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rainbow_janebow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
debtat2's review against another edition
4.0
Glasgow in the 1970s this is a brilliant Scottish noir crime thriller that portrays that time brilliantly.
It is the second book in this series and personally i wish i had read the first book Bloody January first but it was still a great read and i will be looking out for further books by Alan Parks.
It is the second book in this series and personally i wish i had read the first book Bloody January first but it was still a great read and i will be looking out for further books by Alan Parks.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Cn. Abuse, horrible depictions of mental health
Can we chat for a second?
Not the ideal way to begin a book review BUT...
Ah man, I'm just so f-ing sick and tired of diabolical serial killers. It's exhausting. The ratio of serial killers in fiction-versus-reality is off the charts. They're not interesting. They're not compelling. They're damn sure not unique.
Alan Parks has an interesting tableau: 70s Glasgow in all its grimy glory. He could do so much more with what he writes. He has an interesting, if half-baked lead in Detective McCoy (come to think of it, just about all of his characters are interesting-if-half-baked). He has a grasp of social dynamics and crime.
But, man, like 70% of this book read like someone's horrifying genre mashup script of a bad 80s slasher flick and scat porn.
Like really, we get it. Blood, piss, fecal matter. We don't need graphic descriptions. They're intended to shock but they just bore, like your dad making the same joke every other day.
I just wish these books were better. If you combined the respective talents of Parks and William McIlvanney, you'd not only have the ultimate in tartan noir but maybe the greatest Scottish writer of all time.
Can we chat for a second?
Not the ideal way to begin a book review BUT...
Ah man, I'm just so f-ing sick and tired of diabolical serial killers. It's exhausting. The ratio of serial killers in fiction-versus-reality is off the charts. They're not interesting. They're not compelling. They're damn sure not unique.
Alan Parks has an interesting tableau: 70s Glasgow in all its grimy glory. He could do so much more with what he writes. He has an interesting, if half-baked lead in Detective McCoy (come to think of it, just about all of his characters are interesting-if-half-baked). He has a grasp of social dynamics and crime.
But, man, like 70% of this book read like someone's horrifying genre mashup script of a bad 80s slasher flick and scat porn.
Like really, we get it. Blood, piss, fecal matter. We don't need graphic descriptions. They're intended to shock but they just bore, like your dad making the same joke every other day.
I just wish these books were better. If you combined the respective talents of Parks and William McIlvanney, you'd not only have the ultimate in tartan noir but maybe the greatest Scottish writer of all time.
pilebythebed's review against another edition
4.0
Alan Parks continues his dark, tartan noir series only weeks after the end of his debut Bloody January. That book, set in a grimy Glasgow in 1973, introduced detective Harry McCoy, a man with a dark and traumatic past, trying to do the right thing while managing his personal demons.
Harry McCoy is back on the job after the injuries sustained at the end of Bloody January. Before long is on the case – investigating the gruesome murder of a Celtic football star who also happened to be dating the daughter of a local crimelord. At the same time he is brought in to the investigation of a suicide which points him to a senior police officer who was one of the people who abused him as a child. It is not long before he is dangerously having to juggle his professional and personal lives.
Parks is determined to make his noir as dark as possible. There is plenty of violence and mayhem, gang warfare and police brutality. And in case that was not enough, some fairly exploitative interludes from the point of view of the killer. While there are a couple of small twists, there is not much mystery here, the killer is identified early on, making this fairly pure procedural – can the police catch up with him before he kills again. And it is no surprise for readers of this genre when McCoy himself comes into the crosshairs.
February’s Son is an atmospheric, historical crime fiction which deals with some fairly confronting, and still very relevant issues. The procedural format coupled with McCoy’s institutional history of abuse allows this series to deal effectively with notions of trauma, justice and redemption. It will be interesting to see where Parks takes this story next – definitely a series to watch.
Harry McCoy is back on the job after the injuries sustained at the end of Bloody January. Before long is on the case – investigating the gruesome murder of a Celtic football star who also happened to be dating the daughter of a local crimelord. At the same time he is brought in to the investigation of a suicide which points him to a senior police officer who was one of the people who abused him as a child. It is not long before he is dangerously having to juggle his professional and personal lives.
