Hard Man

By Allan Guthrie

Has Pearce finally found his match? A time-served Edinburgh hard man, Pearce is still recovering from the recent loss of his mother in a stabbing incident in a post office robbery. He's invited by the dysfunctional Baxter family to protect their pregnant 16-year-old daughter from Wallace, her 26-year-old husband, a man with a penchant for killing family pets. Having found out that the baby's not his, Wallace has sworn vengeance. Pearce declines the job: he's no babysitter. But when Wallace kills Pearce's dog, he goes too far. Now it's personal. It's time to find out who the real hard man is.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Birlinn
• Release date: Nov 1, 2011
• ISBN: 9780857901736

Reviews for Hard Man

[blueslibrarian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Pearce is out of jail and making a go of it on his own, just him and his three-legged dog Hilda and his dead mother whom he speaks to occasionally. His reputation as a tough-guy leads him to be approached by Jacob, whose pregnant daughter is being tormented by her estranged husband. Pearce becomes mixed up with this ne'er do well family when his pet is dog napped, supposedly by Wallace, the sadistic husband. This sets off a veritable parade of cartoon-ish violence as Jacob's family tries to flee the clutches of Wallace and Pearce attempts to find his beloved dog. To say this novel is over the top would be an understatement: punches, knives, and nailguns all come into play along with a man called Jesus who's kept in a cage. If you are looking for a trip to the wild side and don't mind something completely off-the-wall, this is solid entertainment.

[d_burn · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Only grabbed this on my way out of the library on the way to the airport. Typical tough guy roped into doing "one last job" - unbelievably violent in parts. Not recommended unless you fancy a Scottish setting with your mindless violence.