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Harry McCoy #5
May God Forgive
FINALIST FOR THE 2022 MCILVANNEY PRIZE Detective Harry McCoy returns in the suspenseful, atmospheric fifth instalment in Alan Park’s internationally bestselling thriller series. Glasgow is a city in mourning. An arson attack on a hairdresser’s has left five dead. Tempers are frayed and sentiments running high. When three youths are charged the city goes wild. A crowd gathers outside the courthouse but as the police drive the young men to prison, the van is rammed by a truck, and the men are grabbed and bundled into a car. The next day, the body of one of them is dumped in the city centre. A note has been sent to the one down, two to go. Detective Harry McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the kidnapped boys before they all turn up dead, and it is going to mean taking down some of Glasgow’s most powerful people to do it. “A series that no crime fan should dangerous, thrilling, but with a kind voice to cut through the darkness.”— Scotsman
372 pages, Paperback
Published May 3, 2022
73 people are currently reading
483 people want to read
About the author
Alan Parks
10 books112 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Alan Parks has worked in the music industry for over twenty years. His debut novel Bloody January was one of the top crime debuts of 2018 and was shortlisted for the prestigious international crime prize the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. He lives and works in Glasgow
Alan Parks has worked in the music industry for over twenty years. His debut novel Bloody January was one of the top crime debuts of 2018 and was shortlisted for the prestigious international crime prize the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. He lives and works in Glasgow
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 155 reviews
March 15, 2022
Glasgow 1974, a time of hard men, vicious gangs and large scale violence, but when five people, including two young children are killed in an arson attack on a hairdressing salon, the people of Glasgow demand justice. 5th in the successful Harry McCoy series, “May God Forgive “ makes a terrific addition.
Detective Harry McCoy has just returned to work, following a stay in hospital with a painful stomach ulcer. He discharged himself from hospital before he was anything like recovered, but he has no intention of informing his boss Chief Inspector Murray of that fact.
On his first day back at work, Harry finds himself outside the courthouse, where three youths have been charged with the murders at the hairdressing salon. The crowd outside the court are baying for their blood, chanting “Hang them”
After being remanded in custody, the prison van transporting the three youths to Barlinnie jail, is rammed by a lorry, and the three are released, but who has taken them, and why? Two days later, one of the youths is dumped in the street with a sign “One down two to go” He’s been horribly tortured, and many in the community think that’s as much as he deserved, but the race is on for McCoy to find the other two before it’s too late.
McCoy really has a nightmare of a case to contend with, and given the fact that physically he’s not up to it, well, that makes it even edgier.
I love McCoy, yes he’s a hardened detective (although the sight of blood makes him physically ill). He’s a big drinker, despite the fact that his drinking makes his stomach ulcer even more unbearable. He can be rude and outspoken, particularly when it comes to someone he believes is withholding crucial information, and he’s not above getting into a fight for the same reason. He dabbles in drugs when he feels the need, but you know something? There really is a huge old caring heart in there, although that’s not something he likes to advertise!
Tense, gritty, gripping, this series really is Tartan Noir at its best. Highly recommended!
*Thank you to Netgalley and Canongate for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review*
Detective Harry McCoy has just returned to work, following a stay in hospital with a painful stomach ulcer. He discharged himself from hospital before he was anything like recovered, but he has no intention of informing his boss Chief Inspector Murray of that fact.
On his first day back at work, Harry finds himself outside the courthouse, where three youths have been charged with the murders at the hairdressing salon. The crowd outside the court are baying for their blood, chanting “Hang them”
After being remanded in custody, the prison van transporting the three youths to Barlinnie jail, is rammed by a lorry, and the three are released, but who has taken them, and why? Two days later, one of the youths is dumped in the street with a sign “One down two to go” He’s been horribly tortured, and many in the community think that’s as much as he deserved, but the race is on for McCoy to find the other two before it’s too late.
McCoy really has a nightmare of a case to contend with, and given the fact that physically he’s not up to it, well, that makes it even edgier.
I love McCoy, yes he’s a hardened detective (although the sight of blood makes him physically ill). He’s a big drinker, despite the fact that his drinking makes his stomach ulcer even more unbearable. He can be rude and outspoken, particularly when it comes to someone he believes is withholding crucial information, and he’s not above getting into a fight for the same reason. He dabbles in drugs when he feels the need, but you know something? There really is a huge old caring heart in there, although that’s not something he likes to advertise!
Tense, gritty, gripping, this series really is Tartan Noir at its best. Highly recommended!
*Thank you to Netgalley and Canongate for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review*
March 9, 2022
Alan Parks delivers a blistering addition to his Detective Harry McCoy series, set in 1974 in a Glasgow where tensions are running sky high after an arson attack on Dolly's Hairdressing Salon results in the death of 3 women and 2 children. Even so, the police are taken aback and caught on the hop when a riotous large crowd assembles with ugly scenes playing outside the courthouse when the 3 boys charged with the heinous crime arrive in a prison van. Harry has discharged himself from hospital early despite the fact he has clearly not recovered from his painful stomach ulcers, he is at the scene meeting Chief Inspector Murray, hoping to be allowed back to work. He witnesses the audacious grab of the boys when a lorry rams the prison van, and finds himself ordered to conduct a background investigation of the case as Murray doubts that Tobago Police are up to the task, and overseeing that Wattie is competently managing the case of a unidentified murdered young girl found at Sighthill Cemetery.
Additionally, McCoy finds himself at the scene of an apparent suicide of a man he knows, Alastair 'Dirty Ally' Drummond known to sell scud mags at his stall, finding himself inexorably drawn deeper as he discovers that Ally had been threatened and had gone into hiding. The pressure racks up when the horrifically tortured body of one of the abducted boys is found with a note saying 'one down, two to go'. There is no way Murray will countenance vigilantism and mob rule, and with the clock ticking, the hunt is on to find the remaining boys, but they have no leads. Harry calls on his network of contacts amongst Glasgow's criminal underbelly and the terrifying hard men gangsters fighting over turf, with Jimmy Smart seeking legitimacy through his businesses, and Dessie Kane through the church and photographed with the city's establishment through the charity social circuit, both men now with much further to fall should anything go wrong. Harry reconnects with Stevie Cooper, a brutal and volatile crime boss, looking for his son, Paul, as he wonders if it is possible all the cases are linked.
With his body buckling under his health issues, McCoy tests it further by doing the very things that exacerbate matters by taking to drink and drugs as he encounters and is confronted with sights no human being should see, and the demons in his past raise their heads to haunt him when he finds himself unexpectedly encountering his homeless and alcoholic father, George, a man whose monstrous failures resulted in his traumatic and emotionally damaging childhood. This is a superb addition to Park's stellar Scottish noir series, atmospherically evoking a dark and mesmerising picture of a 1970s Glasgow with its wideranging cast of characters, with a flawed McCoy willing to do whatever it takes to get some form of justice for those who slipped through the cracks. A brilliant read, but not for the fainthearted, that I recommend highly. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
Additionally, McCoy finds himself at the scene of an apparent suicide of a man he knows, Alastair 'Dirty Ally' Drummond known to sell scud mags at his stall, finding himself inexorably drawn deeper as he discovers that Ally had been threatened and had gone into hiding. The pressure racks up when the horrifically tortured body of one of the abducted boys is found with a note saying 'one down, two to go'. There is no way Murray will countenance vigilantism and mob rule, and with the clock ticking, the hunt is on to find the remaining boys, but they have no leads. Harry calls on his network of contacts amongst Glasgow's criminal underbelly and the terrifying hard men gangsters fighting over turf, with Jimmy Smart seeking legitimacy through his businesses, and Dessie Kane through the church and photographed with the city's establishment through the charity social circuit, both men now with much further to fall should anything go wrong. Harry reconnects with Stevie Cooper, a brutal and volatile crime boss, looking for his son, Paul, as he wonders if it is possible all the cases are linked.
With his body buckling under his health issues, McCoy tests it further by doing the very things that exacerbate matters by taking to drink and drugs as he encounters and is confronted with sights no human being should see, and the demons in his past raise their heads to haunt him when he finds himself unexpectedly encountering his homeless and alcoholic father, George, a man whose monstrous failures resulted in his traumatic and emotionally damaging childhood. This is a superb addition to Park's stellar Scottish noir series, atmospherically evoking a dark and mesmerising picture of a 1970s Glasgow with its wideranging cast of characters, with a flawed McCoy willing to do whatever it takes to get some form of justice for those who slipped through the cracks. A brilliant read, but not for the fainthearted, that I recommend highly. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC.
