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14/03/2021

Bobby March Will Live Forever by Alan Parks @AlanJParks @blackthornbks @RandomTTours #BobbyMarch #HarryMcCoy

 


Published on 5th March 2021 by Blackthorn books. My thanks to the publisher for the review copy and Anne Cater of Random Things Tours for the blog tour invitation. 
WHO IS TO BLAME WHEN NO ONE IS INNOCENT?

There’s a heatwave in Glasgow and the drugs trade is booming. The whole force is searching for missing thirteen-year-old Alice Kelly. All except Harry McCoy, who has been taken off the case after a run-in with the boss, and is instead sent alone to investigate the death of rock-star Bobby March, who has just overdosed in the Royal Stuart hotel.

The papers want blood. The force wants results. McCoy has a hunch. But does he have enough time?

My Thoughts:

Bobby March Will Live Forever is the third book in the Harry McCoy series and the first I've read. It reads exceptionally well as a standalone but as I swiftly discovered I must go back and read the first two as this sort of fiction, described as Tartan Noir is right up my street. 

This book had a remarkable way of instantly transporting me to the streets of Glasgow in the 1970's. It was authentic and completely immersive. 

Harry McCoy is Polis but he also has his enemies and seemed equally at home on the mean streets of Glasgow. One of those that dislikes McCoy with a passion is Detective Sargeant Raeburn who is temporaily in charge as McCoys boss Chief Inspector Murray has been sent to work elsewhere. Mind you the feeling seems to run both ways but McCoy is attempting to keep himself in check. It is becoming increasingly difficult though when he out of spite has been put on menial tasks. 

Harry McCoy is more than annoyed when he is not allowed to work on the case of missing youngster Alice Kelly but finds his hands more than full when Bobby March turns up dead of a drugs overdose in a hotel room. The guitarist only having played a concert the night before. Also alongside an off the books case for Chief Inspector Murray whose niece seems to have got in with bad crowd and is also missing. The family want her found off the books to avoid bad publicity.

Set amongst the heat of summer I could almost sense this coming off the page and fell into the glasgow dialect straightaway, the voices of the characters raw and real. Drugs,unsavoury characters, opinions and corrupt police form just some of the themes of this richly imagined crime story. Seemingly more than one law seemed to run at that time. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the many facets to this story and the way I completely engaged with it. I cannot wait to go back and read the first two now. One of the reasons I enjoy doing blog tours is the discovery of some absolute diamonds in the rough and Harry McCoy is one of those. 


About the Author:

Alan Parks has worked in the music industry for over twenty years. His debut novel Bloody January was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. He lives and works in Glasgow.

 

Bobby March Will Live Forever is the third Harry McCoy thriller.
 
Please also do have a look at the other stops on the blog tour. 
 

 


 

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