Paisley-born author swaps subsea robotics for crime as he launches debut novel

Daily Record

19-06-2025

Chris Black has released his debut page-turner 'Capo' which is a sharp, character-driven crime thriller set on the streets of Glasgow.
A Paisley-born author is swapping subsea robotics for the criminal underworld as he releases his debut novel.
Chris Black, who works offshore as an ROV (Remotely Operated Vehicle) supervisor, is delighted to have published his first debut novel 'Capo' –a sharp, character-driven crime thriller set on the streets of Glasgow.
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'I wrote most of this between operations,' Chris told the Paisley Daily Express. 'Some of it in hotel rooms, some offshore, some back home in Dalgety Bay [in Fife].
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'I'd just sit down with a coffee, some music and chip away. It still doesn't feel quite real holding the final book. But it's live now, and that's surreal in the best way.'
The novel follows Ezio Trevino, an ex-Royal Marine who's turned a run-down Glasgow bar into a live music venue with a few trusted friends – a dream life finally within reach.
But Ezio has a plan already in motion: a final job designed to secure financial freedom and peace for the crew.
When it goes sideways, it drags them deep into the city's criminal underworld and uncovers secrets Ezio thought he'd left buried in the desert.
The former St Charles' Primary School pupil explained: 'It's about a guy who's done the hard stuff – desert ops, the brutal end of military life, and now he's finally got what he wants, good people around him, a bit of peace.'
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The book stands on its own as a complete story, but work is already underway on a sequel.
Chris has mapped out a three-book arc, with teaser elements from book two included in the special edition. The 42-year-old said: 'There's a bigger world here and I wanted readers to feel it, even if they're just picking up this first one.'
Although now based in Fife, Chris still makes the trip through to Paisley regularly as a 'lifelong' St Mirren fan.
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He said: 'It's where I'm from, all my family are in Paisley and me and my dad go to St Mirren games regularly, it's a big part of who I am.'
Chris even served as the club mascot once as a kid.
'It was a midweek game against Rangers — Butcher, McCoist, all of them were there,' Chris explained. 'I'd picked Paul Lambert as my favourite player, even though he wasn't getting a game for us at the time.
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'He'd already gone home that night but someone rang his landline and he actually drove back to meet me. Turned up in suit trousers and a tracksuit top, I've still got the photo.
'I was taking shots at Campbell Money in goal that night, too. You don't forget stuff like that.'
Now published under his own imprint, Black Arts Development Ltd, Capo is available in paperback and Kindle formats on Amazon, with a signed special edition bundle, complete with classified case files and bonus material, available directly via his website.