February 21, 2023
A Harry McCoy Thriller #5
It’s 20th of May 1974 and Harry McCoy is “in recovery“ from a bleeding ulcer which hospitalised him four weeks ago. He’s back at work though his boss Murray, “his rock“, is unconvinced he’s fit. His first day back at work is one he won’t forget as a crowd block the court entrance chanting “Hang them“, this soon gets out of control. The crowd are after three lads inside, who are charged and then placed on remand for the arson attack of a hairdressers salon that killed three women and two children. As the prison van heads for Barlinnie (prison) it is rammed by a lorry, the three lads are released and driven off. Who has taken them? The hunt is on to find them. A policeman’s lot is never done as McCoy is asked to investigate the suicide of “Dirty Ally” (Alistair Drummond) and shortly after this there are two murders. McCoy exploits his connections especially to gangland boss Stevie Cooper to try to get to the truth.g
This is tartan noir at its best, here there lies plenty of noir not least in Glasgow of the 1970s. The plot is complex but absolutely riveting as McCoy begins to connect the dots in the multilayered thriller. I really like the way it’s written, style matching the gritty city to perfection. The arson case is a tough one to crack with the ripples spreading wide and made worse by the violent actions of some. The author creates the most evocative atmosphere of 70s Glasgow which is almost a character in its own right. It’s tough, uncompromising, a city of deprivation and poverty, with violence an every day occurrence. The characters match with equally hard exteriors, they’re colourful and feel authentic as the dialogue does. These people are easy pickings for gangland bosses to exploit as a turf war between Dessie Caine and Johnny Smart plays out with both trying to look “respectable” as the city “reeks of misery”.
The character of McCoy is fascinating, his past lingers and he carries much emotional baggage, in many ways he’s a tortured soul but he’s a dogged cop even if his methods aren’t conventional as he’s all about the people who fall through the cracks. There are multiple twists, turns, more grit and noir, it’s intense, violent and gripping with tension and suspense in abundance. The ending is powerful with justice served one way or another. This is an excellent thriller, I took a punt as I hadn’t read the other four. It works perfectly well as a standalone but I’m going to read the back catalogue as that’s how good this is.
With thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
It’s 20th of May 1974 and Harry McCoy is “in recovery“ from a bleeding ulcer which hospitalised him four weeks ago. He’s back at work though his boss Murray, “his rock“, is unconvinced he’s fit. His first day back at work is one he won’t forget as a crowd block the court entrance chanting “Hang them“, this soon gets out of control. The crowd are after three lads inside, who are charged and then placed on remand for the arson attack of a hairdressers salon that killed three women and two children. As the prison van heads for Barlinnie (prison) it is rammed by a lorry, the three lads are released and driven off. Who has taken them? The hunt is on to find them. A policeman’s lot is never done as McCoy is asked to investigate the suicide of “Dirty Ally” (Alistair Drummond) and shortly after this there are two murders. McCoy exploits his connections especially to gangland boss Stevie Cooper to try to get to the truth.g
This is tartan noir at its best, here there lies plenty of noir not least in Glasgow of the 1970s. The plot is complex but absolutely riveting as McCoy begins to connect the dots in the multilayered thriller. I really like the way it’s written, style matching the gritty city to perfection. The arson case is a tough one to crack with the ripples spreading wide and made worse by the violent actions of some. The author creates the most evocative atmosphere of 70s Glasgow which is almost a character in its own right. It’s tough, uncompromising, a city of deprivation and poverty, with violence an every day occurrence. The characters match with equally hard exteriors, they’re colourful and feel authentic as the dialogue does. These people are easy pickings for gangland bosses to exploit as a turf war between Dessie Caine and Johnny Smart plays out with both trying to look “respectable” as the city “reeks of misery”.
The character of McCoy is fascinating, his past lingers and he carries much emotional baggage, in many ways he’s a tortured soul but he’s a dogged cop even if his methods aren’t conventional as he’s all about the people who fall through the cracks. There are multiple twists, turns, more grit and noir, it’s intense, violent and gripping with tension and suspense in abundance. The ending is powerful with justice served one way or another. This is an excellent thriller, I took a punt as I hadn’t read the other four. It works perfectly well as a standalone but I’m going to read the back catalogue as that’s how good this is.
With thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for the much appreciated arc in return for an honest review.
June 9, 2022
April Showers Bring May _____
May does come after April in this fantastic series but no flowers here, just grit and determination.
Harry McCoy is freshly released from the hospital and pounding the pavement against his doctor’s orders. He’s attempting to track down who’s behind a coordinated effort in allowing three suspected killers to escape en route from the courthouse. In addition, a suspicious suicide of an acquaintance isn’t adding up, so he has his hands full yet again.
Billed as Scottish Noir, dry humor and a tough as nails detective have kept me coming back for more. I read the series out of order beginning with Bobby March Lives Forever and then went on to The April Dead with this being my third.
I was able to locate copies of Bloody January and February’s Son and have them waiting in the wings for when I’m able to spare a moment. They can be read as stand alones, but I would suggest beginning with the first if you’re able.
If you smile at acerbic dialog, colorful characters, and enjoy old school police work, you may love this too.
Purchased at the Book Depository.
May does come after April in this fantastic series but no flowers here, just grit and determination.
Harry McCoy is freshly released from the hospital and pounding the pavement against his doctor’s orders. He’s attempting to track down who’s behind a coordinated effort in allowing three suspected killers to escape en route from the courthouse. In addition, a suspicious suicide of an acquaintance isn’t adding up, so he has his hands full yet again.
Billed as Scottish Noir, dry humor and a tough as nails detective have kept me coming back for more. I read the series out of order beginning with Bobby March Lives Forever and then went on to The April Dead with this being my third.
I was able to locate copies of Bloody January and February’s Son and have them waiting in the wings for when I’m able to spare a moment. They can be read as stand alones, but I would suggest beginning with the first if you’re able.
If you smile at acerbic dialog, colorful characters, and enjoy old school police work, you may love this too.
Purchased at the Book Depository.
May 17, 2022
It’s 1974 and tensions are running high in Glasgow following the death of three women and two children in an arson attack on a hairdressing salon. DS Harry McCoy, just out of hospital after four weeks with a bleeding ulcer, is amongst a very angry crowd outside the courthouse where three young men have been charged with murder. As the van taking them to Barlinnie prison leaves, it’s rammed by a speeding lorry and the three men are pulled out of the van and into a waiting car. The following day one the body of one of the young men, battered and tortured is found with a note saying “One down, two to go.”
DI Murray reluctantly allows Harry back to work as his other detectives have their hands full trying to find the remaining two arsonists, even though Harry is clearly still not well and isn’t following his doctor’s orders to stop smoking and drinking, rest and eat better. With no idea who has the men and why they are being tortured, Harry has to resort to using his criminal contacts for information and leads. After Harry witnesses the apparent suicide of a homeless man he knows well, he is also assigned to find out if he was murdered.
This is excellent, gritty Scottish crime, dripping with suspense and tension. The 1970 streets of Glasgow are grimy, tough and violent and already awash with drugs but Harry is right at home. He may be flawed and carry a lot of damage from his past but he’s a determined and insightful cop. Although if he continues drinking and ignoring his health there may not be too many more sequels. The plot is complex and multistranded but comes together brilliantly after a few false turns and twists. Highly recommended!
With thanks to Canongate via Netgalley for a copy to read
DI Murray reluctantly allows Harry back to work as his other detectives have their hands full trying to find the remaining two arsonists, even though Harry is clearly still not well and isn’t following his doctor’s orders to stop smoking and drinking, rest and eat better. With no idea who has the men and why they are being tortured, Harry has to resort to using his criminal contacts for information and leads. After Harry witnesses the apparent suicide of a homeless man he knows well, he is also assigned to find out if he was murdered.
