Order of Alan Parks Books

Alan Parks is a Scottish author who has also worked in the music industry for ever twenty years. He made his turn to writing with his debut novel, Bloody January> which was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière. His books focus on the character of Harry McCoy. His second novel, February’s Son was shortlisted for the Edgar Awards.

Parks was born in Scotland and now is located in Glasgow where he lives and works. He attended the University of Glasgow where he was awarded a M.A. in Moral Philosophy.

Publication Order of Harry McCoy Books

If You Like Alan Parks Books, You’ll Love…

• Mick Herron
• Jo Nesbo
• Philip Kerr

Bloody January was our introduction to Harry McCoy and Parks as an author. The book features an interesting case for McCoy as an 18-year-old boy has a shot a young woman dead on the street and then turned the gun on himself, committing suicide. McCoy doesn’t believe that this is just some random act of violence though and decides to dig deeper into the case with his new partner. The case leads them to an underground network of a secret society run by the wealthiest families in Glasgow. It all leads him to the wealthiest family in the city, the Dunlops, who treat Glasgow as their own personal playground and are seemingly untouchable.

The follow-up to that book is February’s Son. In this one, a man hangs himself in the neighborhood chapel as the bodies of young girls are being found in the waterways throughout the city. While McCoy has a new case, watching over a colleague’s niece who has left home and fell in with a bad crowd. The city is a main character in this one as its rough edges really show. The drugs in the city are getting more dangerous as the city is fought over by gangs, organized crime, the forces of law and order, and ordinary people trying to get by.