To Die in June by Alan Parks
| To Die in June by Alan Parks | |
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| Category: Crime | |
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Reviewer: Ruth Ng
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| Summary: Grimy, gripping 1970's Glasgow crime that stays tense to the end. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 320 | Date: May 2023 |
| Publisher: Canongate Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781805300786 | |
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What first seems like the unfortunate, accidental death of a homeless man on the streets, suddenly starts to feel like something more sinister as another body is discovered, and then another. This is worrying enough for detective Harry McCoy, but all the more so because his own father is a down and out alcoholic, with no fixed abode, and he has been for years. At the same time as facing these possible murders, Harry is also dealing with a move to a different police station, and the arrival there of a woman who claims her little boy has gone missing, only no record of the boy having existed can be found. Something feels wrong - not just with the woman's story but also with the other officers where he has been stationed, but can Harry uncover just what is going on?
Somehow, I hadn't come across Harry McCoy before, but I'm happy to have discovered him now, and also that there are five previous books to read! Don't worry if you're new to this series too, this book works as a standalone story because you learn about Harry as you read, and it doesn't feel as if you're missing swathes of past history that are key to the story.
Harry is an interesting mixture of a detective trying to do the right thing, but not always being able to. He clearly has had a difficult past, and is still dealing with the repercussions of his childhood, and the slightly dubious friends he's retained from that childhood. But you feel that ultimately he has a good heart. So I enjoyed seeing the conflicting emotions he's dealing with, and the solutions he has to try to engineer to try do the right thing, albeit not in perhaps the most law-abiding way! You learn more about him as you see his interactions with the various different people in his life. I'm interested to know more about his relationship with his boss, and to perhaps understand more about that if I read the earlier books.
This isn't just Harry's story though, and the plot is an important aspect of the book too. It moves along at a good pace, keeping you guessing about where your focus should be. I liked the 1970's setting - no texting, or Facetime, or googling things on your phone! The police work all feels a bit more seedy, a lot more violent, and revolves around how well you know your patch and who your contacts are. Glasgow looms large in the story, and feels suitably dirty and dangerous; an extra character within the book. The different strands to the story are interesting, though also disturbing - this is definitely not cosy crime territory, and it falls clearly into the Tartan Noir genre, with that same edge as some of the Scandi Noir, and a darkness and a sadness to the detective on the job. There are moments of humour, but the overriding feeling I had whilst reading was a tense, unsettled anticipation. It was an enjoyable read, and I'll certainly be looking up Harry's earlier episodes.
For more Scots crime you might also enjoy Blood Lines by Grace Monroe or Singing to the Dead by Caro Ramsay.
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