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Bobby March Will Live Forever – Alan Parks

WHO IS TO BLAME WHEN NO ONE IS INNOCENT?

The papers want blood.
The force wants results.
The law must be served, whatever the cost.

July 1973. The Glasgow drugs trade is booming and Bobby March, the city’s own rock-star hero, has just overdosed in a central hotel.

Alice Kelly is thirteen years old, lonely. And missing.

Meanwhile the niece of McCoy’s boss has fallen in with a bad crowd and when she goes AWOL, McCoy is asked – off the books – to find her.

McCoy has a hunch. But does he have enough time?

My thanks to Canongate Books for my review copy

This is one of the backwards reviews – one of the ones where I do the summary first. That only happens when I have been blown away by a book. So there should be no doubt when I say: I loved Bobby March Will Live Forever.

The third book in the Harry McCoy series which began with Bloody January (five stars) and February’s Son (five stars). I enjoyed Bobby March more than the first two so have not left myself any room to reflect this in my scoring system…I may need to add a smiley face or a “vg” like I did when I was teaching.

Now I can turn to the book. It is Glasgow in the blistering heat of Summer 1973. A child (Alice Kelly) has vanished off the streets and her parents are frantic. The police are stretched to the limit and it is “all hands on deck” to find Alice. All hands except Harry McCoy.

Harry has been sidelined. He is working under a new boss, a temporary arrangement while the head of his station takes on a secondment up in Perth. Harry and his new “boss” do not see eye to eye and the consequence of their enmity is that Harry is getting all the rubbish to deal with. So while his colleagues (and the splendid “Watty”) are on a city-wide hunt for missing Alice, Harry is left to deal with a drug-overdose in a city centre hotel. The deceased is Bobby Marsh, through a series of flashback chapters scattered through the book we see Bobby rise from young talented guitarist to the best session musician of his day. He played with all the greats but dabbled with all the wrong substances and this would be his undoing. Bobby is gone, his fans will be bereft and Harry has to work out why an apparent overdose appears to be more complicated than it may seem.

Harry’s Perthshire-ensconsed boss, Murray, also has another task for him as his niece has run away from home an Murray’s brother wants her found and returned. But as Murray’s brother seeks political office he wants his runaway daughter kept out of the headlines. Murray puts this responsibility onto Harry and leaves him spinning plates.

The investigation process in 1973 is very different from the crime fiction titles we read today and Harry’s world seems a million miles away from what we have now. Yet Alan Parks makes it wonderfully vivid and you can almost smell the cigarette filled bars and sweaty tenement rooms that Harry has to frequent.

The returning cast add so much depth and enjoyment, Harry’s old friend Stevie Cooper is still one of Glasgows crime kingpin’s, the dependable Watty is working with ‘the enemy’ on the missing girl case, brothel madame Iris is back to provide unwilling assistance and even Harry’s ex girlfriend cameos to remind him of days long lost.

The story is utterly compelling and I was totally unprepared for how some elements were resolved. So damned clever!

We are three books in to this series and I cannot say enough good things about all the Harry McCoy titles. Alan Parks is the name all fans of crime fiction should be seeking out. These are books you should be reading.

Bobby March Will Live Forever. Five stars, v.g. 🙂

Bobby March Will Live Forever is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07XC7ZLBF/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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November 27

The Sorrows – Jonathan Janz

The Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome murders in 1925. But its owner needs money, so he allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their female friends to stay a month in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain a haunted castle is just the setting Ben needs to find inspiration for a horror film.

But what they find is more horrific than any movie. Something is waiting for them in the castle. A malevolent being has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.

My thanks to Flame Tree Press for my review copy and to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the chance to join this tour.

I find horror tales to be the most unpredictable reads in my tbr pile. With a crime thriller you generally know what to expect, adventure stories feature the “untouchable” heroes and psychological thrillers are twisty unexpected tales where the lead character will usually prevail in the end. In a horror story – all bets are off.

My favourite chilling tales are the haunted house stories where the menace is hidden, subtle and is slowly revealed. But there is very much a place on my bookshelves for a “schlock horror” where everything is bloody and brutal and the story has zero subtlety.

So what of The Sorrows? This one evolved as the story developed. Early indications were that this would be a subtle read. Four key characters in a remote location. Each brings their personal demons to a large lonely castle on a quite island off the coast of California. The aim is to produce the score for a forthcoming horror film – the creepy location to inspire the creative process for the composers.

At first the castle seems to be tormenting each of the residents, apparitions or memories will surface. Footsteps stopping outside a locked bedroom door but no sound of the person leaving again. The castle has a dark history and it soon becomes apparent that our residents are in grave danger. However, it is hard to feel too sorry for one of the guests as he really does not come across as a nice guy. Heavily in debt and unable to convince his father to bail him out of his latest predicament – the castle presents a haven to escape the unwelcome attentions of the debt collectors. If something bad were to happen to this chap it may make for entertaining retribution!

Happily Jonathan Janz knows how to deliver the chills. The subtle chills give way to monster perils, the danger full and bloody and very much in your face. The tone of the story changes up once the scene has been set and the back stories established. Danger escalates, terror increases and the psychological chiller gives way to a brutal battle with a demonic entity.

The unpredicability of the story kept me reading, I wanted to see which of the characters may survive and which would meet a grim fate. It is the eternal lure of a horror tale – we know there is a “big bad” out there and that not every character will make it to the end of the story…the fun is seeing what may happen.

