Alan Parks
Author of Bloody January
About the Author
Image credit: via Europa Editions
Series
Works by Alan Parks
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- Alan Parks was born in Eastbourne, East Sussex in 1978. In 2004 Alan's Dad died of cancer after he also went through a long term illness and two liver transplants. One of his mottos was always 'live life for today, life is too short'. That philosophy has encouraged Alan to get out there and pursue his dreams.
Alan's life changed for the better (he is constantly reminded) when he met Lorna in 2003. Work consisted of fairly mundane, mainly managerial posts. In 2008, Alan and Lorna moved to rural Andalucía, Spain, and now live in an old Olive Mill, off-grid, with a menagerie of animals. [from Amazon.com Author Page, retrieved 8/1/2015] - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- Eastbourne, East Sussex, England, UK
- Places of residence
- Andalucia, Spain
- Associated Place (for map)
- UK
Members
Reviews
When Celtic's star striker is found murdered and mutilated the Glasgow police force have a pool of suspects. It's too horrific to be sectarian but given that the victim was the fiance of the only daughter of the Northside crime boss there's a big pool of suspects. This is quickly narrowed down to an ex employee. However as Harry McCoy investigates further he finds that his past and the present are set on a collision course and he may not escape.
I really enjoyed the first Harry McCoy book and show more this one is even better. There is a strong sense of time and place and a deft touch with the sexist, racist, homophobic nature of 1970s policing. Harry's backstory comes to the fore here and even the ending closes one circle but opens up a whole new set of possibilities for the future. This is strong writing in any genre. show less
I really enjoyed the first Harry McCoy book and show more this one is even better. There is a strong sense of time and place and a deft touch with the sexist, racist, homophobic nature of 1970s policing. Harry's backstory comes to the fore here and even the ending closes one circle but opens up a whole new set of possibilities for the future. This is strong writing in any genre. show less
So here's the plan:
1. Pick up this book.
2. Grab your reading kit (snacks, Slanket, headlamp, duct tape, etc.)
3. Head to the nearest underground bunker.
4. Secure the perimeter.
5. Begin.
Because once you start, you really don't want to be interrupted. And yes, I am stalling. The thing is I've run out of superlatives to describe how freakin' great this series is. Pretty sure I've used them all for the previous books so until I dig out my old thesaurus, bear with me.
It all kicks off when a bomb show more unexpectedly explodes in a shabby flat. Unfortunately, it appears to have also surprised the bomber. Detectives Harry McCoy & partner 'Wattie" are stumped....has the IRA come to Glasgow?
They don't have long to ponder. They need to figure out who's building bombs, an American businessman begs them to find his missing son & Harry suspects his old pal Cooper may have killed a guy.
From here on, several story lines take off & develop in ways that keep you fully immersed in the story. Once again the dialogue is sharp & each character has a distinct voice you can almost hear. The plot is layered & smart, guaranteed to hold your attention. Quieter, more reflective moments give the reader a chance to take a breather & are well balanced with tense, action scenes. This is one of the reasons the series stands out in such a crowded & popular genre. Yes, there is plenty of the requisite crime, grit & suspense. But it's not constant rapid-fire. In the spaces left between, you get to know & care for these characters which ensures you're well & truly hooked from the beginning.
Harry, Wattie, Cooper, Jumbo....all the regulars are back with some intriguing twists on their current situations. The character development continues & it's been interesting to watch the evolution of Wattie, in particular. Under Harry's tutelage, he's gone from wide-eyed recruit to (semi) street savvy copper. Not sure if his partner deserves thanks or blame. Although these books can be enjoyed as stand-alones, I'd recommend reading the series in order. Relationships shift over time & knowing the history makes for a richer reading experience.
It's another great story that keeps you glued to the pages but fair warning....one of the characters won't make it to the next book. This series is the real deal. If you're a fan of authors such as Rankin, McIlvanney, McKinty or Neville & haven't read any of these books, hang your head in shame. Then proceed to your nearest book shop. Don't make me come find you. I'll bring Jumbo 🤨 show less
1. Pick up this book.
2. Grab your reading kit (snacks, Slanket, headlamp, duct tape, etc.)
3. Head to the nearest underground bunker.
4. Secure the perimeter.
5. Begin.
Because once you start, you really don't want to be interrupted. And yes, I am stalling. The thing is I've run out of superlatives to describe how freakin' great this series is. Pretty sure I've used them all for the previous books so until I dig out my old thesaurus, bear with me.
