01/11/2021
Set in 1973 Glasgow, Scotland, Edgar finalist Parks’s solid third unapologetically violent crime novel featuring Harry McCoy (after 2019’s February’s Son ) immerses the police detective in the drug and music-fueled counterculture of the times. Assigned to uncover the mystery surrounding the overdose death of a rock star found dead in a hotel room, McCoy must also resolve a botched case involving an abducted child in which the wrongfully accused man committed suicide while in custody. Complicating matters is a covert mission from McCoy’s chief, who has tasked the detective to find his 15-year-old runaway niece, who may be living with her thug of a boyfriend. Though the narrative early on feels unfocused, it quickly gains purpose and momentum, and builds to an impressively powerful conclusion. Maneuvering through the mean streets of Glasgow, the morally ambiguous, deeply flawed McCoy makes an ideal antihero. The meticulously described setting is so suggestive readers may even catch whiffs of stale cigarette smoke and patchouli. Fans of Scottish noir will be satisfied. Agent: Tom Witcomb, Blake Friedmann Literary (U.K.). (Apr.)
★ “Parks takes readers deep into the sordid world of Glasgow in the 1970s, delivering a gut-churning, heart-wrenching noir. [Bobby March Will Live Forever ] belongs on the must-read list of every follower of Tartan noir.”—Booklist (Starred Review)
“Parks’ sprawling plot offers not tidy whodunit puzzles but a wide-angle view of a gritty city in the grip of crime, home to an entertaining cross section of characters [ . . . ] Brisk Scottish noir with an appealingly hard edge.”—Kirkus Reviews
“The meticulously described setting is so suggestive readers may even catch whiffs of stale cigarette smoke and patchouli. Fans of Scottish noir will be satisfied.”—Publishers Weekly
“Parks captures the feel of a city long vanished in a breathless and tense retro crime caper.”—The Sun
“Even better than its predecessors [ . . . ] Its plot twists and turns, provoking laughter and tears [ . . . ] Fascinating and dangerous.”—The Times , Book Of The Month
“Parks’s description never fails him, be it description of the horrors of some of the places where the action takes place, or the action itself, and though he does not go into psychological detail about his characters, his physical descriptions [are] especially memorable.”—Mary Whipple, Seeing The World Through Books
“It’s McCoy, though, who makes this series something special—he’s multi-layered and three-dimensional, with his own idiosyncratic work ethic [ . . . ] A series that no crime fan should miss: dangerous, thrilling, but with a kind voice to cut through the darkness.”—Scotsman
“Having the ability to write engaging stories that appeal to readers all over the world is something that Parks has definitely made a name for himself doing.”—Murder & Mayhem
“[Parks] captures the buzz of playing in clubs and the grind of touring, with its cheap hotels, hangers-on, and obliging drug dealers, who keep reality at bay for another night and then, inevitably, forever.”—Air Mail
Praise for Alan Parks
“McCoy is so noir he makes most other Scottish cops seem light grey.”—The Times
“A riveting book, begging to be read in as few sittings as possible [ . . . ] The macabre and morally ambivalent February’s Son is not one that will be quickly or easily forgotten.”—The National
“A riveting journey through the grim and gritty dark side of 1970s Glasgow [ . . . ] A powerful slab of tartan noir.”—Herald
“Pitch-black tartan noir, set in Seventies Glasgow [ . . . ] Compelling [ . . . ] With an emotional heart that's hard to ignore.”—Daily Mail
“Excellent [ . . . ] Full of surprises, streaked with compassion. McCoy and Cooper [ . . . ] make one hell of a damaged duo. Their fascinating relationship provides the real intrigue.”—Evening Standard
“The no-holds-barred action and dialogue smack you in the face like a Glasgow kiss. Cracking.”—The Sun
2021-01-13
The unexpected death of a Glaswegian native son and minor rock star, while not central to the plot of Harry McCoy’s third procedural, looms over all as a shadow and a cautionary tale. The story of Beatkickers guitarist Bobby March, from his career beginnings in 1964 to his death from an overdose, is threaded through the book in short, italicized cuts, with a delightful coda. Nearly everyone McCoy meets seems moved by Bobby’s death and wants to commiserate over him. The city is equally obsessed with Alice Kelly, a missing little girl. McCoy is officially working on this case, but his boss, Chief Inspector Murray, gives him a special off-the-record assignment. Murray’s precocious niece, Laura, a frequent runaway, has gone missing again, this time at the probable instigation of her sketchy new boyfriend, Donny MacRae. When McCoy goes to Donny’s flat to question him, he finds the young man stabbed to death. Finding Laura soon afterward should be the end of the story but instead marks the beginning of a different investigation. In the meantime, a teenager is arrested for Alice Kelly’s kidnapping, but more twists follow in that storyline as well. Parks’ sprawling plot offers not tidy whodunit puzzles but a wide-angle view of a gritty city in the grip of crime, home to an entertaining cross section of characters. Broad-shouldered McCoy is suitably unflappable as he walks Glasgow’s mean streets.
Brisk Scottish noir with an appealingly hard edge.
Gripping and violent, dark and satisfying. I flew through it
Draws the reader in with equal parts of twist and grit . . . It's McCoy, though, who makes this series something special - he's multi-layered and three-dimensional, with his own idiosyncratic work ethic . . . With this third instalment of the McCoy books, Parks has continued to build a series that no crime fan should miss: dangerous, thrilling, but with a kind voice to cut through the darkness
The latest star of Tartan noir - perhaps even a successor to the late, great William McIlvanney . . . Gripping, utterly authentic and nerve-jangling, this novel announces a fine new voice in crime writing
PRAISE FOR BLOODY JANUARY : An old-school cop novel written with wit and economy . . . Think McIlvanney or Get Carter
Alan Parks has swiftly established himself as an exciting new voice in the world of tartan noir . . . Parks knows the city intimately, and this comes across effortlessly on the page
Even better than its predecessors . . . Its plot twists and turns, provoking laughter and tears . . . Fascinating and dangerous . . . Parks has clearly studied the masters of tartan noir but has his own voice. He shows how, among the welter of violence, a spontaneous act of kindness can have just as great an impact
Book of the Month The Times
1970s Glasgow hewn from flesh and drawn in blood
This piece of tartan noir, with its twisting, turning plot, is full of fun period detail
Best Books of 2020 The Times
Parks captures the feel of a city long vanished in a breathless and tense retro crime caper
