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February's Son

(Harry McCoy #2)

Alan Parks

4.40 · Rating details · 43 ratings · 22 reviews

Bodies are piling up with grisly messages carved into their chests. Rival gangs are competing for control of Glasgow’s underworld and it seems that Cooper, McCoy’s oldest gangster friend, is tangled up in it all.

Detective Harry McCoy’s first day back at work couldn’t have gone worse.

New drugs have arrived in Glasgow, and they’ve brought a different kind of violence to the ...more

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Kindle Edition, 336 pages

Expected publication: February 19th 2019 by World Noir

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· 43 ratings · 22 reviews

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Jan 02, 2019 Paromjit rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime-fiction, mystery, netgalley, thriller

Alan Parks writes the darkest of Scottish Noir and establishes himself as a heavyweight crime fiction author with this sequel to his debut, the harrowing Bloody January, set in a brutal Glasgow in the winter of 1973. DI Harry McCoy has been recalled early by Chief Inspector Hector Murray to lead an investigation into the gruesome murder of a promising Celtic footballer, whose fiancee just happens to be Elaine Scobie, the daughter of a ageing Glasgow gang leader. The suspect is clear from the beg ...more

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Dec 01, 2018 Roman Clodia rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Noirest of noir set in 1970s Glasgow: brutal and violent throughout though not without dark humour at times. The plot is weird and perhaps goes too far on the bonkers side... but the portrayal of gangland politics and the complicity of the police evens out the strange stuff. What makes this so compelling are the characters: McCoy caught between his troubled past and his police present, Connor and Murray as his good and bad 'angels'. The writing is taut and atmospheric - yes, I'm in for more of t ...more

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Dec 28, 2018 Marianne rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

February’s Son is the second book in the Harry McCoy series by British author, Alan Parks. It’s February 1973 and Harry is just back at the Glasgow Police Force after a three-week break that included compulsory visits to the Police psychologist. But straight off, DCI Murray has him at a bloody and brutal murder scene: a football star has been drugged and mutilated and left on the roof of a building under construction.

The victim’s prospective father-in-law, a Glasgow crime figure, is certain it February’s Son is the second book in the Harry McCoy series by British author, Alan Parks. It’s February 1973 and Harry is just back at the Glasgow Police Force after a three-week break that included compulsory visits to the Police psychologist. But straight off, DCI Murray has him at a bloody and brutal murder scene: a football star has been drugged and mutilated and left on the roof of a building under construction.

The victim’s prospective father-in-law, a Glasgow crime figure, is certain it has been done by the strong arm he used to employ, but this dangerous man has gone into hiding. The fiancée seems more annoyed than in grief, and quite certain she is in no danger herself. But more disfigured bodies turn up (nasty words carved in flesh and Mandrax seem to be a common feature), and the murderer proves difficult to track down, managing to slip away from Police more than once.

Harry, meanwhile, is distracted by the suicide death, in a chapel, of a destitute alcoholic. Harry seems to have a special rapport with Glasgow’s homeless, but this time, there’s something more, and soon he’s on a violent revenge mission with his criminal pal, Stevie Cooper. But Harry’s a cop: is this a line he’s crossing?

Against the background of a battle for control of Glasgow’s criminal elements, this fast-paced thriller includes paedophiles, lobotomies, and a vicious psychopath, as it races towards a nail-biting climax. Several characters require stitches on multiple occasions. Harry still indulges heavily in alcohol, tobacco and drugs, and barely hesitates before using violence, but he does seem to be saving intimacies for Susan. And does his chosen career really fit well with a blood phobia?

There is some good detective work achieved and young Wattie does something quite heroic. While there are no major spoilers for the first book in the series, Bloody January, and this one can stand alone, the first book does give some useful background on the characters and their history. Again, the prolific use of expletives may offend some readers, but there’s a bit of black humour in the banter. Excellent Scottish Noir.
This unbiased review is from an uncorrected proof copy provided by Allen & Unwin
...more

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Nov 29, 2018 Nigel rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: arc, netgalley

In brief - Darkly nasty and very powerful at times. Not a bad read at all.

In full
This story starts with a nicely nasty prologue and then Harry McCoy is back. There is an unpleasant murder scene of someone who may be well known. Assorted bodies are involved in this dark police story from 1970s Glasgow.

The book essentially carries on from the author's earlier book Bloody January. The characters are allowed to develop further in this book and McCoy seems little changed from the last book. However ...more

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Jan 08, 2019 Eric rated it really liked it

February's Son by Alan Marks is the second police procedural involving troubled Glasgow detective Harry McCoy. Harry, who is still drinking too much, as well as other things, now finds himself in a seemingly stable relationship, while still dealing with his own past. The novel opens with the discovery of a mutilated murder victim on the rainy roof of building under construction. The murder is soon linked to a local crime boss which includes a widening net of characters, including Stevie Cooper, ...more

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Jan 04, 2019 Sid Nuncius rated it it was amazing

Shelves: some-favourites-from-2019

February’s Son is another very good, very dark thriller from Alan Parks.