It all kicks off when a bomb show more unexpectedly explodes in a shabby flat. Unfortunately, it appears to have also surprised the bomber. Detectives Harry McCoy & partner 'Wattie" are stumped....has the IRA come to Glasgow?
They don't have long to ponder. They need to figure out who's building bombs, an American businessman begs them to find his missing son & Harry suspects his old pal Cooper may have killed a guy.
From here on, several story lines take off & develop in ways that keep you fully immersed in the story. Once again the dialogue is sharp & each character has a distinct voice you can almost hear. The plot is layered & smart, guaranteed to hold your attention. Quieter, more reflective moments give the reader a chance to take a breather & are well balanced with tense, action scenes. This is one of the reasons the series stands out in such a crowded & popular genre. Yes, there is plenty of the requisite crime, grit & suspense. But it's not constant rapid-fire. In the spaces left between, you get to know & care for these characters which ensures you're well & truly hooked from the beginning.
Harry, Wattie, Cooper, Jumbo....all the regulars are back with some intriguing twists on their current situations. The character development continues & it's been interesting to watch the evolution of Wattie, in particular. Under Harry's tutelage, he's gone from wide-eyed recruit to (semi) street savvy copper. Not sure if his partner deserves thanks or blame. Although these books can be enjoyed as stand-alones, I'd recommend reading the series in order. Relationships shift over time & knowing the history makes for a richer reading experience.
It's another great story that keeps you glued to the pages but fair warning....one of the characters won't make it to the next book. This series is the real deal. If you're a fan of authors such as Rankin, McIlvanney, McKinty or Neville & haven't read any of these books, hang your head in shame. Then proceed to your nearest book shop. Don't make me come find you. I'll bring Jumbo 🤨 show less
Over recent years, Scottish Noir has become established as a major genre within crime fiction, and the works of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride and Val McDermid have become bestsellers all around the world. All three of those authors have favoured dark crimes committed against grisly settings, investigated by stalwart and pragmatic cops who are prepared to cross the customary lines of propriety and fair play in order to secure a result.
Harry McCoy, protagonist of Alan Parks’ debut novel Bloody show more January, is another decidedly gritty detective who makes John Rebus or Logan McRae seem like Dixon of Dock Green. This book represents his second outing, following on year’s Bloody January, and transports us back to Glasgow in 1973, a city riven by crime where sectarian loyalties strike deeper and harder than anywhere else on mainland Britain.
This novel picks up more or less where its predecessor left off, with McCoy returning to work after recovering from the injuries sustained at the end of the previous story. On his first day back, he is summoned to the top floor of a half-built tower block, where a corpse has been discovered. It is immediately clear that the victim had been tortured before being killed. It is equally clear that he is a successful footballer who had established himself as a regular in the Celtic side. As if that were not enough of a problem for the police, the dead footballer was also the fiancé of the daughter of the city’s most powerful crime supremo.
McCoy sometimes seems almost to be fighting the wintry city itself, and the cold seemed to seep out of the book and engulf me as I read it. It has become rather a cliché now for fictional detectives to be at least as troubled as the criminals and victims among whom they function. McCoy is no exception, and he has enough emotional baggage to fill a freight wagon. It is also clear that he might struggle as much to spell ‘unassailable rectitude’ as he would to display it. His woes and angst are all too plausible, however, and his off-duty hours are spent drinking heavily, downing speed and consorting with prostitutes in a relentless cycle of dissolution.
At the most basic level, the plot is grim, the setting is bleak and the characters are, for the most part, ghastly. The book is, however, utterly compelling. Parks has a straightforward style that snags the reader’s attention from the start, and won’t let go. show less
Harry McCoy, protagonist of Alan Parks’ debut novel Bloody show more January, is another decidedly gritty detective who makes John Rebus or Logan McRae seem like Dixon of Dock Green. This book represents his second outing, following on year’s Bloody January, and transports us back to Glasgow in 1973, a city riven by crime where sectarian loyalties strike deeper and harder than anywhere else on mainland Britain.
