani che hanno nella sola immediatezza di convenienza il loro essere.
Nessun futuro possibile ma solo brevi pezzi di vita, a volte solo ore, dove si crede di poter cambiare il destino, di aver trovato una persona, una ragione ma, poi, tutto riprende il suo inevitabile corso.
Difficile non affezionarsi a Pearce, che odia gli spacciatori responsabili della prematura morte della sorella, ritrovata dopo due giorni, violentata, anche da morta.
Un uomo per il quale essere uno contro due era tutto sommato un giusto equilibrio. Un uomo che avrebbe potuto sfidare un muro di mattoni e costringerlo a chiedere pietà.
Pearce ama la mamma , si innamora e viene truffato, difende i deboli e le donne maltrattate, pochi e semplici principi, ma resta quello che è , in una vita che non consente altre possibilità se non la vendetta, uccide, ruba, riscuote soldi, picchia. E' solo .
"Sta bene? Non ha una bella cera. - Nemmeno tu, - disse Pearce. - Io sto morendo. Tu che scusa hai ? Il ragazzo appariva sconvolto. - Soffro di vertigini. - Ormai sei qui, - disse Pearce. - Vuoi aiutarmi o cosa ?- Sono qui per i soldi."
Questo libro mi è stato consigliato da un amico contattato via Goodreads, che ringrazio.
E'una buona lettura e, se vi piace il genere, apre le porte ad un genere letterario , il tartan noir che raggruppa altri interessanti scrittori scozzesi come William McIlvanney, Ian Rankin e altri.
Tra questi Alan guthrie , di cui è da poco uscito anche Dietro le sbarre
Le vicende si svolgono nell'arco di due giorni in una grigia e invernale Edimburgo, ben lontana dai ricordi festivalieri e divertiti che possano averne degli "allora" giovani studenti, andati lì ad imparare l'inglese.
Casermoni vissuti d'abbandono, sobborghi violenti , una generale assenza di speranza che contorna la città e i personaggi di questa vicenda.
Edimburgo è stata piuttosto parca nell'offrire musicisti di talento al ricco panorama inglese e, nell'associare libro e musica, preferisco proporvi agli sconosciuti Idlewind , troppo simili agli Smiths (di Manchaster), un altrettanto sconosciuto ai più , James Grand, la cui canzone ,Winter , riflette il clima di questo particolare noir.
Linguaggio crudo, a tratti violento, Guthrie alterna periodi brevissimi, a sottolineare l'azione, a periodi più lunghi e descrittivi ad immergere nel circostante; il risultato sono alcune pagine di ottima scrittura, immersi nella vicenda, nei suoi ambienti e nei suoi protagonisti.
"Scala a sinistra. Su per i gradini a tutta velocità. A perdifiato. "Muriel!" Ascensore subito davanti, la porta che gli sbadigliava in faccia. Petto in tensione, polmoni in fiamme, entrò nell'ascensore, inghiottito dalla sua bocca graffiata e di un colore grigio acciaio. La porta si chiuse con un rumore metallico che gli fece spuntare il sudore sulla fronte. L'aria stantia gli riempì le narici. La mano gli tremava quando premette il pulsante per l'ottavo piano. Era arrivato troppo tardi."
I personaggi si muovono tra miseria, tradimenti, droga, rapine, ricatti, all'interno di rapporti umani che hanno nella sola immediatezza di convenienza il loro essere.
Nessun futuro possibile ma solo brevi pezzi di vita, a volte solo ore, dove si crede di poter cambiare il destino, di aver trovato una persona, una ragione ma, poi, tutto riprende il suo inevitabile corso.
Difficile non affezionarsi a Pearce, che odia gli spacciatori responsabili della prematura morte della sorella, ritrovata dopo due giorni, violentata, anche da morta.
Un uomo per il quale essere uno contro due era tutto sommato un giusto equilibrio. Un uomo che avrebbe potuto sfidare un muro di mattoni e costringerlo a chiedere pietà.
Pearce ama la mamma , si innamora e viene truffato, difende i deboli e le donne maltrattate, pochi e semplici principi, ma resta quello che è , in una vita che non consente altre possibilità se non la vendetta, uccide, ruba, riscuote soldi, picchia. E' solo .
"Sta bene? Non ha una bella cera. - Nemmeno tu, - disse Pearce. - Io sto morendo. Tu che scusa hai ? Il ragazzo appariva sconvolto. - Soffro di vertigini. - Ormai sei qui, - disse Pearce. - Vuoi aiutarmi o cosa ?- Sono qui per i soldi."
Questo libro mi è stato consigliato da un amico contattato via Goodreads, che ringrazio.
E'una buona lettura e, se vi piace il genere, apre le porte ad un genere letterario , il tartan noir che raggruppa altri interessanti scrittori scozzesi come William McIlvanney, Ian Rankin e altri.
Tra questi Alan guthrie , di cui è da poco uscito anche Dietro le sbarre
December 17, 2012
This was OK whilst it latest, but strangely, instantly forgettable.
