To Die in June - (Harry McCoy) by Alan Parks (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

From the winner of the MWA Edgar Award for Best Paperback Original Mystery, Alan Parks, comes a new, gripping installment in the gritty Glasgow-based Harry McCoy series.

A woman enters a Glasgow police station to report her son missing, but no record can be found of the boy. When Detective Harry McCoy, who is on temporary transfer from a station across town, discovers the family is part of the cultish Church of Christ's Suffering, he suspects there is more to the boy's disappearance than meets the eye.

Meanwhile reports arrive of a string of poisonings of down-and-outs across the city. The dead are men who few barely notice, let alone care about--but, as McCoy is painfully aware, among this desperate community is his own father.

Even as McCoy searches for the missing boy, he must conceal from his colleagues the real reason for his presence--to investigate corruption in the station. Some people pray for justice, but Detective Harry McCoy hasn't got time to wait for God's divine intervention.

Review Quotes

"Parks' gritty, panoramic novel particularly rewards series fans by deepening the stories of several returning characters...Sharp and bracing Scottish noir, with a streak of dark nostalgia."--Kirkus Reviews

Praise for May God Forgive

★ "Noir has long been the dominant color in the palette of such Scottish writers as Ian Rankin and Denise Mina, but Parks manages to find a deeper shade of black, only slightly attenuated by Harry's willingness to go far off the grid to extract a wee bit of justice."--Booklist (Starred Review)

★ "A Glasgow native, Parks provides a crisp, authentic look and feel to the back alleys, rough neighborhoods, and ramshackle tenements of his hometown. This entry ranks with the best of Ian Rankin and Stuart MacBride."--Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)

"Harry McCoy is the brightest dark star on the Tartan Noir scene for some time and in future critics of Scottish crime fiction will surely be referring to the triumvirate of Laidlaw, Rebus and McCoy... May God Forgive is crime fiction which pulls no punches, powerfully told and, at times, heartbreakingly poignant... One of the crime novels of 2022."--Mike Ripley, Getting Away With Murder

"The fifth Harry McCoy thriller is as punchy, compulsive and, at times, as downright nasty as ever."--The Herald Scotland

Praise for the Detective Harry McCoy Thriller Series

"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