★ 06/14/2021
Set in 1974 against the backdrop of British-IRA tensions, Edgar finalist Parks’s outstanding fourth outing for Glasgow cop Harry McCoy (after 2020’s Bobby March Will Live Forever) opens with McCoy and his police colleagues checking out what’s left of a flat that’s been destroyed by a bomb explosion—and of the bomb maker. Could it be the work of the IRA? More bombings follow. Meanwhile, a retired U.S. Navy captain wants McCoy to find his son, who has gone AWOL from a nearby U.S. naval base, and Stevie Cooper, McCoy’s boyhood friend who’s now an underworld boss just released from jail, involves McCoy in his attempt to beat down a gang takeover. Finally, McCoy investigates a Scottish nationalist movement, which turns out to be abetted by Britain’s clandestine Special Branch for its own nefarious purposes. Tightly plotted and fast-moving, this well-wrought historical thriller also highlights Parks’s keen analysis of Scotland’s societal traumas, in particular the failure to cope with domestic violence and child abuse. Tartan noir fans won’t want to miss this one. Agent: Isobel Dixon, Blake Friedmann Literary (U.K.). (Aug.)
Praise for The April Dead
★ “Tightly plotted and fast-moving, this well-wrought historical thriller also highlights Parks’s keen analysis of Scotland’s societal traumas, in particular the failure to cope with domestic violence and child abuse. Tartan noir fans won’t want to miss this one.”—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“The pace is deliberate, but the lean, muscular prose is matched by a deep dive into character and the seamy side of the city... A full-bodied immersion into Glasgow’s gritty past.”—Kirkus Reviews
Praise for the Detective Harry McCoy Thriller Series by Alan Parks
“The meticulously described setting is so suggestive readers may even catch whiffs of stale cigarette smoke and patchouli. Fans of Scottish noir will be satisfied.”—Publishers Weekly
“Parks’ sprawling plot offers not tidy whodunit puzzles but a wide-angle view of a gritty city in the grip of crime, home to an entertaining cross section of characters. Broad-shouldered McCoy is suitably unflappable as he walks Glasgow’s mean streets.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Parks captures the feel of a city long vanished in a breathless and tense retro crime caper.”—The Sun
“A series that no crime fan should miss: dangerous, thrilling, but with a kind voice to cut through the darkness.”—Scotsman
“Pitch-black tartan noir, set in 70s Glasgow…Compelling…with an emotional heart that’s hard to ignore.”—Daily Mail
2021-05-19
Overworked Scottish cops probe a strange series of bombings in the mean streets of Glasgow.
April 12, 1974. Detective Harry McCoy and partner Douglas Watson are called to a flat where a “stupid bugger” has blown himself up trying to make a bomb. The bloody crime scene wreaks havoc with McCoy’s weak stomach. Though he’s only 32, the righteous McCoy suffers from a peptic ulcer. Wattie is struggling to adjust to family life: His girlfriend, Mary, a former reporter, has limited patience with his failure to embrace his parenting responsibilities for Duggie, their new baby. Then Andrew Stewart, an American, buttonholes McCoy at the local pub and tries to enlist his help in finding his son, Donny, who’s gone AWOL from the U.S. Navy base, but McCoy says he can't help him; the next morning, though, Stewart talks his way into going along with McCoy on a road trip to Aberdeen to pick up crime boss Stevie Cooper, just released from prison, whose friendship McCoy leverages to obtain valuable info. Their colorful jaunt is cut short by another bombing, this time of a cathedral. Then Cooper becomes the prime suspect in a murder, driving a temporary wedge between Wattie and McCoy. Parks depicts 1970s Glasgow with depth, scope, and authenticity. The pace is deliberate, but the lean, muscular prose is matched by a deep dive into character and the seamy side of the city. When evidence identifies Donny Stewart as a person of interest in the bombings, his absence makes him look guiltier. Links to Northern Ireland hint at a much larger operation and more bombings in the offing.
A full-bodied immersion into Glasgow’s gritty past.
Narrator Andrew McIntosh uses thick Scottish and Irish brogues to portray the many personalities engaged in a bombing campaign in Glasgow and its surrounding towns in a strike for independence in April 1974. Chief Detective Inspector Harry McCoy follows the scarce clues as he searches for the bombers and an AWOL American sailor from the base at Holy Loch, outside Glasgow. McIntosh’s narration is steady as he describes gruesome bombing scenes. As the investigation progresses, the violence increases, and motives are revealed. McIntosh vocally captures the distrust, anger, and unquestioning loyalty that motivate the crimes against the city and government. Listeners should pay attention to the minute details, which point to the bombers and those who pull their strings. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
