Two-Way Split (Paperback)

~ Allan Guthrie (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Review

I can't remember a first novel this good in a long, long time. -- Ed Gorman

TWO-WAY SPLIT is a hard-edged, fast paced noir thriller with outstanding dialogue and plenty of unforgettable bad guys. -- Jason Starr

Product Description

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 was shortlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger in the UK. TWO-WAY SPLIT is an explosive introduction to the raw talent of Allan Guthrie, one of crime fiction's hottest new writers.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 188 pages
• Publisher: Point Blank (June 30, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1930997493
• ISBN-13: 978-1930997493
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 5.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 9.1 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #206,646 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Remarkable Crime Story, July 18, 2004

By	Untouchable (Sydney, NSW Australia) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)

Every now and then I come across a book that takes me completely by surprise. I'm not sure what I was expecting when I picked up my copy of TWO-WAY SPLIT by Allan Guthrie although I had my suspicions it would involve the darker side of life. At least I was correct in that assumption. What I wasn't prepared for was the superb depiction of a group of troubled people unknowingly digging themselves deeper and deeper into terrible trouble.

Robin Greaves, his wife Carol and her lover Eddie Soutar are robbers who are planning on robbing a post office in a daring daylight raid. Their plan, in order to get the cashiers to cooperate, is to utilise the two ingredients that they believe is common in all successful robberies: hostage taking and violence. It's not a perfect plan but it's a pretty good one and should have a good possibility of success. But a few ingredients are added to the set-up that not only tips the balance towards a more precarious outcome, but also turns the story into a melange of unexpected twists and turns.

The first glimmer that all may not go smoothly comes when Greaves finds out through a private investigator that Carol and Eddie are having an affair. Understandably Robin doesn't take the news well and the simmering rage he harbours looks like it could bubble over at any moment.

Possible problem number two is the revelation that Robin has already spent some time in a mental institution. In itself this wouldn't exactly be a problem, but we also know that he hasn't been taking some sort of medication for almost five months. When going into a tense situation carrying weapons, one wouldn't think that the ideal person to be watching your back is a betrayed husband, who may not be 100% mentally stable, would one?

Another problem is that a man named Pearce, a recently released prisoner who has done time for murder is planning on visiting his mother at lunchtime. Oh yeah...his mother works in a post office.

The final little fly in the ointment is the appearance of Don. (Keep an eye out for Don).

Guthrie has chosen to tell this story along a timeline, heading each new chapter with a timestamp which serves to remind us just how quickly the events unfold. It's a wonderfully tough crime novel set in Edinburgh in a suitably sleazy part of town where the feeling of desperation simply oozes off the pages. Massage parlours, broken down tenements and dirty alleyways form the grim backdrop to this dark story of greed, violence and betrayal.

There are no heroes in TWO-WAY SPLIT, in fact none of the main characters are particularly likable but what they lack in endearing personality they more than make up in complex obsessions. The gang of Robin, Carol and Eddie are doomed to fail from the start. What's unclear is just what character deficiency will be the one to ultimately trip them up. Pearce probably comes closest to hero status, at least displaying some sort of empathy with others. But he is also established as a man of extreme violence, much of it controlled and rather cold-blooded giving him a frighteningly dangerous air about him. And as for Don, well you'll just have to wait and read about him yourself.

At only around 180 pages long, it is an extremely fast-paced book with not a word wasted on overly long descriptions of incidental details. From the build up of the robbery to the robbery itself and beyond to the thieves apartment den, this is a tightly woven story that flow together seamlessly as all the main players are drawn inexorably together for a thrilling finale.

Although I've painted a picture of a rather dark story of violence, hatred and evil, it's a fascinating story that will keep you guessing as there is no telling in which direction Guthrie will take it next. From a simple robbery to a showdown of unbelievably unusual proportions, it's an engaging example of tartan noir that is very difficult to put down once picked up.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One Hot Read, November 8, 2004

By	Brian Evankovich "Brian E." (San Diego, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Allan Guthrie has restored my faith in contemporary crime fiction. After being burned by too many of today's crime writers who seem to be turning out nothing but repetitive, formulaic junk, Guthrie has come along with a book full of non-stop action, great characters, and a story that will leave to breathless. It's not a long book, but there's enough packed into it that you'd think it was 500 pages (if nothing else, this book is proof novels don't need to be long to be exciting). "Two-Way Split" brings a new twist to the usual caper novel, and the actual "split" will have you thinking of another crime writer named Jim Thompson, now deceased, but you'll see how much better Guthrie handled that particular motif than Thompson ever could.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Extremely promising young noir author, December 30, 2007

By	Jeff "Jeff" (Northern California) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Two-Way Split (Paperback)

Allan Guthire's Blithe Pyschopaths, renamed Two Way Split, is a tremendous debut effort. This is hard boiled noir, and not for those of tender sensibilities.

The Edinburgh winter in which the novel takes place is as stark as the tightly constructed plot. The viewpoint moves rapidly from character to character. Sophisticated writers can convey a lot of nuance to the reader with this format and Guthrie is more than up to the task.

Starting with a PI looking into a cheating wife, followed by a botched post office robbery the novel moves towards a tidy and surprisingly moral conclusion. Hugely flawed and often ironic characters dominate the action, but their flaws do not keep the reader from caring about them.

It is the dialog that remains with one long after putting the book down. Whether it the interior dialog of an acrophobic as he dangles from a poorly supported piece of scaffolding or the explicit dialog between a child abuser and the person sent to do him serious hard, Guthrie never fails to deliver crackling, witty repertoire.

Definitely recommended.