Be warned, this is about as Noir as it gets; it’s cold, wet and dark all the time, there is some horrible violence and some very unpleasant characters, plus liberal (although entirely realistic) use of the f- and c-words. Parks is a good enough writer to forge this into a convincing and gripping novel.

It is February 1973 in Glasgow, just a few weeks after the events of Bloody January (which I would recommend you read first). ...more

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Feb 16, 2019 Stephen rated it really liked it · review of another edition

the latest in the Glasgow crime noir thriller based in early 1970's Glasgow and its very dark and gritty and doesn't disappoint. this time the backdrop is the growing drug problem and tensions with the gangs and the death of a leading gang leader. like the lead character who is a damaged soul and on the edge and find parks is a new voice of Scottish crime noir

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Dec 12, 2018 miss.mesmerized mesmerized rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

It’s been three weeks since the events of that bloody January. Harry McCoy is about to return to work with the Glasgow police hoping for some more quiet times. But when Murray calls him in early, he knows that it must be serious: a young football stars has been found, not just killed but also mutilated. It is obvious quickly that his fame as sports stars wasn’t the reason for his killing, it is much more his engagement with the daughter one of Glasgow’s underworld bosses. And then it all gets ve ...more

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Oct 22, 2018 Elaine Tomasso rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I would like to thank Netgalley Netgalley and Cannongate Books for an advance copy of February’s Son, the second novel to feature detective Harry McCoy of the Glasgow Police.

When rising football star, Charlie Jackson is found mutilated and dead, alarm bells ring all over “the shop” as he was engaged to the daughter of ganglord, Jake Scobie. McCoy is called in early from leave to work the case but with his past coming back to haunt him and his criminal friend, Stevie Cooper, getting entangled in I would like to thank Netgalley Netgalley and Cannongate Books for an advance copy of February’s Son, the second novel to feature detective Harry McCoy of the Glasgow Police.

When rising football star, Charlie Jackson is found mutilated and dead, alarm bells ring all over “the shop” as he was engaged to the daughter of ganglord, Jake Scobie. McCoy is called in early from leave to work the case but with his past coming back to haunt him and his criminal friend, Stevie Cooper, getting entangled in the investigation the hunt for a psychopathic killer on a mission is not always his top priority.

I thoroughly enjoyed February’s Son which is an interesting procedural (ok, it’s set in 1973 when procedure was a suggestion rather than a rule book) with some very good, clever twists that I never saw coming. The novel is told mostly from McCoy’s point of view with some brief chapters in italics from the killer. I like the fact that the author keeps his main narrative focussed on the one character as it gives the reader continuity and someone to identify with. It also allows the reader to speculate on events as they know nothing more or less than McCoy. I also like the killer’s chapters which are brief enough not to overly intrude on the main story but paint a picture of a very disturbed mind. There is none of the usual sob story back history (which I can’t stand as it is normally culled from the psychopath 101 textbook) instead it is a reflection of his current state of mind, making it fascinating I’d at times incomprehensible reading.

It should be noted that this is a violent novel with frequent use of bad language. It will not suit every reader but I found it consistent with the era and setting. I like a novel set in my old home town of Glasgow, finding an easy familiarity in the locations and vernacular and this suits well. What I wasn’t expecting was the sense of nostalgia at the mentions of long defunct establishments. I was 10 in 1973 so I don’t quite remember the actual shops and restaurants but the names certainly took me back. Mr Parks has obviously done his research. I also loved the patter in the book. I don’t think it is too Glaswegian that readers from other regions won’t understand it but it nails the black, deprecating humour I grew up with.

I was a wee bit disappointed in the evolution of Harry McCoy (hence 4 rather than 5 stars). He is obviously a man in crisis and running off the rails faster than he can think, drink, drugs and violence are becoming the norm for him. It’s not pretty reading and it sickened me slightly but, on the other hand, I can admire it as a good piece of writing to evoke these sentiments. The best character is Chief Inspector Murray, McCoy’s boss who is tough as old boots and liable to lose his temper at any minute but with a well concealed soft centre.

February’s Son is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending. ...more

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Dec 19, 2018 Bonnye Reed is currently reading it

I received a free electronic copy of this novel from Netgalley, Alan Parks, and World Noir Publishers, in exchange for an honest review. Thank you all for sharing your hard work with me.