This is excellent, gritty Scottish crime, dripping with suspense and tension. The 1970 streets of Glasgow are grimy, tough and violent and already awash with drugs but Harry is right at home. He may be flawed and carry a lot of damage from his past but he’s a determined and insightful cop. Although if he continues drinking and ignoring his health there may not be too many more sequels. The plot is complex and multistranded but comes together brilliantly after a few false turns and twists. Highly recommended!
With thanks to Canongate via Netgalley for a copy to read
April 25, 2022
May God Forgive is the fifth book in the Harry McCoy series by British author, Alan Parks. May 1974, and DS Harry McCoy returns to work after a month is hospital that did little for his perforated ulcer but bored him intensely. He happens to be watching as a truck ploughs into the prison van carrying three teenaged boys. Their arson attack at a hair salon had mortally injured three women and two children.
The mob at the court house had been ready to string them up, but now a car swiftly takes them away, and the police assume it’s done to avoid them standing trial. McCoy’s CI, Hector Murray assigns him two tasks: he’s to help DS Doug Watson progress his cases and, on the quiet, to check with his informants what the word on the salon fire is.
When an old acquaintance, Paddy’s Market porn retailer Dirty Ally, commits suicide, a quiet chat with a roommate has McCoy wondering exactly what Ally was so afraid of that he would jump off a roof; the suicide doesn’t bear official investigation, but Harry can’t help wanting to take a look.
Wattie’s problem case, an unidentified fifteen-year-old, dressed for a night out, found strangled in a cemetery, is not yielding to his logic, and also has McCoy guessing, until they focus on a strip of booth photos in her purse.
When one of the arsonists’ bodies, clearly tortured, is deposited, with a biblical reference and a sickening cassette tape, in front of the burnt-out salon, it begins to look like a vigilante action. But then ownership of the salon points to possible aggression between rival gangs.
Parks easily conveys his setting, and that largely being mid-seventies underworld Glasgow, it necessitates quite a lot of graphic descriptions of violence, liberal use of expletives, hard drinking, and drug use, in some of which Harry indulges, despite medical advice. Both evidence uncovered in his investigations, and an encounter with his estranged father, take Harry reluctantly back to an unfortunate, neglected youth.
Most of the story takes place over ten days, with Harry doggedly pursuing every lead in an effort to prevent further vigilantism. This involves plenty of red herrings and enough twists to recommend pre-booking a chiropractic appointment. Once again, excellent gritty Glasgow noir and it will be interesting to see what Parks has in store for Harry in the “June” title.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate.
The mob at the court house had been ready to string them up, but now a car swiftly takes them away, and the police assume it’s done to avoid them standing trial. McCoy’s CI, Hector Murray assigns him two tasks: he’s to help DS Doug Watson progress his cases and, on the quiet, to check with his informants what the word on the salon fire is.
When an old acquaintance, Paddy’s Market porn retailer Dirty Ally, commits suicide, a quiet chat with a roommate has McCoy wondering exactly what Ally was so afraid of that he would jump off a roof; the suicide doesn’t bear official investigation, but Harry can’t help wanting to take a look.
Wattie’s problem case, an unidentified fifteen-year-old, dressed for a night out, found strangled in a cemetery, is not yielding to his logic, and also has McCoy guessing, until they focus on a strip of booth photos in her purse.
When one of the arsonists’ bodies, clearly tortured, is deposited, with a biblical reference and a sickening cassette tape, in front of the burnt-out salon, it begins to look like a vigilante action. But then ownership of the salon points to possible aggression between rival gangs.
Parks easily conveys his setting, and that largely being mid-seventies underworld Glasgow, it necessitates quite a lot of graphic descriptions of violence, liberal use of expletives, hard drinking, and drug use, in some of which Harry indulges, despite medical advice. Both evidence uncovered in his investigations, and an encounter with his estranged father, take Harry reluctantly back to an unfortunate, neglected youth.
Most of the story takes place over ten days, with Harry doggedly pursuing every lead in an effort to prevent further vigilantism. This involves plenty of red herrings and enough twists to recommend pre-booking a chiropractic appointment. Once again, excellent gritty Glasgow noir and it will be interesting to see what Parks has in store for Harry in the “June” title.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by NetGalley and Canongate.
January 20, 2023
Brilliant. Gritty,complex characters,well executed plot,great writingt.
It´s a pity this series and author are so underrated while so many mediocre -at best- books get all the hype.
It´s a pity this series and author are so underrated while so many mediocre -at best- books get all the hype.
March 4, 2022
thanks to the publishers and netgalley for a free copy in return for an open and honest review
This series is based in the underbelly of 1974 Glasgow and several women are killed in an arson attack and sets off a series of events and McCoy sets about discovering how to solve as we enter the grimy underworld of turf wars sex. parks delivers again with this the 5th in his series
This series is based in the underbelly of 1974 Glasgow and several women are killed in an arson attack and sets off a series of events and McCoy sets about discovering how to solve as we enter the grimy underworld of turf wars sex. parks delivers again with this the 5th in his series
June 21, 2022
Another burner from Parks, who’s cemented himself as one of the best in the game.
November 16, 2025
Die historische Kriminalroman-Reihe von Alan Parks, angelegt im Glasgow des Jahres 1974 und immer einen Monat fortschreitend, ist auf diesem Blog regelmäßig vorgestellt und angemessen gewürdigt worden. Durch einen Verlagswechsel ist die Reihe nun im Polar Verlag angekommen und Band 5 veröffentlicht worden.
Harry McCoy ist nach seinem letzten Einsatz halbwegs wieder dienstfähig und gerät direkt in eine Ermittlung von explosivem Ausmaß. Ein Brandanschlag auf einen Friseur- und Kosmetiksalon hat mehrere Frauen und Kinder das Leben gekostet. Die jugendlichen Täter wurden nach anonymem Hinweis gefasst und sollen nun angeklagt werden. Vor dem Gericht tobt ein wütender Mob und fordert die Todesstrafe. Nach der Verhandlung wird der Gefängnistransporter von professionellen Unbekannten gestoppt und die Täter entführt. Nach einigen Tagen wird der erste der Täter gefoltert und ermordet aufgefunden. Die Polizei versucht verzweifelt die Entführten zu finden und die Hintergründe des Brandanschlags zu ermitteln.
Alan Parks garniert diese zentrale Story aber wie gewohnt mit weiteren Strängen und vor allem auch mit der fortlaufenden Geschichte um Harry McCoys Kumpel aus den Tagen des Kinderheims, Stevie Cooper, seines Zeichens einer der führenden Gangsterbosse Glasgows. Diese gefährliche Freundschaft wird auch in diesem Band eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Alles in allem setzt Parks die Reihe gewohnt stark fort, man ist sogar geneigt zu sagen, dieser Band ist einen Tick besser als die guten Vorgänger. Großes Plus sind weiterhin die konsequente Auslotung der Grauzonen der Hauptcharaktere, die alles andere als schwarz-weiß agieren, die historischen und popkulturellen Referenzen und die Chronik von Glasgow als raue, düstere, wettergegerbte Stadt.
Harry McCoy ist nach seinem letzten Einsatz halbwegs wieder dienstfähig und gerät direkt in eine Ermittlung von explosivem Ausmaß. Ein Brandanschlag auf einen Friseur- und Kosmetiksalon hat mehrere Frauen und Kinder das Leben gekostet. Die jugendlichen Täter wurden nach anonymem Hinweis gefasst und sollen nun angeklagt werden. Vor dem Gericht tobt ein wütender Mob und fordert die Todesstrafe. Nach der Verhandlung wird der Gefängnistransporter von professionellen Unbekannten gestoppt und die Täter entführt. Nach einigen Tagen wird der erste der Täter gefoltert und ermordet aufgefunden. Die Polizei versucht verzweifelt die Entführten zu finden und die Hintergründe des Brandanschlags zu ermitteln.
Alan Parks garniert diese zentrale Story aber wie gewohnt mit weiteren Strängen und vor allem auch mit der fortlaufenden Geschichte um Harry McCoys Kumpel aus den Tagen des Kinderheims, Stevie Cooper, seines Zeichens einer der führenden Gangsterbosse Glasgows. Diese gefährliche Freundschaft wird auch in diesem Band eine wichtige Rolle spielen. Alles in allem setzt Parks die Reihe gewohnt stark fort, man ist sogar geneigt zu sagen, dieser Band ist einen Tick besser als die guten Vorgänger. Großes Plus sind weiterhin die konsequente Auslotung der Grauzonen der Hauptcharaktere, die alles andere als schwarz-weiß agieren, die historischen und popkulturellen Referenzen und die Chronik von Glasgow als raue, düstere, wettergegerbte Stadt.