This novel picks up more or less where its predecessor left off, with McCoy returning to work after recovering from the injuries sustained at the end of the previous story. On his first day back, he is summoned to the top floor of a half-built tower block, where a corpse has been discovered. It is immediately clear that the victim had been tortured before being killed. It is equally clear that he is a successful footballer who had established himself as a regular in the Celtic side. As if that were not enough of a problem for the police, the dead footballer was also the fiancé of the daughter of the city’s most powerful crime supremo.
McCoy sometimes seems almost to be fighting the wintry city itself, and the cold seemed to seep out of the book and engulf me as I read it. It has become rather a cliché now for fictional detectives to be at least as troubled as the criminals and victims among whom they function. McCoy is no exception, and he has enough emotional baggage to fill a freight wagon. It is also clear that he might struggle as much to spell ‘unassailable rectitude’ as he would to display it. His woes and angst are all too plausible, however, and his off-duty hours are spent drinking heavily, downing speed and consorting with prostitutes in a relentless cycle of dissolution.
At the most basic level, the plot is grim, the setting is bleak and the characters are, for the most part, ghastly. The book is, however, utterly compelling. Parks has a straightforward style that snags the reader’s attention from the start, and won’t let go. show less
Over recent years, Scottish Noir has become established as a major genre within crime fiction, and the works of Ian Rankin, Stuart MacBride and Val McDermid have become bestsellers all around the world. All three of those authors have favoured dark crimes committed against grisly settings, investigated by gritty cops who are prepared to cross the customary lines of propriety and fair play in order to secure a result.
Harry McCoy, protagonist of Alan Parks’ debut novel Bloody January, is show more another decidedly gritty detective who makes John Rebus or Logan McRae seem like Dixon of Dock Green. The book is set in Glasgow in the bleak, freezing opening days of 1973, and McCoy sometimes seems almost to be fighting the wintry city itself. As the book opens he has been summoned to Barlinnie Prison to speak to an inmate who has an urgent message for him. That message turns out to be a warning that a woman called Lorna will be killed the following day. The inmate does not have, or, at any rate won’t reveal, any further information. McCoy does what cursory investigation the meagre time allows, and identifies a potential victim, but is sadly unable to prevent her murder, or the grotesque events that follow it.
It has become rather a cliché now for fictional detectives to be at least as troubled as the criminals and victims among whom they function. McCoy is no exception, and he has enough emotional baggage to fill a freight wagon, and might struggle to spell ‘unassailable rectitude’, far less wallow in it. His woes and angst are all too plausible, however, and his off-duty hours are spent drinking heavily, downing speed and consorting with prostitutes in a relentless cycle of dissolution.
At the most basic level, the plot is grim, the setting is bleak and the characters are, for the most part, ghastly. The book is, however, utterly compelling. Parks has a straightforward style that snags the reader’s attention from the start, and won’t let go. I am wondering whether this might be the first novel in a series and am already looking forward to the next instalment. show less
Harry McCoy, protagonist of Alan Parks’ debut novel Bloody January, is show more another decidedly gritty detective who makes John Rebus or Logan McRae seem like Dixon of Dock Green. The book is set in Glasgow in the bleak, freezing opening days of 1973, and McCoy sometimes seems almost to be fighting the wintry city itself. As the book opens he has been summoned to Barlinnie Prison to speak to an inmate who has an urgent message for him. That message turns out to be a warning that a woman called Lorna will be killed the following day. The inmate does not have, or, at any rate won’t reveal, any further information. McCoy does what cursory investigation the meagre time allows, and identifies a potential victim, but is sadly unable to prevent her murder, or the grotesque events that follow it.
It has become rather a cliché now for fictional detectives to be at least as troubled as the criminals and victims among whom they function. McCoy is no exception, and he has enough emotional baggage to fill a freight wagon, and might struggle to spell ‘unassailable rectitude’, far less wallow in it. His woes and angst are all too plausible, however, and his off-duty hours are spent drinking heavily, downing speed and consorting with prostitutes in a relentless cycle of dissolution.
At the most basic level, the plot is grim, the setting is bleak and the characters are, for the most part, ghastly. The book is, however, utterly compelling. Parks has a straightforward style that snags the reader’s attention from the start, and won’t let go. I am wondering whether this might be the first novel in a series and am already looking forward to the next instalment. show less
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Statistics
- Works
- 24
- Members
- 724
- Popularity
- #35,064
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 57
- ISBNs
- 123
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