Pub date Feb 19, 2019

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Feb 08, 2019 Paul rated it it was amazing

There is always a frisson of hesitancy when you start reading the second novel by an author whose inaugural novel is outstanding. There is that sense of worry that the first book was a one of and book two can’t possibly hope to compare. Bloody January by Alan Parks was such a stellar debut I was concerned he couldn’t possibly repeat the feat with the second Harry McCoy novel. The good news is my fears were entirely groundless. February’s Son is as good, if not better, as its predecessor.

Picking There is always a frisson of hesitancy when you start reading the second novel by an author whose inaugural novel is outstanding. There is that sense of worry that the first book was a one of and book two can’t possibly hope to compare. Bloody January by Alan Parks was such a stellar debut I was concerned he couldn’t possibly repeat the feat with the second Harry McCoy novel. The good news is my fears were entirely groundless. February’s Son is as good, if not better, as its predecessor.

Picking up shortly after the events of Bloody January, Harry McCoy has only been back at work a handful of hours before he has a grisly murder to solve. There is a violent psychopath stalking the city streets and Harry has to stop them before all hell breaks loose. As before McCoy remains a bit of a contradiction. Glasgow and the people from there have long had a reputation for being a bit rough around the edges. I think that is one of the things I like most about this novel. Harry McCoy certainly falls into that category. He is ‘good polis’ but he manages to retain a morally ambiguous attitude towards many things; recreational drugs being the perfect example.

Stevie Cooper also makes a welcome reappearance. Harry’s oldest friend, and rising star of the Glasgwegian criminal underworld, Cooper is just unhinged enough to be genuinely menacing. Kudos to the author. There has long been a near mythological status that surrounds the quintessential Glasgow hard man. Cooper feels like he is the living embodiment of exactly that. Always trying to prove their worth, they are driven by their own slightly skewed code of values. Cooper is all smiles and charm one minute and then uncontained violence the next. McCoy and Cooper may be on opposite sides of the law but they have a bond that transcends everything. This makes things increasingly difficult for McCoy, he can’t continue to please all the people all the time. There is going to come a point where he has to choose between his job and his friendship with Cooper. The complex relationship between these two men acts as a larger story arc, connecting Bloody January and February’s Son together seamlessly. Parks takes the opportunity to explore their collective history further in this novel and this additional insight helps to flesh out each character. There is a moment, I think you’ll know it when you read it, where you realise McCoy and Cooper are not that different from one another after all.

I am just old enough to remember the Glasgow of the 1970s and it pleases me immensely that the author has captured the city so perfectly. As I read, there are tiny descriptions and throw away lines that frequently sparked vivid memories. I love it when I really connect with an author’s work. It feels almost like the Harry McCoy novels have been written for no one else but me*. I like crime novels, but the time period and location in this case are so familiar and strike so many chords it makes the entire experience of reading that much more enjoyable.

I can guarantee that if you’ve read and enjoyed Bloody January then you’ll love February’s Son. If you haven’t read either, and you enjoy your crime fiction/tartan noir suitably dark, then do yourself a favour and check out Alan Park’s writing now. I’m looking forward to the next Harry McCoy novel already. Based on the first two books names, I can only hope there will be at least another ten. ...more

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Jan 23, 2019 Mary Picken rated it it was amazing

Shelves: crime, historical-fiction

Reading February’s Son is like taking a grand tour of the mean streets of 1970’s Glasgow, primarily through its drinking dens. From The Variety to Mallons to the Muscular Arms, by way of the St. Enoch Hotel, this is No Mean City with added inside cludgies and a facsimile of veneer.

It doesn’t come a whole lot darker than this and yet the Glasgow humour finds a way through as well as the clear understanding that it doesn’t matter who you are in this city; it’s where you came from and who you grew Reading February’s Son is like taking a grand tour of the mean streets of 1970’s Glasgow, primarily through its drinking dens. From The Variety to Mallons to the Muscular Arms, by way of the St. Enoch Hotel, this is No Mean City with added inside cludgies and a facsimile of veneer.

It doesn’t come a whole lot darker than this and yet the Glasgow humour finds a way through as well as the clear understanding that it doesn’t matter who you are in this city; it’s where you came from and who you grew up with that counts.

February’s Son follows on in timescale just three weeks after Bloody January, the first McCoy book. It can easily be read as a stand-alone, but for the full picture, I’d read them as a series.

DI Harry McCoy is barely out of his sick bed after the gruelling events of Bloody January, but here he is ready to lead the investigation into the brutal, stomach-churning murder of young Charlie Jackson, a footballer who was stepping out with Elaine Scobie, the daughter of noted gang leader, Jack Scobie. McCoy doesn’t have to look far for the perpetrator; Kevin Connolly was a henchman of her father’s now gone rogue, seemingly psychopathic and has formed a deep obsession for Elaine.