A noirish crime caper set in edinburgh (but not using the city anywhere near as effectively as rebus). What I really liked was having the character list at the start of the book. I could do with this now to write the review.
We have a group of three armed robbers - with one an ex copper shagging the other ones (Robin's) mrs who is a member of the team.
Then there are a couple of private eyes that have been hired by Robin to spy on his wife. For some reason they continue the spying and see an armed robbery that they have committed. And then try to blackmail him.
In another thread, we have a well hard convict who starts work as a friendly enforcer for a loan shark - beating up her boyfriend who has beaten her up. He's that hard that he refuses to apply for parole for a beating which he was drunk at the time and it transpires that he didnt commit. He does not want to owe anyone anything.
His mom is killed by the armed robbers in the raid on the post office. Mainly cause of his meddling.
Then a character calls Don is introduced and in the final pages where everyone starts bumping everyone else off, it transpires that he is an hallucination caused by him not taking his drugs.
Its that sort of a book. Better than other first novels but not a classic and possibly not strong enough to make me go out looking for others by the author.
A noirish crime caper set in edinburgh (but not using the city anywhere near as effectively as rebus). What I really liked was having the character list at the start of the book. I could do with this now to write the review.
We have a group of three armed robbers - with one an ex copper shagging the other ones (Robin's) mrs who is a member of the team.
Then there are a couple of private eyes that have been hired by Robin to spy on his wife. For some reason they continue the spying and see an armed robbery that they have committed. And then try to blackmail him.
In another thread, we have a well hard convict who starts work as a friendly enforcer for a loan shark - beating up her boyfriend who has beaten her up. He's that hard that he refuses to apply for parole for a beating which he was drunk at the time and it transpires that he didnt commit. He does not want to owe anyone anything.
His mom is killed by the armed robbers in the raid on the post office. Mainly cause of his meddling.
Then a character calls Don is introduced and in the final pages where everyone starts bumping everyone else off, it transpires that he is an hallucination caused by him not taking his drugs.
Its that sort of a book. Better than other first novels but not a classic and possibly not strong enough to make me go out looking for others by the author.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 17, 2012
Storia interessante. 2 protagonisti principali: Robin, un ex studente di pianoforte, che una volta interrotti gli studi causa problemi alle mani diventa rapinatore di banche, insieme alla compagna e all'amante di lui; e Pearce ragazzone un po' imbranato appena uscito di galera dopo 10 anni per avver ucciso lo spacciatore che ha provocato la morte della sorella.
Le storie dei due si intrecciano in quanto in una rapina alle poste Robin uccide per errore la madre di Pearce (cassiera dell'agenzia). Storie che si intrecciano grazie ad un terzo personaggio, Kennedy, assistente dell'investigatore privato che aveva fornito a Robin le prove dell'infedeltà della sua compagna.
Si innesca quindi un vortice di vendette trasversali che coinvolgono tutti i personaggi...
La storia è abbastanza avvincente, senza però "mordere" troppo. Gli enormi problemi psicologici di Robin non convincono a sufficenza e Edinburgo, città in cui si svolgono gli eventi, è un contorno marginale, da cui si poteva (secondo me) ricavare di più
Le storie dei due si intrecciano in quanto in una rapina alle poste Robin uccide per errore la madre di Pearce (cassiera dell'agenzia). Storie che si intrecciano grazie ad un terzo personaggio, Kennedy, assistente dell'investigatore privato che aveva fornito a Robin le prove dell'infedeltà della sua compagna.
Si innesca quindi un vortice di vendette trasversali che coinvolgono tutti i personaggi...
La storia è abbastanza avvincente, senza però "mordere" troppo. Gli enormi problemi psicologici di Robin non convincono a sufficenza e Edinburgo, città in cui si svolgono gli eventi, è un contorno marginale, da cui si poteva (secondo me) ricavare di più
May 3, 2015
I really didn't enjoy this as much as I hoped I would.
Pearce has just been released from prison after ten years for murdering a dealer responsible for the death of his sister. He's now living with his mother, and working as a debt collector for a gangster.
Robin Greaves is an armed robber whose wife has been sleeping with other member of the gang.
Through a series of misadventures the two of them end up getting involved.
It's a shame that the way we rate is a cumulative effect, for the sotry itself is worth reading, it's a little short, but the idea is strong, and the multiple viewpoint POV is well done. It's dark, starts darkly, and just gets darker as the book goes on.
What lets the book down is the characterisation, none of the characters feel more than 2-dimensional. It's like the cntral casting of crime novels has sent some characters across, and no one is particularly well defined.
As a debut novel, it's strong, well worth the time to read. With experience I reckon he's only going to get better.
Pearce has just been released from prison after ten years for murdering a dealer responsible for the death of his sister. He's now living with his mother, and working as a debt collector for a gangster.
Robin Greaves is an armed robber whose wife has been sleeping with other member of the gang.
Through a series of misadventures the two of them end up getting involved.