May 20, 2022
So, for anyone who has previously read my extremely complimentary reviews of Bloody January, February’s Son, Bobby March Will Live Forever and The April Dead , you can expect more of the same in May God Forgive. This is quite frankly one of the most accomplished series on the contemporary crime fiction scene, and now in its fifth instalment it certainly shows no signs of predictability, or loss of momentum, which is music to the ears of all us crime lovers…
Like many of the readers of this series, we can all appreciate the certain rough charm about the main police protagonist Detective Harry McCoy. With his tentative return to work after a recent episode of illness, mainlining the old Pepto-Bismol at every opportunity, but stubbornly refusing to cut back on the fags, the booze and the bad diet, McCoy is his own worst enemy. A man squeamish at the sight of blood, preferring to lurk on the well worn steps outside the city mortuary to avoid observing an autopsy. A man who counts an infamous criminal figure of the Glaswegian underworld as a good pal, and is also generally a bit of a soft touch when he sees others down at heel or in a state of need or distress. Also a man who doesn’t strictly follow the codes of practice in his occupation, and generally manipulates the rules to achieve his ends. He’s intuitive, wily, extremely dogged and, in common with most fictional detectives has a dark past, in his case, one steeped in neglect and familial disruption. However, aided by his trusty sidekick Detective Watson, and his propensity to confront and challenge those he suspects of wrong doing, outside the boundaries of his professional persona, McCoy’s stubbornness and sense of justice will invariably win the day.
There’s a couple of absolutely cracking plotlines running through this one, steeped in revenge and retribution. A motiveless attack on a hairdressers. the discovery of a dead teenage girl, and the seemingly straightforward suicide of a local shifty market stall holder, weave in and out of each other, in another beautifully plotted and compelling narrative. As McCoy finds himself inveigled in these cases, not altogether of his own volition, Parks crafts a thoroughly intriguing, disturbing and ultimately immensely satisfying crime story, that exposes the worst and best of the individuals involved, and the creeping tendrils of corruption in society, that keeps the pages a-turning well into the small wee hours.
Once again, Parks immerses us completely in the world of 1970’s Glasgow, with his trademark affection for the city and its inhabitants, perfectly counterbalanced with his unerring exposure of the dark underbelly of this down-at-hell but relentlessly resilient city. As the story pivots between the less salubrious areas and individuals, and those from the better side of the tracks, McCoy has to navigate between the differing worlds in the chase for the truth, and to save a young man from a seemingly certain fate. McCoy is refreshingly unaffected by those who wield power and influence, and his grim tenacity and refusal to kowtow and bend to the will of others he encounters, whoever they may be, is always refreshing and, at times, darkly humorous.
Let’s face it, what else do you need to know about this cracking series? May God Forgive, further cements Parks as an absolute must-read author, and if this hasn’t tempted you to investigate these books yourself, I am flummoxed! Highly recommended as always, and just treat yourself and read them all
Like many of the readers of this series, we can all appreciate the certain rough charm about the main police protagonist Detective Harry McCoy. With his tentative return to work after a recent episode of illness, mainlining the old Pepto-Bismol at every opportunity, but stubbornly refusing to cut back on the fags, the booze and the bad diet, McCoy is his own worst enemy. A man squeamish at the sight of blood, preferring to lurk on the well worn steps outside the city mortuary to avoid observing an autopsy. A man who counts an infamous criminal figure of the Glaswegian underworld as a good pal, and is also generally a bit of a soft touch when he sees others down at heel or in a state of need or distress. Also a man who doesn’t strictly follow the codes of practice in his occupation, and generally manipulates the rules to achieve his ends. He’s intuitive, wily, extremely dogged and, in common with most fictional detectives has a dark past, in his case, one steeped in neglect and familial disruption. However, aided by his trusty sidekick Detective Watson, and his propensity to confront and challenge those he suspects of wrong doing, outside the boundaries of his professional persona, McCoy’s stubbornness and sense of justice will invariably win the day.
There’s a couple of absolutely cracking plotlines running through this one, steeped in revenge and retribution. A motiveless attack on a hairdressers. the discovery of a dead teenage girl, and the seemingly straightforward suicide of a local shifty market stall holder, weave in and out of each other, in another beautifully plotted and compelling narrative. As McCoy finds himself inveigled in these cases, not altogether of his own volition, Parks crafts a thoroughly intriguing, disturbing and ultimately immensely satisfying crime story, that exposes the worst and best of the individuals involved, and the creeping tendrils of corruption in society, that keeps the pages a-turning well into the small wee hours.
Once again, Parks immerses us completely in the world of 1970’s Glasgow, with his trademark affection for the city and its inhabitants, perfectly counterbalanced with his unerring exposure of the dark underbelly of this down-at-hell but relentlessly resilient city. As the story pivots between the less salubrious areas and individuals, and those from the better side of the tracks, McCoy has to navigate between the differing worlds in the chase for the truth, and to save a young man from a seemingly certain fate. McCoy is refreshingly unaffected by those who wield power and influence, and his grim tenacity and refusal to kowtow and bend to the will of others he encounters, whoever they may be, is always refreshing and, at times, darkly humorous.
Let’s face it, what else do you need to know about this cracking series? May God Forgive, further cements Parks as an absolute must-read author, and if this hasn’t tempted you to investigate these books yourself, I am flummoxed! Highly recommended as always, and just treat yourself and read them all
March 13, 2024
These books are consistently fantastic.
If you have gotten this far with Harry and are wondering if this book is as good as the others - it is.
If you have gotten this far with Harry and are wondering if this book is as good as the others - it is.
April 5, 2022
This is the fifth book in the Harry McCoy series and it’s another very good addition to the series.
It is now May 1974 and McCoy is back at work even though his stomach ulcer makes him scarcely fit. An arson attack on a hairdresser’s leaves five women and girls dead and the city baying for revenge. The three boys responsible are in custody but are snatched while in transit from court. A complex plot emerges involving possible involvement by two of Glasgow’s underworld bosses and a lot of delving into the nastiest aspects of the city, while Stevie Cooper remains a menacing presence in McCoy’s life and in the investigation.
It’s very well done – and about as noir as it gets. McCoy is ill and disillusioned, it is late May but still raining incessantly, there is a wide range of seedy or ruined characters and some of the violence is truly sickening. Nonetheless, it’s an engrossing story with Alan Parks’s evocation of the Glasgow of the period and its characters being as convincing and fascinating as ever and I was completely engaged. There were strong echoes of William McIlvanney here – which is just fine by me.
Parks is beginning to deserve to be ranked with other contemporary giants of Scottish crime writing like Rankin, Mina and McDermid, I think. This isn’t for the faint-hearted, but if you like crime to be really noir, I can recommend this warmly.
(My thanks to Canongate for an ARC vie NetGalley.)
It is now May 1974 and McCoy is back at work even though his stomach ulcer makes him scarcely fit. An arson attack on a hairdresser’s leaves five women and girls dead and the city baying for revenge. The three boys responsible are in custody but are snatched while in transit from court. A complex plot emerges involving possible involvement by two of Glasgow’s underworld bosses and a lot of delving into the nastiest aspects of the city, while Stevie Cooper remains a menacing presence in McCoy’s life and in the investigation.
It’s very well done – and about as noir as it gets. McCoy is ill and disillusioned, it is late May but still raining incessantly, there is a wide range of seedy or ruined characters and some of the violence is truly sickening. Nonetheless, it’s an engrossing story with Alan Parks’s evocation of the Glasgow of the period and its characters being as convincing and fascinating as ever and I was completely engaged. There were strong echoes of William McIlvanney here – which is just fine by me.
Parks is beginning to deserve to be ranked with other contemporary giants of Scottish crime writing like Rankin, Mina and McDermid, I think. This isn’t for the faint-hearted, but if you like crime to be really noir, I can recommend this warmly.
(My thanks to Canongate for an ARC vie NetGalley.)