The Sorrows is published by Flame Tree Press and releases on 30 November 2018 in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sorrows-Fiction-Without-Frontiers-ebook/dp/B07JGDX81V/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1543257520&sr=8-1&keywords=the+sorrows+janz

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August 31

Crack Apple & Pop – Saira Viola

Tony is a handsome young boxer is forced into a life of crime after suffering a vicious blow in the ring.

Seduced by the glitz and glamour of London and mentored by charismatic gang lord Don March he rises rapidly up the crime ladder until he spies an opportunity to start a semi-legit Natural Highs business.

Bank-rolled by an eccentric British dandy and accompanied by a cast of starry misfits including a 3ft tall blue-haired money man, an Etonian drug mule, two dominatrix debt collectors, a dodgy lawyer and a host of demi-celebs, Tony carves out a life for himself in a city where money creates its’ own morality.

All seems to be going well until in the shadows, a Bollywood mobster threatens to derail their plans.

Chaos ensues, of course it does – wonderful, beautiful, visceral chaos.

The deft wit of Hammett meets the vivid poetics of Chandler: Crack Apple and Pop is slick smart and razor sharp. A gritty and sometimes metafictive slice of London noir.

A city of artful dodgers, yardie gangsters, kinky aristos, cocaine dusted starlets and social thrill seekers where everyone’s hustling and everyone’s getting high.

Whether it’s law, finance, the music biz, or the boxing ring: money is king. And only the ones prepared to risk everything will survive…

My thanks to Emma at Damppebbles for arranging the blog tour and to Fahrenheit Press for my review copy.

Fahrenheit Press release books which are dark, edgy, “noirish” and their regular readers love the unpredictable stories on offer.

Crack Apple & Pop is not going to be to everyone’s taste. It is cleverly written, loaded with lives and stories, anecdotes and glimpses into the lives of colourful characters but cosy crime fans will not embrace the darkness on offer here.

As a Scottish blogger I review a fair few Scottish crime thrillers – the biggest gripes I see about Scottish books I love is that “local dialect” upsets some of Middle England. Crack Apple & Pop is pure London (and not the pleasant BBC Radio 4 London voices). There is slang, drug references, gang culture and dozens of vulnerable lives being manipulated by the powerful.

The reader is taken to snapshots of different scenes, a return to the lead characters then an aside to a random encounter. Everything feels 100mph and there are so many incidents which may shock or amuse. I find it hard to do describe how it feels to read (as you can clearly see).

An example: the opening chapters are about a developing boxing career. The rhythm of the writing is amazing in that it is punchy, it weaves and bobs and bruises the reader then it is over and all slows and the pattern of writing changes.

This happens over the story – fast scenes are sharp, stacatto or spiked. Then slower, calmer scenes are detailed and comfortable. It is very cleverly done as it changes the feel of the story.

If you want to read a character driven book this has to be a contender. It is lives laid out for our inspection – these may not be happy lives so proceed with caution.

Crack Apple & Pop is published by Fahrenheit Press and is available in digital and paperback format. You can order a copy here: http://www.fahrenheit-press.com/books_crack_apple_and_pop.html

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April 9

The Man Who Loved Islands – David F Ross

The Disco Boys and THE Band are BACK …In the early ’80s, Bobby Cassidy and Joey Miller were inseparable; childhood friends and fledgling business associates. Now, both are depressed and lonely, and they haven’t spoken to each other in more than ten years. A bizarre opportunity to honour the memory of someone close to both of them presents itself, if only they can forgive … and forget.

Absurdly funny, deeply moving and utterly human, The Man Who Loved Islands is an unforgettable finale to the Disco Days trilogy.

My thanks to Karen at Orenda for my review copy

If you were here for The Last Days of Disco and then The Rise and Fall of the Miraculous Vespas then The Man Who Loved Islands is an absolute treat. We have returning characters, you will know how David Ross can tear at your heartstrings then have you howling with laughter and, of course, we have the best soundtrack and musical references that you will find in any book on the fiction shelves.

If you have not read the first two books (and you really should) then fear not…The Man Who Loved Islands can stand alone and be thoroughly enjoyed. Where the earlier stories were very much tales of Ayrshire, this time we have a much more international feel. The first third of the book sees the narrative jump back and forward in time and events mainly take place between the Far East and Ibiza. The changing timeline and the locational switches give Islands a very different feel to the first two novels (albeit the conversational language is 100% Scottish).

Bobby and Joey are old friends who have drifted apart. Though both have achieved a degree of success in their lives, they have both reached a stage where they are largely unhappy with where they find themselves now. The chance of a reunion arises – the opportunity to build bridges and re-establish that old friendship and both men find themselves drawn together again.

The Man Who Loved Islands splits the pacing. The first half of the book is slower, reflecting the unhappy position that the boys have found themselves in. We spend time with Bobby in Ibiza during the off season, he scrimping and slaving to try to make that elusive breakthrough on the club scene. The long quiet days will frustrate and leave him almost fatigued with lethargy, sleeping late, watching tv re-runs he is in a spiral of waste. Joey is an architect but is being edged out of his firm by younger and more hungry colleagues. He is listless and travelling from hotel to hotel in an unfulfilling existence.

Into the latter stages of the story the pace dramatically lifts, the fun is back and the hijinks return. It is funny, fresh and damned entertaining. Plus there is the music – always the music and the forgotten songs, the trivia and the sheer depth of knowledge which infuse David Ross brings to his books make reading them so very enjoyable.

Fabulous, funny and frequently foul mouthed.

The Man Who Loved Islands is published by Orenda Books and is available in paperback and digital format. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Man-Loved-Islands-Disco-Days/dp/1910633151/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1491683160&sr=8-1&keywords=the+man+who+loved+islands

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