It's a shame that the way we rate is a cumulative effect, for the sotry itself is worth reading, it's a little short, but the idea is strong, and the multiple viewpoint POV is well done. It's dark, starts darkly, and just gets darker as the book goes on.
What lets the book down is the characterisation, none of the characters feel more than 2-dimensional. It's like the cntral casting of crime novels has sent some characters across, and no one is particularly well defined.
As a debut novel, it's strong, well worth the time to read. With experience I reckon he's only going to get better.
April 23, 2012
I wanted to read this book for a number of reasons; the Edinburgh setting, some Scottish grittiness and a good crime read. It did deliver reasonably well on all three dimensions. What I liked most about the book is the brisk pace, the story moves along well and keeps the reader engaged it certainly engaged me, from beginning to end. The grittiness that I was looking for was there, it's part of a wider research thing I'm doing for my own writing, and I thought it was done in reasonable measure without overdoing things and worked well. There were a few bits in the story that didn't work that well for me, the Don/Robin thing being one of them, and undermined the story a little for me. If anything, I was a little disappointed with the Edinburgh bit, my feeling was that the story could have taken place anywhere and I didn't get the feel of the city coming through. In saying all that I enjoyed this as a read,it was a decent page turner and well worth the read.
November 3, 2014
There’s a good reason this novel won the 2007 Old Peculier Crime Novel of the year award. The reason being that it has everything. You have Robin Greaves a man who believes his wife has been cheating on him and hires a PI to confirm it. The interaction between the PI and his assistant Kennedy adds a lot of humour into the novel. There is Pearce the ex-con who dotes on his mother forced to work as a debt collector to pay off his own debt. Guthrie adds a large dash of mental illness, a heavy dose of violence. He masterfully blends all these ingredients together with fast paced and gritty descriptive writing. He simmers several plot lines until boiling and mixes them all together to create a fantastically enjoyable novel. Another great creation from one of Scotland’s finest crime writers.
December 10, 2014
Bought this on a whim while perusing modern noir. Very glad I did.
It's a quick read but features some great dialogue and a gradually-thickening plot typical of noir. The fact that the PI in this story is mostly absent nameless for most of the book felt very tongue in cheek.
The characters converge brilliantly and the twist is pulled off to great effect in a way that I (a person who typically hates twists) didn't at all mind.
My complaint with the book is that there are practically no women present. It got to the point that when yet ANOTHER male character was introduced I was a little disappointed. It was hard to keep them all separate at the beginning, though their unique dialogue definitely helped in that respect.
It's a quick read but features some great dialogue and a gradually-thickening plot typical of noir. The fact that the PI in this story is mostly absent nameless for most of the book felt very tongue in cheek.
The characters converge brilliantly and the twist is pulled off to great effect in a way that I (a person who typically hates twists) didn't at all mind.
My complaint with the book is that there are practically no women present. It got to the point that when yet ANOTHER male character was introduced I was a little disappointed. It was hard to keep them all separate at the beginning, though their unique dialogue definitely helped in that respect.
March 27, 2012
This was a very enjoyable read from a fellow Scottish author.
Set in Edinburgh it starts off as a heist story but ends up developing into more of a psychological thriller as it progresses.
As a former inhabitant of Edinburgh, I enjoyed the setting and the plot is nicely crafted - keeping you doubting whether you've guessed what's going on or not. I sort of did, but as with all good twists it was sufficiently hidden to prevent me hitting it too early or with 100% conviction.
Definitely worth reading if you are a fan of thrillers - even more so if you know Edinburgh well!
Set in Edinburgh it starts off as a heist story but ends up developing into more of a psychological thriller as it progresses.
As a former inhabitant of Edinburgh, I enjoyed the setting and the plot is nicely crafted - keeping you doubting whether you've guessed what's going on or not. I sort of did, but as with all good twists it was sufficiently hidden to prevent me hitting it too early or with 100% conviction.
Definitely worth reading if you are a fan of thrillers - even more so if you know Edinburgh well!
July 11, 2013
In this short novel, Guthrie briskly and entertainingly takes us inside the head of a small-time villain going through a breakdown before, during and after a Post Office robbery. He's his own worst enemy - literally, which is in turns amusing, disturbing, tasteless and horrifying. I'm not qualified to comment on the authenticity of the condition or its representation here, but realistic or not, it certainly comes to life over the course of a story I'll remember for a long time, though not one I'll ever read again!
March 10, 2011
Now I love me a bit of ultra-violence here and there; I'm convinced I was a mercenary in another life. It was not the violence of Split, but the crude sexual talk and nasty graphic acts that turned my stomach. After the third time I gagged on my nachos, I tossed this book to the floor. I may crave a little head crackin', nose bustin' action, but sadistic eroticism just ain't my thing.
March 24, 2011
Liked it, but didn't completely grab me. Didn't quite buy into Pearce's connection with Ailsa, found the split personality section a bit too bizarre. Yet, enjoyed the unfolding action, not knowing where it's going and who to cheer for, the grittiness.
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