Reviews

'...In his book, The Goalie, Balquhidder-based author Jim Crumley attempts to unravel the family secrets that made an outcast of his famous grandfather and celebrate his achievements off the football field. ...He also learned that the city of Dundee had given Bob Crumley a send-off fit for a hero. His funeral was attended by 500 people, including the Dundee FC side of the day and two Lord Provosts. ...Mr. Crumley set about piecing together what little he knew of his grandfather's life and filling in the gaps to create a touching work of fiction...' - Press & Journal '...It's a fascinating picture of people, places and daily life in old Dundee, set against an intensely personal search for truth. Oh, and somewhere in it, there's a love story to make you weep. It does, however, capture what made football so vital a part of the Scottish working man's life. Particularly poignant in the light of current events along at Bob Crumley's beloved Dundee FC' - Evening Telegraph 'Crumley, Neil, McEwan, Lee, Dainty, Comrie, Bellamy, Langlands, Hunter, McFarlane and Fraser. That was the team that won the Scottish Cup for Dundee in 1910. It was to be our only Scottish win. Jim Crumley has written a poetic tribute to his grandfather, Bob Crumley, the Goalkeeper of that famed side. Written in a style that keeps you engrossed from the first page to the last, it is a mixture of fact and fiction that leaves one with the feeling that he knew the man himself. The Goalie lives in this book, and it's a must for both football fans and others who like the writing style of JC. You'll find plenty of Dundonian banter to boot. ... Jim Crumley does the famous grandfather he never met justice in this short but poignant story. He researched his life, his death, and resurrects him with great respect and honour' - Dundee-mad.co.uk/news 'Football novels tend to be bloated predictable rubbish. This is what makes acclaimed nature writer Jim Crumley's second novel unique. It is a supremely well-written caustic, emotional gem based on the true story of the narrator's grandfather, Bob Crumley, hero of Dundee FC's only Scottish Cup win, who had to live with the consequences of early fame and the unimaginable horror of the trenches in the First World War.' - The Herald