Bloody January

This is the second time I've read this violent tale of Glasgow hard men and slightly bent police. Lots of graphic bloodletting intermingled with dark dry humour. All rather wonderful stuff,the descriptions of early 70's areas of the city are beautiful and atmospheric one can even feel the weather in this super yarn. Still recommended!

Fantastic to read!

The story is gripping and full of tense moments. Twists and turns await every page! I really enjoyed reading this a lot and can highly recommend it.

‚It can‘t have been that bad.‘ But it was.

January 1973 first brought a promotion to Detective Harry McCoy of Glasgow police, but then things wrecked havoc. When Howie Nairn, a prisoner in the Special Unit of Barlinnie wants to see him, he is a bit irritated. Why especially him? And what does he have to say? Nairn tells him to take care of a certain Lorna who works in a posh restaurant and is likely to be killed the next day. McCoy doesn‘t really believe him but nevertheless sets out to search for her. In vain. He can only watch how the young woman is shot in central Glasgow by a man who then commits suicide. Quite a strange thing, but things are going to get a lot more complicated and soon McCoy has to realise that the laws aren‘t made for everybody.

Alan Park‘s first novel of the McCoy series lives on the atmosphere of 1970s Glasgow. The city hasn‘ t turned into the town it is today but resembles a rather rund own place where police and gangland work hand in hand - have to work hand in hand if they want to solve any case at all. McCoy is rather unconventional in his work, but he certainly has the heart in the right place and fights for justice.

There are two things I really liked about the story: on the one hand, it is quite compilicated and all but foreseeable, on the other hand, Alan Parks‘s has chosen unconvenient aspects which he puts in a different light which shows the complexity of reality and that live is not only black and white but full of shades of grey. McCoy can work for the police but maintain good relationships with old friends who control the criminal world. The recognised upper class are not the good-doers but also have their dark sides. And many people struggle to make a living, wanting to be good but at times have to ignore their own values simply to survive.

A novel which is full of suspense, with a convincing protagonist and perfectly crafted atmosphere of a dark Glasgow.

Gripping, brutal and with a clear sense of place, ‘Bloody January’ is a morally dubious Glasgow based crime thriller. Violence, sex, drugs, prostitution, corrupt cops etc, it’s almost a cliche but told with a stylistic freshness that kept me enthralled.

The city is a character in itself. I can’t say that it’s definitely true to life but it feels real and for fiction that’s important enough.

Gritty, unflinching, perfectly non- politically correct, and with echoes of the grandmasters of black-hearted noir, Lewis, McIlvanney, Raymond, Bruen et al, this was an absolute corker.

From the outset I was heartily entertained by the exploits of Detective Harry McCoy, with his nefarious relationships and more hands-on methods, and his wet-behind-the-ears sidekick, Wattie as we find ourselves firmly rooted in 1970’s Glasgow. The book is peppered with cultural and political references familiar to those of us born nearer that era- ahem- as well painting a grimly real backdrop for readers less familiar with the period. This is a city down on its uppers, with only occasional glimmers of the city that Glasgow was to become, and Parks’ colourful and inventive use of the Glaswegian vernacular brings a heightened level of enjoyment to the book too. The main storyline is very seedy indeed, involving as it does drugs, exploitation and abuse, which Parks determinedly lays before us warts and all. As I’ve said before I do like a book where I feel slightly soiled by the reading experience, in a similar vein to Benjamin Myers and Jake Arnott, and Bloody January fitted the bill perfectly. It was feisty, fresh, wonderfully sordid and a sublime blast of noir to welcome in the new year. Highly recommended

Set at the beginning of 1973, this is the first Harry McCoy novel and what an excellent start to a series it is! Harry is a detective in the Glasgow police force, quite an achievement for a boy who grew up in various children's homes and with foster parents until enrolling at age sixteen. Part of his survival was due to his continuing friendship with Stevie Cooper who ended on the wrong side of the law running girls in shebeens and saunas, dealing drugs and dishing out any amount of violence and threats necessary to survive. Together with his new partner Wattie, McCoy finds himself investigating the shooting of a girl and the immediate suicide of the shooter. So just how did his informant hear of this and try to warn him? The case involves a vivid selection of Glasgow's characters, from the very wealthy who consider themselves above the law to those poor and hopeless at the very underbelly of life. McCoy himself is flawed, due to both his past and his current lifestyle, but it is this and his connections that make him such a useful officer despite his many failings. The book doesn't pull any punches in its violence or language and is certainly grim in places, making it a great portrayal of those times.