May God Forgive

 By Alan Parks

Europa Editions     2022

371 pages     Noir

If you ever wanted to know what classic Noir is, this series of books by Alan Parks is the place to begin. May God Forgive is the fifth book in the series, which begins with Bloody January, published in 2017. Although this was the first of the series that I read, I didn’t have much trouble getting acquainted with Detective Harry McCoy. McCoy has returned to the Glasgow police force following a month off to recover from a bad ulcer attack. However, just as he returns, the city is racked by several unforgiveable crimes. Here is a brief synopsis of the book:

“Glasgow is a city in mourning. An arson attack on a hairdresser’s has left five dead. Tempers are frayed and sentiments running high. When three youths are charged, the city goes wild. A crowd gathers outside the courthouse, but as the police drive the young men to prison, the van is rammed by a truck, and the boys are grabbed and bundled into a car. The next day, the body of one of them is dumped in the city centre. A note has been sent to the newspaper: one down; two to go. Detective Harry McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the kidnapped boys before they all turn up dead, it is going to mean taking down some of Glasgow’s most powerful people to do it.”

May God Forgive takes place in Glasgow in the spring of 1974. The city is really gritty and crime filled, and McCoy knows the city and all its criminals really well, hence his need for Pepto Bismol night and day. We, the readers, try to keep up with his logic as he sets out to solve both the fire at the hairdresser’s and the young men’s murders. He has the additional crime of a young woman’s murder, and the knowledge that she appeared in a photograph with one of the young men. Oh, and I almost forgot, he has to solve the murder of a homeless man that he knows from his detective work. And this is to say nothing about the brief appearance of his estranged father, who haunts his memory night and day. There are many characters in the novel, some making very small appearances, and several others who seem to have long-term relationships with McCoy, who grew up in the city. A couple of times, I found myself at a bit of a loss to remember which character was which.

The city of Glasgow is very much a character in the novel, and I enjoyed reading about the city and its inhabitants, including the crooked Archbishop as well as all the shop and bar owners. Luckily, I had a British son-in-law visiting as I read the book, so if I ran across a word or a concept I didn’t understand, I could ask Stuart for an American definition. For instance, I was confused by the word “jumper” and Stuart said a jumper was a sweater. Aah!

Did I mention that it is raining nearly every day as McCoy checks in with all his sources, meeting many of them in neighborhood bars, drinking and smoking his way to a solution to the crime. It reminded me that if I ever get to Glasgow, I shouldn’t visit in May.

As my readers know, I am fascinated with noir and neo-noir. Here is an entry I made several years ago as I tried to describe what makes noir identifiable as a genre. May God Forgive is the epitome of the genre. The reviewer in the Times of London said, “McCoy is so noir he makes most other Scottish cops seem light gray.”

Alan Parks has had a career as a music producer, and readers can get a sense of his love of music with the background music that shows the atmosphere of 1970s music. Park’s Harry McCoy mysteries have been nominated twice for well-deserved Edgar Awards. Classic Noir indeed!