September 15, 2025
I’m not usually one for crime but read the previous books in the series a couple years ago and want to continue. But this was not great. The pacing was so off and it felt like there wasn’t a proper climax to the story, nor was there the most satisfying ending aside from a little poetic justice. I’ll still read the next book though
April 3, 2024
Superb piece of tartan noir and at the centre is unconventional policeman Harry McCoy. Harry at the edge of 32 is spent and worn out, a body abused by drugs and alcohol but still determined to see justice done. With the body counting mounting and the fallout of a burnt hairdresers to be solved, together with the kidnapping of the 3 boys suspected of the arson, Harry must use his best endeavours and possibly the law, to solve the crimes before more murders are perpetrated. Many thanks to NG and the publisher for and early copy of this brilliant novel in return for an honest review and that is what I have written. Highly recommended.
March 13, 2022
Fast becoming one of my favourite series, this is the 5th and possibly best outing for Harry McCoy.
Once more this is a gritty, dark, morally ambiguous tale set in the vibrantly described 70's. The story is deeply addictive and I have to say May God Forgive has one of the best endings I've read in forever. I actually applauded but then felt a bit guilty considering...
Anyway this is a superb series of crime novels and if you haven't yet come across them I highly recommend you give them a go.
Once more this is a gritty, dark, morally ambiguous tale set in the vibrantly described 70's. The story is deeply addictive and I have to say May God Forgive has one of the best endings I've read in forever. I actually applauded but then felt a bit guilty considering...
Anyway this is a superb series of crime novels and if you haven't yet come across them I highly recommend you give them a go.
June 13, 2022
In May God Forgive, the fifth installment featuring Alan Parks’ police investigator Harry McCoy, McCoy is tasked with assisting in the investigation of an arson-murder case based over a few days in 1974 Glasgow.
Three late-aged teenagers have been arrested for setting a hairdressing salon on fire that ended in the deaths of five people, including three children. Glasgow as a city is on edge as a violent mob wants blood from the boys regardless of the reason why the salon was burned.
While the three are being transported, the prisoner transport vehicle is rammed and the three boys skirted away by unknown assailants. At first, it is thought a loved one of the boys arranged the assault to rescue the boys, but when one turns up dead and with signs of horrific torture and a note he’s just the first, McCoy’s boss pushes hard for the locating of the other two boys regardless of the heinous nature of their crime.
McCoy, distracted by his own personal issues and his increasing health issues brought on by years of neglect and bad habits, soon immerses himself deeply into the investigation and is further hampered by other deaths in Glasgow that may or may not be related to the arson killings.
Like Ian Rankin and his character John Rebus, Parks also ages Harry McCoy in ways that do not allow him to remain static and with an air of invincibility. McCoy drinks too much, smokes too much, eats all the wrong food and as the novel progresses, is further haunted by his past and the reminders of his past, which allows the reader to build a humane kinship with McCoy.
In bringing back supporting characters from previous McCoy novels and progressively revealing new information about these characters allows May God Forgive to avoid feeling stale or read like a churned out by rote novel.
McCoy’s counterparts, including his partner Wattie as a newborn father, and the extremely violent Stevie Cooper, add more layers to the story and keep things moving right along. Because I don’t reveal plot spoilers in fiction reviews, all I will suggest is, to this reader, the ending was not anticipated and was welcomed because in serial novels, avoiding repetition and predictability ensures the crafting of quality stories and character growth.
Fans of Parks’ Harry McCoy will not be disappointed. May God Forgive is another high quality, gritty novel based in the 1970s and with a story readers should enjoy. The novel is filled with plenty of villains where if one didn’t commit one particular crime, he or she most likely committed some other crime.
May God Forgive was provided by Netgalley for the promise of a fair review.
This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com.
Three late-aged teenagers have been arrested for setting a hairdressing salon on fire that ended in the deaths of five people, including three children. Glasgow as a city is on edge as a violent mob wants blood from the boys regardless of the reason why the salon was burned.
While the three are being transported, the prisoner transport vehicle is rammed and the three boys skirted away by unknown assailants. At first, it is thought a loved one of the boys arranged the assault to rescue the boys, but when one turns up dead and with signs of horrific torture and a note he’s just the first, McCoy’s boss pushes hard for the locating of the other two boys regardless of the heinous nature of their crime.
McCoy, distracted by his own personal issues and his increasing health issues brought on by years of neglect and bad habits, soon immerses himself deeply into the investigation and is further hampered by other deaths in Glasgow that may or may not be related to the arson killings.
Like Ian Rankin and his character John Rebus, Parks also ages Harry McCoy in ways that do not allow him to remain static and with an air of invincibility. McCoy drinks too much, smokes too much, eats all the wrong food and as the novel progresses, is further haunted by his past and the reminders of his past, which allows the reader to build a humane kinship with McCoy.
In bringing back supporting characters from previous McCoy novels and progressively revealing new information about these characters allows May God Forgive to avoid feeling stale or read like a churned out by rote novel.
McCoy’s counterparts, including his partner Wattie as a newborn father, and the extremely violent Stevie Cooper, add more layers to the story and keep things moving right along. Because I don’t reveal plot spoilers in fiction reviews, all I will suggest is, to this reader, the ending was not anticipated and was welcomed because in serial novels, avoiding repetition and predictability ensures the crafting of quality stories and character growth.
Fans of Parks’ Harry McCoy will not be disappointed. May God Forgive is another high quality, gritty novel based in the 1970s and with a story readers should enjoy. The novel is filled with plenty of villains where if one didn’t commit one particular crime, he or she most likely committed some other crime.
May God Forgive was provided by Netgalley for the promise of a fair review.
This review was originally published at MysteryandSuspense.com.
April 9, 2022
Harry McCoy hasn’t really recovered after his latest case but is back to work as the whole city is mourning the loss of five women and children who were killed after somebody set fire to a hairdresser’s. The atmosphere in the city is hot when the three young men are arrested for the crime, but just outside the courthouse, the police van is attacked and the three of them are kidnapped. It does not take too long until the first shows up again: severely mutilated and killed. Police need to find the hiding place before the other two are massacred, too. Yet, this is not the only case Harry has to work on, a young unknown girl has been strangled and dumped on a cemetery. The police detective does not have the least idea where this case will lead and what it will demand of him.
The fifth instalment of Alan Parks’ series cantered around the Glasgow detective Harry McCoy again combines brilliantly the mood of the 1974 Scottish city with McCoy’s personal life. “May God Forgive” repeatedly challenges morals and ethics and raises the question if something as a fair trial and sentence can exist.
I have been a huge fan of the series from the start and I still have the impression that it is getting better with each new novel. This time, it is several cases that drive the plot. First of all, the case of the burnt down hairdresser’s which seems to be connected to the city’s gang rivalries. McCoy wanders between the world of law and order and the illegal underworld thus getting closer to what has happened. He ignores his health which would much rather confine him to his home, but what should he do there?
His private life is also addressed in several ways thus granting more and more insight in the complex relationship he has with his father and his upbringing. Loyalties going far back in to his childhood now force him to question his very own place as a representative of the system, much more than it did before even though his friendship with Stevie Cooper put him in tricky situations before. Can you ever really overcome where you come from? Obviously not, but on the other hand: aren’t the institutions responsible for law and order sometimes as corrupt as the underworld?
A lot of suspense and food for thought as you as a reader quite naturally also ponder about the question how you would have reacted in McCoy’s place. Another great read of one of the best contemporary crime series.
The fifth instalment of Alan Parks’ series cantered around the Glasgow detective Harry McCoy again combines brilliantly the mood of the 1974 Scottish city with McCoy’s personal life. “May God Forgive” repeatedly challenges morals and ethics and raises the question if something as a fair trial and sentence can exist.
I have been a huge fan of the series from the start and I still have the impression that it is getting better with each new novel. This time, it is several cases that drive the plot. First of all, the case of the burnt down hairdresser’s which seems to be connected to the city’s gang rivalries. McCoy wanders between the world of law and order and the illegal underworld thus getting closer to what has happened. He ignores his health which would much rather confine him to his home, but what should he do there?
His private life is also addressed in several ways thus granting more and more insight in the complex relationship he has with his father and his upbringing. Loyalties going far back in to his childhood now force him to question his very own place as a representative of the system, much more than it did before even though his friendship with Stevie Cooper put him in tricky situations before. Can you ever really overcome where you come from? Obviously not, but on the other hand: aren’t the institutions responsible for law and order sometimes as corrupt as the underworld?