Elaine herself doesn’t seem too concerned, but this killer is on a rampage and as more disfigured bodies turn up the police can’t quite believe they haven’t caught him yet.

Meanwhile, the suicide of a homeless alcoholic known to McCoy brings back deeply buried unpleasant memories for McCoy and he and his boyhood chum Stevie Cooper are soon on a mission of their own which will take McCoy to the blackest place he has ever been.

McCoy straddles the very fine line between being a decent cop and a corrupt cop at one and the same time. This time though, he may just have gone too far as his demons are driving him to depths it may be hard to come back from. And if he hasn’t, Stevie Cooper has battles of his own to fight, too and it’s hard to see how he and Stevie will reconcile their respective societal roles. Quite how McCoy’s influence will play out on the keen shiny detective Wattie, with his hero instincts remains to be seen, but isn’t necessarily boding well.

In February’s Son Parks has created a despicable and violent series of crimes. The narrative all comes from McCoy’s perspective with some allusions to the killer’s rambling and disjointed thoughts. The major criminals are starting to supply drugs and the hard men are just getting harder and more brutal as they jockey for power.

Amidst all of this, Parks creates a series of beautifully drawn characters in McCoy, Wattie and Stevie Cooper as well as the Record reporter, Mary who leaps off the page. To complement these characters, Parks has created a complex, twisted set of intertwining murders that really want to make you close your eyes to their descriptions. Violence abounds on every page and the language is appropriate to that.

If it sounds bleak, it is because it is the grimmest of pictures of Glasgow, yet it is immersive, riveting, and forceful. And, somehow, at the end, it’s just a wee bit emotional. This is writing that sucks you in and doesn’t let go.

Verdict: Bloody brilliant. Could not put it down. A must read for 2019 ...more

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Jan 29, 2019 Alyson Read rated it it was amazing

Set in 1973, this is the second Harry McCoy novel and follows on a few weeks after the end of book 1, "Bloody January". And what an excellent sequel 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 is due to the protection from his continuing friendship with Stevie Cooper who ended on up on the other side of the law running prostitutes, deali ...more

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Feb 09, 2019 Jo-anne Atkinson rated it really liked it · review of another edition

When Celtic's star striker is found murdered and mutilated the Glasgow police force have a pool of suspects. It's too horrific to be sectarian but given that the victim was the fiance of the only daughter of the Northside crime boss there's a big pool of suspects. This is quickly narrowed down to an ex employee. However as Harry McCoy investigates further he finds that his past and the present are set on a collision course and he may not escape.
I really enjoyed the first Harry McCoy book and thi ...more

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Jan 28, 2019 Joanne Cartwright rated it really liked it

very dark, very descriptive and with a very anti-hero, hero!
February's son throws you straight in at the deep end with a seemingly quite corrupt 1970s police force, a grisly murder with more bodies piling up, drugs galore and a lead detective who is having problems of his own over and above the body count.
The pace is fast and the descriptions are pretty gruesome but the writing transports you to 1970s Glasgow incredibly effectively (well, as far as I can say having not been there in that era!).
T ...more

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Feb 06, 2019 Anne rated it it was amazing

This book follows on from " Bloody January " and is the second novel in the Detective Harry McCoy series. This Scottish Noir novel is not for the faint hearted being violent and very descriptive throughout, with very colourful language and gruesome scenes.
With all his failings the character of Harry McCoy is further developed among the hard men and criminals of 1970's Glasgow but his past continues to haunt him. Harry has his own demons, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs and violence and his career in ...more

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Nov 17, 2018 Louise rated it liked it · review of another edition

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Dec 23, 2018 Martha Brindley rated it it was amazing

The second novel to feature Detective Harry Mc Coy and just as dark as the first one...but even better! Set in 1970's Glasgow this book took me back to my youth living in Glasgow. Gangland warfare, murders, violence, a weird plot,excellent writing and a touch of dark humour thrown in. What's not to love? I look forward to reading more. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

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Feb 16, 2019 Jo rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: crime-fiction-and-thrillers, historical-fiction, the-brave

Second outing for Harry McCoy who polices the mean streets of Glasgow in the 1970s. Some very gruesome murders, lots of drugs and policemen who walk a very thin line between saint and sinner. This is shaping up to be an excellent series and Parks is giving crime fiction's established stars a run for their money.

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Feb 07, 2019 Linda Boa rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Sublime 70s set Tartan Noir

Loved this book, with Alan Parks proving he's no one trick pony after Bloody January. The challenge will be for us crime fans to contain ourselves for a whole 13 months (presumably) for the next, March-themed title. It won't be an easy wait!

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