Run Johnboy Run

by Ian Todd

It is 1968 and The Mankys are back with a vengeance after thirteen-year-old Johnboy Taylor is confronted by a ghost from his past. The only problem is, he’s just been sentenced to 3 years at Thistle Park Approved School, which houses Scotland’s wildest teen tearaways. Without his liberty, Johnboy is in no position to determine whether the devastating revelation is a figment of his vivid imagination or whether dark forces are conspiring against him. Elsewhere in the city, Glasgow crime lord, Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, is plotting to topple those who he believes were responsible for putting him out of the city’s thriving ‘Doo’ business three years earlier. Unfortunately for him, The Irish Brigade, a group of corrupt police inspectors, who rule the city with an iron fist, are not about to stand by and allow anyone to dip their fingers into their honey pot, without a fight. Meanwhile, Helen Taylor, Johnboy’s mother, has come up with a dangerous plan that she believes will finally overturn The City Corporation’s policy of selling their tenants’ household goods through humiliating public warrant sales. Reluctantly, she is forced to join forces with The Glasgow Echo’s sleazy top crime reporter, Sammy ‘The Rat’ Elliot, whose shadowy reputation of having more than one master makes him feared and reviled by the underworld and the establishment in equal measure. Run Johnboy Run is an explosive tale of city crime in 1960s Glasgow, involving a heady mix of establishment leaders and gangsters, who will use anyone to keep control of the city’s lucrative underworld. The only problem is, can anyone really be trusted? With more faces than the town clock, Run Johnboy Run dredges up the best scum the city has to offer and throws them into the wackiest free-for-all double-crossing battle that Glasgow has witnessed in a generation and The Mankys are never far from where the action is.

660 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 30, 2014

About the author

Ian Todd was born in the Townhead district of Glasgow in 1955 and lived in Glasgow until he moved to the north of Scotland in the 1980s. He has worked for over thirty years as a Community Development Worker, within Youth Work and Adult Learning. Ian has a grown-up family and lives with his partner, his five dogs and one cat and has been writing for a number of years.

Ian has set up a Facebook page for The Glasgow Chronicles (www.facebook.com/theglasgowchronicles) where he regularly posts photographs of Glasgow Townhead in the 1960s which are related to the story lines in the books. Readers can also stay up-to-date with news about Johnboy Taylor and The Mankys and future publication information.

The Glasgow Chronicles book covers are created by Angus McNicholl, Forres, Scotland.
Author Central photographs are produced by John Ferguson, ex-Easterhouse, Glasgow and now Elgin, Scotland.

Parly Road is the first of six books in The Glasgow Chronicles series:-

It is the summer of 1965 and things are looking up for ten-year-old Johnboy Taylor in the Townhead district of Glasgow. Not only has he made two new pals, who have recently come to his school after being expelled from one of the local Catholic schools, but their dream of owning their own pigeon loft or 'dookit' and competing with the city's grown-up 'doo-men' in the sport they love, could soon become a reality. The only problem is that The Mankys don't have the dosh to pay for this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Lady Luck begins to shine down on them when Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, one of Glasgow's top heavies asks them to do him a wee favour. The Mankys are soon embroiled in an adult world of gangsters, police corruption, violence and crime.

Set against the backdrop of a condemned tenement slum area, the fate of which has already been decided upon as it stands in the way of the city's new Inner Ring Road motorway development, the boys soon realise that to survive on the streets, they have to stay one step ahead of those in authority. The only problem for The Mankys is working out who's really in charge.

Parly Road is full of the shadiest characters that 1960s Glasgow has to offer and takes the reader on a rollercoaster journey that has been described as irreverently hilarious, poignantly sad and difficult to put down.

Run Johnboy Run is the second book in The Glasgow Chronicles series:-

It is 1968 and The Mankys are back with a vengeance after thirteen-year-old Johnboy Taylor is confronted by a ghost from his past. The only problem is, he's just been sentenced to 3 years at Thistle Park Approved School, which houses Scotland's wildest teen tearaways. Without his liberty, Johnboy is in no position to determine whether the devastating revelation is a figment of his vivid imagination or whether dark forces are conspiring against him.

Elsewhere in the city, Glasgow crime lord, Pat Molloy, aka The Big Man, is at last about to topple those who he believes were responsible for putting him out of the city's thriving 'Doo' business three years earlier. Unfortunately for him, The Irish Brigade, a group of corrupt police inspectors, who rule the city with an iron fist, are not about to stand by and allow anyone to dip their fingers into their honey pot, without a fight.

Meanwhile, Helen Taylor, Johnboy's mother, has come up with a dangerous plan that she believes will finally overturn The City Corporation's policy of selling their tenants' household goods through humiliating public warrant sales. Reluctantly, she is forced to join forces with The Glasgow Echo's sleazy top crime reporter, Sammy 'The Rat' Elliot, whose shadowy reputation of having more than one master makes him feared and reviled by the underworld and the establishment in equal measure.

Run Johnboy Run is an explosive tale of city crime in 1960s Glasgow, involving a heady mix of establishment leaders and underworld gangsters, who will use anyone to keep control of the city's lucrati

Reviews

[Margaret Galbraith · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had read most of this one and it’s still worth a look at the continuation of Jonboy and the antics of the people of Toenhead in Glasgow. I skim read the last few chapters but the interesting part was when Helen got arrested along with other women for protesting and you could read about the treatment of them. No more spoilers but if you’re Scottish and from the Central West coast this will be right up your alley. Such a shame do many of these Glasgow Chronicles have been written yet our SA library system only has the first 2. They’re available on Kindle but I much prefer a book. Thank you Ian Todd for giving me a laugh in these books and reminding about all the slang words I’d almost forgotten after living in South Australia 41 years and 8 months!

[Deborah Seymour · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me laugh out loud and cry all at the same time. I’m loving this series of books

[Brenda Glancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Great read, I found it hard to put this book down, Now onto the third book in this series, excited.

[Jeff Borysiewicz · Rating 5 out of 5]

A belter read

If you can understand the Glaswegian dialect, this is a braw , funny provocative read.
This is chronicle number 2. I haven't read 1, but the book stands on its own.

[Karen Lamont · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just loved this book, really enjoying following the life and times of Johnboy and his mates. Looking forward to reading the whole collection. 5 stars to you Ian, keep up the great work :)

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this as the sequel to Parly Road as I was keen to see what happened to all the characters. This book didn't disappoint though I felt it was a bit on the long side. There were times when I just wanted the book to finish but the writing was so good that I stuck with it to the end.

I found the first few chapters a little confusing initially but as the story went along it became clear how they fitted into the overall scheme of things. The only thing I would perhaps take issue with is the way the police are portrayed in these books. I am not a great fan of the police in general as there are far too many of them in the job for all the wrong reasons but I find it hard to believe that they would really have been as stupid as they are portrayed. However the brutality and dishonesty they display I think would be pretty close to real life.

One of the most shocking things about the book is the freedom from parental regulation the boys all have and the violence that they endured from figures of power and so called professionals.

All in all another very good read.