A lot of suspense and food for thought as you as a reader quite naturally also ponder about the question how you would have reacted in McCoy’s place. Another great read of one of the best contemporary crime series.
June 28, 2023
I’ve spoken plenty of times on the comfort and familiarity of diving back into a book series namely for characters and settings you know well. That’s the case with what is undoubtedly my favourite current ongoing series in Alan Parks’ Harry McCoy.
McCoy is returning from sick leave following a bleeding ulcer to help out Murray, Wattie, et al with the case of a hairdressers that was burnt down leading to the deaths of three women and two children igniting the ire of the greater Glasgow area with McCoy’s first steps back on the job wading through protestors wanting to see those accused of the crime hung. They’ve barely begun the drive away from the court when they are rescued with the help of a lorry, which McCoy bears witness to realising the case just got a lot more difficult.
Parks knows how to tell a cracking crime story and keeps things flowing with dialogue and snappy chapters, but this one levels up the experience as there is real emotional depth to it with McCoy reflecting on his childhood waiting outside pubs for his Dad and the things he would have to do to make some money as he grew a bit older. It shows why he does what he does and how he tries to reconcile things by doing good in his job as a detective. The flip side of this is McCoy’s continued relationship with gangster Stevie Cooper, which often brings with it the more explicitly violent scenes of the novel showing the underworld that McCoy scrapes against, ignoring things for his own good.
There is a sense of things building within the series too, both on the streets of Glasgow and within the mind of Harry McCoy as things around him begin to collide. Another tremendous outing for Harry McCoy and Parks coinciding with the release of the latest one, which I’m sure I will snap up shortly.
McCoy is returning from sick leave following a bleeding ulcer to help out Murray, Wattie, et al with the case of a hairdressers that was burnt down leading to the deaths of three women and two children igniting the ire of the greater Glasgow area with McCoy’s first steps back on the job wading through protestors wanting to see those accused of the crime hung. They’ve barely begun the drive away from the court when they are rescued with the help of a lorry, which McCoy bears witness to realising the case just got a lot more difficult.
Parks knows how to tell a cracking crime story and keeps things flowing with dialogue and snappy chapters, but this one levels up the experience as there is real emotional depth to it with McCoy reflecting on his childhood waiting outside pubs for his Dad and the things he would have to do to make some money as he grew a bit older. It shows why he does what he does and how he tries to reconcile things by doing good in his job as a detective. The flip side of this is McCoy’s continued relationship with gangster Stevie Cooper, which often brings with it the more explicitly violent scenes of the novel showing the underworld that McCoy scrapes against, ignoring things for his own good.
There is a sense of things building within the series too, both on the streets of Glasgow and within the mind of Harry McCoy as things around him begin to collide. Another tremendous outing for Harry McCoy and Parks coinciding with the release of the latest one, which I’m sure I will snap up shortly.
April 4, 2023
Superb piece of tartan noir and at the centre is unconventional policeman Harry McCoy. Harry at the edge of 32 is spent and worn out, a body abused by drugs and alcohol but still determined to see justice done. With the body count mounting and the fallout of a burnt hairdresers to be solved, together with the kidnapping of the 3 boys suspected of the arson, Harry must use his best endeavours and possibly the law, to solve the crimes before more murders are perpetrated. Many thanks to NG and the publisher for and early copy of this brilliant novel in return for an honest review and that is what I have written. Highly recommended.
February 7, 2024
I think I was maybe just expecting more from this. Maybe im missing out on something having not read the previous books.
I was hoping for more twists and turns and I felt it all stayed pretty flat.
I was hoping for more twists and turns and I felt it all stayed pretty flat.
February 16, 2022
I've said it before and no doubt will say it again, but Alan Parks' books are a masterclass in Tartan Noir. Set in 1970's Glasgow, the Harry McCoy series is gripping, dark, full of violence and perfectly written. The biggest crime however is that the series hasn't won multiple awards by now.
The relationship between McCoy and childhood friend/gangland boss Stevie Cooper continues to plunge into murkier depths this time around with a shocking ending that left me wondering what Harrys' next move is going to be.
Well paced, perfectly written, tense, gripping and with a wide variety of wonderful characters, May God Forgive is yet another excellent addition to the Harry McCoy series.
Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for the ARC.
The relationship between McCoy and childhood friend/gangland boss Stevie Cooper continues to plunge into murkier depths this time around with a shocking ending that left me wondering what Harrys' next move is going to be.
Well paced, perfectly written, tense, gripping and with a wide variety of wonderful characters, May God Forgive is yet another excellent addition to the Harry McCoy series.
Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for the ARC.
April 23, 2022
MAY GOD FORGIVE follows Detective Harry McCoy, just released from hospital after treatment for a bleeding ulcer and living on a diet of Pepto-Bismol and cigarettes alternately washed down with alcohol and milk.
A hairdressing salon in an insalubrious part of Glasgow has been fire-bombed, killing three women and two children. The City is up in arms. Three boys are charged with the crime and then as they are being transported to the prison, their armoured van is hi-jacked and the boys abducted. One turns up dead the following day with a note pinned to his chest which says ‘One down – two to go’. McCoy’s boss, Chief Inspector Murray is under the cosh. Now responsible for running two police stations, he has little confidence in the police in his new station in Tobago Street.
He sees that the abduction and murder of one of these boys is no more than vigilantism and he is not prepared to stand for it, no matter how many coppers and members of the public think it’s only fair justice. Now McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the other two boys before they suffer the same fate.
This is not a walk in the park for the police force. It’s not clear who sprung the escape plan or why but McCoy fears that there are no good intentions behind this escape. Not fully recovered, though he protests the contrary, McCoy is put on behind the scenes enquiries, doing what he does best, making use of his contacts and ferreting out what small nuggets of information he can. He’s also keeping an eye on Wattie’s case – the murder of an unidentified young woman whose body was found strangled and dumped at Sighthill Cemetery.
Harry has always walked a fine line between the law makers and the law breakers in Glasgow and now it seems that some of the latter are trying to redeem themselves through good works.
As McCoy picks his way through his network of criminal contacts his enquiries lead him to the turf war going on between Jimmy Smart and Dessie Kane. Smart is building up quite a business empire and Dessie Kane is pinning his immortality and rise to respectability on his charitable links with the church and especially the next Archbishop of Glasgow to whom he is close.
Of course Harry also calls in on gangland boss Stevie Cooper, whose son Paul has gone missing. Somehow all these threads, floating in the wind, can be pulled together and made into something that resembles a pattern; if only McCoy can work out what that pattern should look like.
Never one with a strong stomach at the best of times, this is McCoy at his most vulnerable. And when a man is down, that’s the best time to kick him. Alan Parks makes the most of McCoy’s vulnerability to expose more of his past and to allow us to understand just how McCoy came to be the damaged adult that he is. It’s a difficult, poignant and heart-aching story and Harry McCoy’s vulnerability is laid bare as we understand more of what has happened to him.
Through his dredging of the depths of his contacts, he finds himself up to his neck in seedy squalor. How the apparent suicide of ‘Dirty Ally’ porn mag purveyor is connected to the disappearance of Paul Cooper and the fire-bombing of a hairdressing salon isn’t very obvious, but connected they are.
Parks does a sterling job of making McCoy’s illness match exactly the stomach churning activities of the criminals he’s investigating. It’s a perfect match – the bleeding ulcer in McCoy’s stomach meeting the rotting heart of these criminals’ endeavours.
As McCoy lumbers through the violence, the poverty and the exploitation of women and children, in his relentless pursuit of the truth, we can see he is killing himself. At the heart of this book there are so many questions about ethics and morality. McCoy draws his own moral lines and though they may not be straight, he is true to them. His loyalty to and relationship with Stevie Cooper is complex and goes way back but McCoy can see how others are exploiting the system and the fine line between gangland boss and businessman grows finer by the day, with respectability being bought by charitable donations and the conversion of money from illegal activities into the veneer of respectable businesses.
Alan Parks brilliantly re-creates 1970’s Glasgow and the divide between those who have and the have-nots. His violence is unremitting; the crimes are hard to stomach. But the characters are stand out brilliant, the plotting is superb and the sense of place second to none. Alan Parks asks some hard questions of his flawed protagonist and the answers do not come easily.