Parks is determined to make his noir as dark as possible. There is plenty of violence and mayhem, gang warfare and police brutality. And in case that was not enough, some fairly exploitative interludes from the point of view of the killer. While there are a couple of small twists, there is not much mystery here, the killer is identified early on, making this fairly pure procedural – can the police catch up with him before he kills again. And it is no surprise for readers of this genre when McCoy himself comes into the crosshairs.
February’s Son is an atmospheric, historical crime fiction which deals with some fairly confronting, and still very relevant issues. The procedural format coupled with McCoy’s institutional history of abuse allows this series to deal effectively with notions of trauma, justice and redemption. It will be interesting to see where Parks takes this story next – definitely a series to watch.
jakewritesbooks's review against another edition
3.0
Cn. Abuse, horrible depictions of mental health
Can we chat for a second?
Not the ideal way to begin a book review BUT...
Ah man, I'm just so f-ing sick and tired of diabolical serial killers. It's exhausting. The ratio of serial killers in fiction-versus-reality is off the charts. They're not interesting. They're not compelling. They're damn sure not unique.
Alan Parks has an interesting tableau: 70s Glasgow in all its grimy glory. He could do so much more with what he writes. He has an interesting, if half-baked lead in Detective McCoy (come to think of it, just about all of his characters are interesting-if-half-baked). He has a grasp of social dynamics and crime.
But, man, like 70% of this book read like someone's horrifying genre mashup script of a bad 80s slasher flick and scat porn.
Like really, we get it. Blood, piss, fecal matter. We don't need graphic descriptions. They're intended to shock but they just bore, like your dad making the same joke every other day.
I just wish these books were better. If you combined the respective talents of Parks and William McIlvanney, you'd not only have the ultimate in tartan noir but maybe the greatest Scottish writer of all time.
Can we chat for a second?
Not the ideal way to begin a book review BUT...
Ah man, I'm just so f-ing sick and tired of diabolical serial killers. It's exhausting. The ratio of serial killers in fiction-versus-reality is off the charts. They're not interesting. They're not compelling. They're damn sure not unique.
Alan Parks has an interesting tableau: 70s Glasgow in all its grimy glory. He could do so much more with what he writes. He has an interesting, if half-baked lead in Detective McCoy (come to think of it, just about all of his characters are interesting-if-half-baked). He has a grasp of social dynamics and crime.
But, man, like 70% of this book read like someone's horrifying genre mashup script of a bad 80s slasher flick and scat porn.
Like really, we get it. Blood, piss, fecal matter. We don't need graphic descriptions. They're intended to shock but they just bore, like your dad making the same joke every other day.
I just wish these books were better. If you combined the respective talents of Parks and William McIlvanney, you'd not only have the ultimate in tartan noir but maybe the greatest Scottish writer of all time.
beytwice's review against another edition
1.0
Thank you to ReadersFirst for the free copy of this book. February's Son really didn't gel with me at all and it felt like pulling teeth just to get through it. The second in the Harry McCoy series, I don't think it works well as a standalone at all, relying too much on pre-established investment in the characters, applying too much reference to previous events without the aid of cohesive context. I wasn't thrilled by what I was reading, knew the majority of the answers too early on in the book and didn't care to find out the rest. Very few redeeming factors and a really sad review to write. Don't think going back to read the first would help boost a rating this low for me.
pinskal's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
jmatkinson1's review against another edition
4.0
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 this one is even better. There is a strong sense of time and place and a deft touch with the sexist, racist, homophobic nature of 1970s policing. Harry's backstory comes to the fore here and even the ending closes one circle but opens up a whole new set of possibilities for the future. This is strong writing in any genre.
I really enjoyed the first Harry McCoy book and this one is even better. There is a strong sense of time and place and a deft touch with the sexist, racist, homophobic nature of 1970s policing. Harry's backstory comes to the fore here and even the ending closes one circle but opens up a whole new set of possibilities for the future. This is strong writing in any genre.
andrew61's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
2nd in the very readable Harry McCoy series finds him at the centre of an investigation of the murder of a Celtic footballer. Harrys close connection to a criminal gang leader finds him sailing very close to the wind but this leads to a great page turner in a book which captures time and place really well. looking forward to March.