Another excellent entry in the Harry McCoy series. Alan Parks brings 1970s Glasgow to life with a gritty realism. He is really up there with Ian Rankin and, dare I say it, William McIlvanney at the highest levels of what has become known as Tartan Noir. The series gets stronger with every book and, as always, McCoy's life gets more complicated. Parks doesn't shy away from the grime and horror of life among the slums and crime lords, but the darkness is tempered by a similar blackness in the humour. One of the best.

This is already the fifth book featuring detective McCoy. He got injured at the end of book 4, and is now back at work after recovering. His return to work is not slow and quiet, but he gets thrown into the middle of a murder investigation. I love the back drop of the book, I have always loved the older mob stories, and with this being in Glasgow, with dark and cold weather, it makes for a very thrilling read!

As ever Park's is a master of making me care about his detective (recovering ..or is he?) From a bleeding ulcer as he thrusts himself into l lethal crime case with deep roots .. it took me a while (it always does with Parks' novels to orient myself again, (who is who and his place in hierarchy of friends and foes ..) but once in, we are off and running from illicit, violent release of 3 creeps from prison and all that goes wrong for them ... we are thrust in and there's no let up until final catastrophe .. his books are great charges of action and intriguing and evil , flawed people . Really good, top rate ...

May God Forgive by Alan Parks tells of the exploits of a Glasgow detective, Harry McCoy, who has returned from sick leave but who is still suffering daily from a stomach ulcer. It is 1974 and McCoy is part of the team investigating murder by arson and the connections to organised crime. It’s a gritty tale of the very worst of gangland feuds and corruption, with a fair share of violence thrown in.

I liked that it was fast paced and tense but I can’t say I really connected with the main character. I’m not sure if I’d continue to read more in the series.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of the book.

A particular favourite of crimeworm’s, this series is – I’m making that clear from the off! Some thoughts on why…

It’s set in Glasgow, erstwhile home of myself for 18 years and my partner’s for the first 38 of his. I was lucky enough to catch the first book in the series, loved it, and have waited avidly for each one to come out since then. There’s so much that’s familiar about the books – I think we all enjoy reading about a setting we know and love. Plus the level of accuracy is really high – names of pubs, shops and restaurants in the mid ’70s are all spot on, according to older friends and family.

Rather like Douglas Stuart, author of Shuggie Bain (a book I finally read this week – review to come), Alan Parks had a highly successful first career (his in the music industry in London, working for London Records; Douglas Stuart worked for some big names in fashion in the US). This is a second act, career-wise, and, like Stuart, it looks like being even more successful than his first career. I’ve read him say in interviews that his work, much of which involved making videos for well-known bands, has helped in his writing, as it made him highly observant and detail-orientated. His habit of walking around Glasgow, soaking in the city, also helps – something I used to love to do, too. (And in Glasgow, people love a gab!) I’d definitely agree with it – he knows how to portray the city so accurately in both its ugliness and beauty. And in this one, he’s definitely got his work cut out for him – it’s a busy book…

What’s happening in May 1974 then?

Well, we have more horrendous crimes – each month gets worse! And McCoy’s in no fit state to be investigating anything, in his boss’s Murray’s opinion, having been not long discharged from hospital with his stomach ulcer. However, when an arson attack on Dolly’s Hairdressing Salon in Royston leaves three women and two children, the city is in uproar. With three arrested lads appearing at the High Court amidst ugly crowd scenes and confusion, the van carrying them is ramraided and they are kidnapped. (This reminded me a little of a real-life incident many years ago when a police wagon carrying IRA prisoners is held-up as it’s about to turn into Duke Street to the old prison there, and the prisoners were sprung – they used to say you could still see the bulletholes in the wall of the old prison but I never had a chance to check.) Murray reluctantly lets McCoy investigate on the quiet (or on the qt, as they say in Glasgow.) Wattie has his hands full attempting to investigate the dead body of an unidentified girl in Sighthill Cemetery, but he’s slowly gaining confidence and coming into his own, out from under McCoy’s shadow. If that’s not enough to be going on with, there’s the apparent suicide of Alistair “Dirty Ally” Drummond, a scud mag salesman, who jumps from the top of a men’s hostel – apparently of his own volition, and this investigation lands in McCoy’s lap – he may still have ulcer problems (and no bloody wonder, eh?) but it’s all hands on deck. If that weren’t enough to be going on with, it looks like there’s shaping up to be a gang war between two of the city’s leading gangsters – and nope, for once Stevie Cooper is not one of them!

Phew! All hand on deck indeed!

Oh, that’s not all…one of the kidnapped lads allegedly responsible for the arson attack is found dead, horribly tortured and with a note saying, “One down, two to go.” Given that they were under the care of the police at the time, it’s a race against time to discover where the author two are…

Also, we find out more about McCoy’s background when a face from his distant past makes an appearance. And naturally Stevie Cooper – McCoy’s boyhood protector – is on hand to help out when help from the seedier side of the city is needed.

Let’s hope Harry’s got plenty of Pepto Bismol in his drawer…

How did this rate against the rest of the series?

Parks is getting more and more confident at dealing with multiple storylines, and it’s hugely enjoyable getting to know the characters better. The banter is, as ever in Glasgow, on the “slagging each other off for amusement” side, and is as good as it’s been since the first book. Rarely have I seen a series get so good so quickly. The biggest downside? Waiting until next June for the next book!