This is noir good and proper and it is an outstanding read. This whole series is utterly magnificent and completely unmissable and this book is the pinnacle of the series so far. Compelling, bleak and heart-breaking, this is a book not to be missed.
A hairdressing salon in an insalubrious part of Glasgow has been fire-bombed, killing three women and two children. The City is up in arms. Three boys are charged with the crime and then as they are being transported to the prison, their armoured van is hi-jacked and the boys abducted. One turns up dead the following day with a note pinned to his chest which says ‘One down – two to go’. McCoy’s boss, Chief Inspector Murray is under the cosh. Now responsible for running two police stations, he has little confidence in the police in his new station in Tobago Street.
He sees that the abduction and murder of one of these boys is no more than vigilantism and he is not prepared to stand for it, no matter how many coppers and members of the public think it’s only fair justice. Now McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the other two boys before they suffer the same fate.
This is not a walk in the park for the police force. It’s not clear who sprung the escape plan or why but McCoy fears that there are no good intentions behind this escape. Not fully recovered, though he protests the contrary, McCoy is put on behind the scenes enquiries, doing what he does best, making use of his contacts and ferreting out what small nuggets of information he can. He’s also keeping an eye on Wattie’s case – the murder of an unidentified young woman whose body was found strangled and dumped at Sighthill Cemetery.
Harry has always walked a fine line between the law makers and the law breakers in Glasgow and now it seems that some of the latter are trying to redeem themselves through good works.
As McCoy picks his way through his network of criminal contacts his enquiries lead him to the turf war going on between Jimmy Smart and Dessie Kane. Smart is building up quite a business empire and Dessie Kane is pinning his immortality and rise to respectability on his charitable links with the church and especially the next Archbishop of Glasgow to whom he is close.
Of course Harry also calls in on gangland boss Stevie Cooper, whose son Paul has gone missing. Somehow all these threads, floating in the wind, can be pulled together and made into something that resembles a pattern; if only McCoy can work out what that pattern should look like.
Never one with a strong stomach at the best of times, this is McCoy at his most vulnerable. And when a man is down, that’s the best time to kick him. Alan Parks makes the most of McCoy’s vulnerability to expose more of his past and to allow us to understand just how McCoy came to be the damaged adult that he is. It’s a difficult, poignant and heart-aching story and Harry McCoy’s vulnerability is laid bare as we understand more of what has happened to him.
Through his dredging of the depths of his contacts, he finds himself up to his neck in seedy squalor. How the apparent suicide of ‘Dirty Ally’ porn mag purveyor is connected to the disappearance of Paul Cooper and the fire-bombing of a hairdressing salon isn’t very obvious, but connected they are.
Parks does a sterling job of making McCoy’s illness match exactly the stomach churning activities of the criminals he’s investigating. It’s a perfect match – the bleeding ulcer in McCoy’s stomach meeting the rotting heart of these criminals’ endeavours.
As McCoy lumbers through the violence, the poverty and the exploitation of women and children, in his relentless pursuit of the truth, we can see he is killing himself. At the heart of this book there are so many questions about ethics and morality. McCoy draws his own moral lines and though they may not be straight, he is true to them. His loyalty to and relationship with Stevie Cooper is complex and goes way back but McCoy can see how others are exploiting the system and the fine line between gangland boss and businessman grows finer by the day, with respectability being bought by charitable donations and the conversion of money from illegal activities into the veneer of respectable businesses.
Alan Parks brilliantly re-creates 1970’s Glasgow and the divide between those who have and the have-nots. His violence is unremitting; the crimes are hard to stomach. But the characters are stand out brilliant, the plotting is superb and the sense of place second to none. Alan Parks asks some hard questions of his flawed protagonist and the answers do not come easily.
This is noir good and proper and it is an outstanding read. This whole series is utterly magnificent and completely unmissable and this book is the pinnacle of the series so far. Compelling, bleak and heart-breaking, this is a book not to be missed.
May 14, 2022
Harry McCoy was in hospital recovering from his burst ulcer when Dolly’s hair salon in Royston was the subject of an arson attack. Three women and a little girl died and another little girl is barely clinging on to life. Tobago Street detectives arrested three boys very soon after a tip off but they’re an odd set of friends. One is a known fire setter, one is the son of a wealthy builder and the other’s family is on the poverty line. On Harry’s first day back at Stewart Street in Glasgow Police a thunderous crowd awaits the boys outside the Sheriff Court, all baying for blood. As the prison van departs again, a well-planned hijack sees the boys escape. At first it is thought someone has helped them but when one is found dumped outside Dolly’s ruined premises, savagely tortured to death, it seems help was the last thing they received, especially when the police are left with a tape of the boy’s chilling forced confession. So is this the start of a turf war, with the attacking gang making sure the boys they employed are unable to talk, is it the salon’s real owner taking revenge on the arsonists or is it something far more sinister? A grim bible verse is quoted – burning for burning, wound for wound, stripe for stripe. Saving the other two boys will be a huge test for the police, headed by Chief Inspector Murray who is trying to run both Stewart and Tobago Street stations, since most of the public will be overjoyed to see the boys dead and are unlikely to want to help the police. In the meantime, Harry and Wattie are also investigating the murder of a teenage girl with a link to Stevie Cooper’s son, and also the strange suicide of Dirty Ally, someone with a very unexpected past, but little do they realise the depths their investigations will take them to.
Harry McCoy is known all over Glasgow, good and bad places, good and bad people. Sometimes this is why he ends up caught between them, and this story is no exception. Although I’m sure you can enjoy this as a stand-alone, you really need to read the books in order to understand properly the dynamic and shared history between Harry and Stevie Cooper. Many of the old faces, like Jumbo and Charlie the Pram are back again, together with Wattie, Mary, Phyllis and of course Stevie, and this time there is less by way of introduction or explanation of the history between them all. These books can't be faulted and you can almost taste the grime and poverty of some of the back streets and pubs in Glasgow, with their wealth of colourful and very believable characters. Dark, atmospheric and totally absorbing! I have been a huge fan of this series right from the start and it just gets better and better. I cannot wait to see what June brings. 5*
Harry McCoy is known all over Glasgow, good and bad places, good and bad people. Sometimes this is why he ends up caught between them, and this story is no exception. Although I’m sure you can enjoy this as a stand-alone, you really need to read the books in order to understand properly the dynamic and shared history between Harry and Stevie Cooper. Many of the old faces, like Jumbo and Charlie the Pram are back again, together with Wattie, Mary, Phyllis and of course Stevie, and this time there is less by way of introduction or explanation of the history between them all. These books can't be faulted and you can almost taste the grime and poverty of some of the back streets and pubs in Glasgow, with their wealth of colourful and very believable characters. Dark, atmospheric and totally absorbing! I have been a huge fan of this series right from the start and it just gets better and better. I cannot wait to see what June brings. 5*
May 30, 2022
Like many cities of the time, mid-1970s Glasgow is a chaotic melting pot. The staunchly traditional sits side by side with the ultra-modern. Harry McCoy has to try and navigate these turbulent streets and understand why a hairdressers, of all places, has been burnt to the ground. Pubs, drug dens, bookies and shebeens are all obvious targets, but a hair salon? Needless to say, there is far more to this crime than first appears.
You might think that now we’ve reached book five in this series, Harry McCoy’s character is pretty well established. That there is nothing new we could discover. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Alan Parks still manages to deftly weave key elements of Harry’s history into the narrative. We learn more about Harry’s father and there is also a heart-breaking revelation that adds a whole new layer of depth to the charismatic but broken detective.
Harry has reached the stage where he can barely function if he is not working. The drugs, the booze, the violence and the trauma of his younger years are creating a perfect storm within. It reads to me like there is a destructive streak running through him, he is almost seeking oblivion. The only thing keeping Harry tethered to a normal life is his job.
Everyone’s favourite charismatic gangland bampot, Stevie Cooper, makes an appearance. He doesn’t feature quite as much as in previous novels, but Cooper still has a key role to play. Even though he is an out and out sociopath, there is a matter of fact bluntness to Cooper’s character I can’t help but enjoy*.
