Bloody January by Alan Parks @AlanJParks @CanongateBooks @Graciegirlracer #guestpost

Source: Pigeonhole

Publication : Canongate Books 28 December 2017

When a teenage boy shoots a young woman dead in the middle of a busy Glasgow street and then commits suicide, Detective Harry McCoy is sure of one thing. It wasn’t a random act of violence.

With his new partner in tow, McCoy uses his underworld network to lead the investigation but soon runs up against a secret society led by Glasgow’s wealthiest family, the Dunlops.

McCoy’s boss doesn’t want him to investigate. The Dunlops seem untouchable. But McCoy has other ideas . . .

In a helter-skelter tale – winding from moneyed elite to hipster music groupies to the brutal gangs of the urban wasteland – Bloody January brings to life the dark underbelly of 1970s Glasgow and introduces a dark and electrifying new voice in Scottish noir.

I am delighted to welcome a guest post from Grace Mitchell aka @graciegirlracer today. Grace has been raving about this book ever since she read it and it is now on my TBR pile as a result. Not only is Grace an awesome sister, she is also a discerning reader and introduced me to the books of Adrian McKinty amongst others. So without more ado, here is Grace’s view of Bloody January.

I loved this book which is a debut novel but hopefully the first in a series.

Set in 1970s Glasgow, it’s gritty as you’d expect, with a fair degree of violence – but it was a violent city.

Tough cop Harry McCoy is believable and walking an increasingly fine line between being a good cop and a corrupt cop at one and the same time, but he’s by no means the only one.

Partnered with newbie Wattie, he’s initially investigating the murder of a young girl by a young man, but all is not straightforward. Parks takes us into a world of prostitution, sadism and high society. Put this together with the background of gangsters starting to learn about dealing hard drugs, and you have a great mix for an interesting and entertaining read that had me hooked from the first chapter.

I read this on Pigeonhole, which I don’t often like because the Staves are too short and I don’t like reading two books at once – but that just didn’t matter here. Definitely recommended, especially if you like your cops to have different shades to their character. A five star read – it is amazing.

Amazon.

Waterstones

About Alan Parks

Alan Parks was born in Scotland and attended the University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy. PHe still lives and works in the city. He has spent most of his working life in music. From cover artwork to videos to photo sessions, he created groundbreaking campaigns for a wide range of artists including All Saints, New Order, The Streets, Gnarls Barkley and CeeLo Green. He was also Managing Director of 679 Recordings.

Alan is on Twitter @AlanJParks