Rebus and Rankin may have Edinburgh long under-hand, but head 50 miles west and it’s starting to look like Parks and McCoy’s territory…not that I’m looking to start a book-related gangland war, or anything…;))

An early contender for one of the books of the year (not to mention the McIlvanney Prize…)

Thanks to Canongate and NetGalley for ARC

An arson attack kills young women and children. Glasgow is at fever pitch and the pressure is on the polis to get a quick result before crowds start braying for blood. They make arrests, but a daring raid sets the main suspects free.
Detective Harry McCoy, hurting from his bleeding ulcer, has to try and turn things around and protect the public, and the suspects, from further harm.

This whole series, set in the seamier and sunnier sides of 1970s Glasgow, is skilful and pitch perfect. Harry is a brilliantly realised flawed individual, and the office politics and corruption are sharply drawn. You don't need to start with Bloody January, but if you did, you'd be five books into this world by now, and they get better with each one.

This book had me stumped. Sitting smug and thinking I had it all thought out, the author put me in my place. Finally we have a thriller that will keep you your toes.

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!

An arson attack with five dead welcomes Harry McCoy back from sick leave.
With three youths charged and tempers frayed, Glasgow goes wild. At the hearing a crowd gathers and as the police drive the men away, the van is rammed by a truck and the accused are bundled into a car.
The next day, a body is dumped in the city centre and a note is sent to the newspaper offices 'one down, two to go'.
Armed with some Pepto Bismol for his ulcer, his sleep deprived sidekick Wattie and some dubious underworld contacts; it's up to Harry to track down the remaining youths before it's too late.
We're back in 70s Glasgow with Harry McCoy, who is this time stuck in the middle of gangland turf wars and the pace doesn't let up from the get go. I feel for Harry with his health issues but it's not surprising with the amount of booze and cigarettes he consumes! I love the writing style of Alan Parks in these thrillers; fast paced, violent and with questionable ethics...whether you are reading the books individually or as part of the series you really get to know the characters and the often grim settings they inhabit. I can't wait for the next installment, this is a definite 5 star read for me.

A detective Harry McCoy story set in Glasgow in 1974.
I had started reading this before realising it was the fifth in the series..
I was enjoying the smoking,drinking tour of Glasgow pubs by the detective trying to solve a murder I kept reading until the end.
I wont give away the plot but I do now want to read the rest of Alan Parks Harry McCoy novels.

May God Forgive is the fifth book in Alan Parks' series. You can read it on its own but like most series to really get the background picture I'd go back to the start but it's not essential. Basically if you liked the previous books in this series you'll like this one. Dark and gritty and if you know Glasgow it'll be quite familiar. Fans will like it and newcomers will get a decent intro to Parks' style and method, knowing there's a back catalogue too!

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.

Please note, May God Forgive is the fifth book in an ongoing series. If you have not read books one to four then what follows may contain some minor spoilers. Consider yourself duly warned!

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 newspaper: 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 . . .

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.

May God Forgive is published by Canongate and is available now. Highly recommended.

As has become traditional with this series my musical recommendation to accompany the book is year specific to when events take place. We’ve reached 1974 so I’ve decided to go with a classic slice of Scottish rock and roll. The Impossible Dream by The Sensational Alex Harvey Band feels like the ideal companion soundtrack to the novel. I always like to go with something I think Harry would appreciate.

*Hmm, that probably says more about me than I care to think about.

A gripping, gritty tartan-noir!
Alan Parks books have a month of the year in the title in this series and now he has reached the month of May. Set in Glasgow, 1974, a city that is very troubled and as hard as can be, especially in that decade, Detective Harry McCoy has another case to solve as this thriller gets off to an action-packed start and to add to the tension, time is ticking fast and there's not much of it left to crack the case.

Dolly's Salon had been attacked by arson in an already hardened part of the city, where any heart that was in it before a motorway was built, had practically diminished and there was little left. Instantly the atmosphere and depiction of Royston, Glasgow in the 70's can be grasped.

Detective Harry McCoy needs to help DS. Doug Watson (Wattie) make progress on a case, concerning a 15 year old, dressed for a night out and discovered dead, but isn't easily yielding much evidence as to what happened... He is also working on the quiet for to get answers about the arson at the salon. It's a full on first day back at work from being off on the sick.

There's gangland underworld, drugs, violence and arson, but also a detective who is prepared to do everything he can to protect the city's citizens in this compelling series.

May God Forgive is intensely gritty and a fascinating work in fiction, closely relating to fact, that is engaging and depicts Glasgow at a very particular time.

This is another solid entry in Parks' series of gritty Glasgow police dramas.

Harry McCoy returns as the 70s detective who isn't afraid to wander over to the other side of the law in pursuit of his own sense of justice, all while showing a vulnerability which is rare in this kind of character. This time, he is hunting down a group of young arsonists who have fallen foul of a horrific form of vigilante justice, but inevitably all is not as it seems.

This is the fourth of them that I've read and I've consistently enjoyed each one to the same level. I think Parks makes the same mistake again of relying too heavily on chance discoveries to push the plot forward, yet the investigation remains the right side of satisfying. It isn't easy to write this kind of tartan noir novel without keeling over into unnecessary violence and brutality. Parks treads the line well and I'm excited to see what he gives McCoy to get his teeth into next.

It was a pleasure to read again another book by this author: gritty, twisty, complex.
The dark atmosphere is fascinating, the characters fleshed out, and the plot kept me reading.
The author is a talented storyteller and this story kept me hooked.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

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!

Took me a bit to get into this story, I haven't read any McCoy books previously and initially got a bit confused by the many characters.
I loved the Glasgow setting and the gory descriptions and seeing a different side to a police tale with more of the criminal element to it.
Twisty and turny and kept me guessing right til the end.
I look forward to McCoy's next case.
My thanks to Netgalley and the Publisher for my eARC in return for my honest review.

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*

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.