As with its predecessors, May God Forgive gets pretty bleak at times. There is a fine line between justice and vengeance, and I think it is fair to say that at times that fine line gets more than a little blurred. Parks pulls no punches exploring the underbelly of a city that has a long-held reputation for violence.
The Harry McCoy novels have evolved into far more than just your standard crime thrillers, they are twisted love letters to the dark heart of a city. Everyone that I’ve read so far has been damn near perfect. Long may they continue.
*Hmm, that probably says more about me than I care to think about.
You might think that now we’ve reached book five in this series, Harry McCoy’s character is pretty well established. That there is nothing new we could discover. This couldn’t be further from the truth. Alan Parks still manages to deftly weave key elements of Harry’s history into the narrative. We learn more about Harry’s father and there is also a heart-breaking revelation that adds a whole new layer of depth to the charismatic but broken detective.
Harry has reached the stage where he can barely function if he is not working. The drugs, the booze, the violence and the trauma of his younger years are creating a perfect storm within. It reads to me like there is a destructive streak running through him, he is almost seeking oblivion. The only thing keeping Harry tethered to a normal life is his job.
Everyone’s favourite charismatic gangland bampot, Stevie Cooper, makes an appearance. He doesn’t feature quite as much as in previous novels, but Cooper still has a key role to play. Even though he is an out and out sociopath, there is a matter of fact bluntness to Cooper’s character I can’t help but enjoy*.
As with its predecessors, May God Forgive gets pretty bleak at times. There is a fine line between justice and vengeance, and I think it is fair to say that at times that fine line gets more than a little blurred. Parks pulls no punches exploring the underbelly of a city that has a long-held reputation for violence.
The Harry McCoy novels have evolved into far more than just your standard crime thrillers, they are twisted love letters to the dark heart of a city. Everyone that I’ve read so far has been damn near perfect. Long may they continue.
*Hmm, that probably says more about me than I care to think about.
July 12, 2025
Detective Harry McCoy ist frisch aus dem Krankenhaus entlassen und versucht vergeblich zu verdrängen, dass sein Magengeschwür nicht heilen wird, solange er seinen Lebensstil nicht ändert. Magentropfen sind seine neue Droge … Ein Brandanschlag auf einen Frisörsalon mit mehreren Todesopfern, Tatverdächtige, die entführt und gefoltert werden, Morde an einer Jugendlichen, sowie am Markthändler „Dirty Ally“, der über mehr Geld verfügt, als sein Verkaufsstand einbringt, tragen sicher nicht zu McCoys Rehabilitation durch Arbeit bei. Dass sein Chef offiziell zwei Polizeiwachen zu leiten hat, von denen eine durch Untätigkeit hervorsticht, und McCoys Kollege Wattie wegen des Schlafmangels als junger Vater nur ein Schatten seiner selbst ist, macht die Dinge nicht leichter. Den Ermittlern stellt sich die Frage, wen der Brandanschlag im Frisörsalon treffen sollte und was Ally zu verbergen hatte. Wieder einmal stolpert McCoy dabei über Probleme, die sein Jugendfreund Stevie Cooper mit seinem Sohn Paul hat. Bereits ohne Paul ist Cooper ein Typ, der in Schwierigkeiten gerät, sowie man ihn aus den Augen lässt. Der Groschen fällt allerdings erst, als McCoy, der in Royston selbst unter schwierigen sozialen Verhältnissen aufgewachsen ist, sich klarmacht, womit obdachlose Jugendliche ihren Lebensunterhalt verdienen – und wer von ihrer Ausbeutung profitiert. Das Netz aus ungeklärten Fällen wächst durch einen weiteren Toten an verräterischem Ort und lässt sich erst durch ein Automatenfoto entwirren, das die junge Tote vom Anfang der Ermittlungen bei sich hat.
Fazit
50 Jahre nach den geschilderten Ereignissen in der Stadt mit Schottlands höchster Kriminalitätsrate zeigt sich der 5. Band von Parks Tartan-Noir-Serie als historischer sozialkritischer Kriminalroman mit Morden der unappetitlichen Sorte. Alan Parks trifft den Sound seiner Stadt und den Ton seiner Ermittler, von denen besonders McCoy und Kollege Douglas Watson für ihr Alter deprimierend ausgebrannt wirken. Bei Leser:innen der Gegenwart werden sofort alle Warnlampen aufleuchten, als sich die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Fällen zeigen. 1974 dauert das in McCoys Team länger, weil nicht sein konnte, was nicht sein durfte, und der Leiter der Ermittlungen wieder einmal dem gesundheitlichen Zusammenbruch entgegensteuert.
Fazit
50 Jahre nach den geschilderten Ereignissen in der Stadt mit Schottlands höchster Kriminalitätsrate zeigt sich der 5. Band von Parks Tartan-Noir-Serie als historischer sozialkritischer Kriminalroman mit Morden der unappetitlichen Sorte. Alan Parks trifft den Sound seiner Stadt und den Ton seiner Ermittler, von denen besonders McCoy und Kollege Douglas Watson für ihr Alter deprimierend ausgebrannt wirken. Bei Leser:innen der Gegenwart werden sofort alle Warnlampen aufleuchten, als sich die Zusammenhänge zwischen den Fällen zeigen. 1974 dauert das in McCoys Team länger, weil nicht sein konnte, was nicht sein durfte, und der Leiter der Ermittlungen wieder einmal dem gesundheitlichen Zusammenbruch entgegensteuert.
May 14, 2022
Returning to work after a spell in hospital Harry McCoy is thrown straight back into the front line. An arson attack has left five women and children dead and all Glasgow is baying for blood. The three youths are taken from custody and start turning up one at a time, tortured, so it must be a vigilante issue. Meanwhile two of the big local gangsters are starting a turf war and the discovery of several bodies leads McCoy down a road he does not want to go, that of his own past.
Parks sets his novels in 1970s Glasgow, a rough and dark place. Building on themes of deprivation, drugs, sectarianism and equality, he has created a set of memorable characters. McCoy is hard living but with a difficult past and his relationship with a local crime lord is very cleverly plotted. Everything about this set of books is both intricately plotted and beautifully excecuted.
Parks sets his novels in 1970s Glasgow, a rough and dark place. Building on themes of deprivation, drugs, sectarianism and equality, he has created a set of memorable characters. McCoy is hard living but with a difficult past and his relationship with a local crime lord is very cleverly plotted. Everything about this set of books is both intricately plotted and beautifully excecuted.
May 19, 2024
Confesso che mi ero dimenticata di quanto amassi McCoy. Quattro romanzi letti di fila, l’ultimo aspettato pazientemente e momentaneamente lasciato da parte. E poi ritrovo McCoy, non troppo in forma, con l’ulcera, che non vuole bere ma beve, che non vuole fumare ma fuma, che odia la vista del sangue, che vomita alle autopsie. Ma l’indagine è dannatamente in forma, ti conduce dove vuole lei, poi ti riporta indietro per ricominciare da capo. All’inizio ho pensato che finalmente la violenza era limitata ma mi sono dovuta ricredere subito e, come McCoy, ogni tanto ho dovuto respirare profondamente, posare il libro, abbracciare il gatto, insomma, pulire la mente da tutto quel sangue e quelle urla. Perché con Mr. Parks la violenza non è mai gratuita ma è il DNA della Glasgow degli anni 70, ci devi fare i conti, trovare un po’ di umanità tra vittime e carnefici.
December 12, 2024
Another stunning novel in Alan Parks’ series featuring Glasgow detective Harry McCoy. The storyline revolves around who’s responsible for a deadly fire that was intentionally set and killed five people.
Parks captures the grime and sadness that was Glasgow in the 1970s in ways that few writers can. The characters are unforgettable. Highest recommendation.
Parks captures the grime and sadness that was Glasgow in the 1970s in ways that few writers can. The characters are unforgettable. Highest recommendation.
December 31, 2022
Was this the darkest Harry McCoy yet? I couldn’t believe some of the grisly stuff I was reading while thinking a beat later: “Oh my god, this is so good. I don’t want this book to end. When does the next book come out?” Harry McCoy is one of the most flawed, self-destructive, and sad main characters I’ve ever come across. But, he is goodness. And he loves his people, the downtrodden, his city. When he wept, it nearly made me weep. I already miss him; I hope I get to read more about Harry and his ragtag crew before too long.
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