Changes

|title=His Father's Son

|author=Tony Black

|publisher=Black & White Publishing

|date=September 2013

|website=http://tonyblack.net/

|summary=Tony Black's first non-crime novel is an unfortunate misfire. It could, and should, have been better, but his portrayal of the Driscol family fails by silencing the mother.

}}

Having safely established himself as a crime novelist, Tony Black has decided to take a brief holiday from the genre. While there's no doubting the bravery of such a move, the real question is whether it is the right one. There are certain facets of crime writing - intricate plotting, frenetic pacing, and high body count - that do not transfer to the world of humdrum realism. And as the contemporary novel focuses on a slower movement of time and a subtler delineation of character, aren't these all the things Black had to eliminate in the interests of genre expectations? So: as far as transitions go, it is a difficult one to make. Has ''His Father's Son'' managed it? Well, the answer is no, not really.