What You Pay For, Claire Askew
What You Pay For, Claire Askew
34 Rating(s)
List: $24.99 | Sale: $17.50
Club: $12.49

What You Pay For
Shortlisted for McIlvanney and CWA Awards

Author: Claire Askew

Series: DI Birch

Narrator: Angus King, Sarah Barron

Unabridged: 12 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/22/2019


Synopsis

FROM THE AUTHOR OF ALL THE HIDDEN TRUTHS, WHICH WON THE MCILVANNEY DEBUT PRIZE

'(a) meticulous and compelling novel about the aftermath of a major crime and its effect on the affected families and investigating officers both. Set in Edinburgh, too' - Ian Rankin

'Askew asks intricate moral questions, while never ignoring the rigours of crime' - Daily Mail

DI Helen Birch faces a terrible choice - family or justice? - in the gripping second novel from the author of All the Hidden Truths

DI Birch joined the police to find her little brother, who walked out of his life one day and was never seen again. She stayed to help others, determined to seek justice where she could.

On the fourteenth anniversary of Charlie's disappearance, Birch takes part in a raid on one of Scotland's most feared criminal organisations. It's a good day's work - a chance to get a dangerous man off the streets.

Two days later, Charlie comes back. It's not a coincidence. When Birch finds out exactly what he's been doing all those years, she faces a terrible choice: save the case, or save her brother. But how can you do the right thing when all the consequences are bad?

As she interrogates Charlie, he tells his story: of how one wrong turn leads to a world in which the normal rules no longer apply, and you do what you must to survive.

From one of the most acclaimed new voices in crime fiction, What You Pay For is a brilliantly tense and moving novel about the terrible disruption caused by violence and the lines people will cross to protect those they love.

(P)2019 Hodder & Stoughton Limited

About Claire Askew

Claire Askew's debut novel All The Hidden Truths won the 2016 Lucy Cavendish Fiction Prize as a work in progress, and the 2019 McIlvanney Debut Crime Fiction Award. Two of her novels have been shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger. Her fourth novel, A Matter of Time, was longlisted for the McIlvanney Crime Novel of the Year 2022. Claire is also a poet and non-fiction writer and she lives in Carlisle.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Liz on March 19, 2019

Having absolutely LOVED All The Hidden Truths last year there was no way I was waiting to read this once it dropped onto my doormat and once again I was drawn in by the beautifully written and absolutely absorbing plot. Helen Birch works on a case that will hit very close to home as around that we h......more

Goodreads review by Tonia on January 13, 2020

This 2019 crime fiction novel is the second book in the D.I Birch series. While the first book was all about a mass shooting at an Edinburgh college, this sees the return of Helen Birch's younger brother Charlie who disappeared from university without trace fourteen years earlier. The chapters alter......more

Goodreads review by Rachael on December 04, 2024

4.5 rounded up I really liked book 2 in the Helen Birch series. Her brother was an infuriating character who made a series of stupid decisions but very realistic. At times I wanted to scream at the characters but I guess that makes for a realistic book. The dual timeline worked really well although......more

Goodreads review by Kylie on May 12, 2023

I really like Helen Birch. She is flawed and interacting which makes her a fabulous main character. This be ok follows on from 3 Rivers, but you don't have to have read that to enjoy this novel. I enjoyed the concurrent story lines of Helen and her brother Charlie. Pretty gruesome in parts, but that......more

Goodreads review by Amit on July 07, 2020

Absolutely fantastic read! This is worth all the praise it has got in all those lists, Bring on more, Claire Askew.......more


Quotes

Praise for What You Pay For :

Ambitious Sunday Times Crime Club

Askew is a master of dialogue ... Birch is a great character ... There's a pleasing vein of dark humour ... The breakneck pace and adrenaline will leave readers as spent as the sleep-deprived DI Birch The Scotsman

Intriguing and brilliant The Skinny

Another top-notch slice of Scottish noir Mail on Sunday

Askew is a writer to watch The Sunday Times

Askew asks intricate moral questions, while never ignoring the rigours of crime Daily Mail

Explosive... the breakneck pace and adrenaline rushes will leave readers as spent as the sleep- deprived DI Birch The Scotsman Book of the Year

We all need some escapism right now and Claire Askew's latest book is the ideal read to help you swap your worrying Covid-19 thoughts for something grimy and gripping Daily Record