‚It can‘t have been that bad.‘ But it was.
January 1973 first brought a promotion to Detective Harry McCoy of Glasgow police, but then things wrecked havoc. When Howie Nairn, a prisoner in the Special Unit of Barlinnie wants to see him, he is a bit irritated. Why especially him? And what does he
have to say? Nairn tells him to take care of a certain Lorna who works in a posh restaurant and is…mehr‚It can‘t have been that bad.‘ But it was.
January 1973 first brought a promotion to Detective Harry McCoy of Glasgow police, but then things wrecked havoc. When Howie Nairn, a prisoner in the Special Unit of Barlinnie wants to see him, he is a bit irritated. Why especially him? And what does he have to say? Nairn tells him to take care of a certain Lorna who works in a posh restaurant and is likely to be killed the next day. McCoy doesn‘t really believe him but nevertheless sets out to search for her. In vain. He can only watch how the young woman is shot in central Glasgow by a man who then commits suicide. Quite a strange thing, but things are going to get a lot more complicated and soon McCoy has to realise that the laws aren‘t made for everybody.
Alan Park‘s first novel of the McCoy series lives on the atmosphere of 1970s Glasgow. The city hasn‘ t turned into the town it is today but resembles a rather rund own place where police and gangland work hand in hand - have to work hand in hand if they want to solve any case at all. McCoy is rather unconventional in his work, but he certainly has the heart in the right place and fights for justice.
There are two things I really liked about the story: on the one hand, it is quite compilicated and all but foreseeable, on the other hand, Alan Parks‘s has chosen unconvenient aspects which he puts in a different light which shows the complexity of reality and that live is not only black and white but full of shades of grey. McCoy can work for the police but maintain good relationships with old friends who control the criminal world. The recognised upper class are not the good-doers but also have their dark sides. And many people struggle to make a living, wanting to be good but at times have to ignore their own values simply to survive.
A novel which is full of suspense, with a convincing protagonist and perfectly crafted atmosphere of a dark Glasgow.
