To Die In June by Alan Parks

A woman enters a Glasgow police station to report her son missing, but no record can be found of the boy. When Detective Harry McCoy, seconded from the cop shop across town, discovers the family is part of the cultish Church of Christ's Suffering, he suspects there is more to Michael's disappearance than meets the eye.

Meanwhile reports arrive of a string of poisonings of down-and-outs across the city. The dead are men who few barely notice, let alone care about - but, as McCoy is painfully aware, among this desperate community is his own father.

Even as McCoy searches for the missing boy, he must conceal from his colleagues the real reason for his presence - to investigate corruption in the station. Some folk pray for justice. Detective Harry McCoy hasn't got time to wait.

About the author

Alan Parks worked in the music industry for over twenty years before turning to crime writing. His debut novel Bloody January was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, February’s Son was nominated for an Edgar Award, Bobby March Will Live Forever was picked as a Times Best Book of the Year, won a Prix Mystère de la Critique Award and won an Edgar Award. The April Dead was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year and May God Forgive won the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year 2022. He lives and works in Glasgow.

Review

‘To Die In June’ is a brilliant addition to this amazing series, at times horrific and at times comforting. It's a delicate balance of light and dark in this outing. This is the sixth book in the series and going by the titles this means we might be half way through this opus. You can easily pick this book up and read it as a standalone but I recommend reading the full series as they are an outstanding series of crime noir set in gritty 1970s Glasgow. No detail is out of place and its point of reference is superb.

When a woman walks into Possil police station and states that her nine-year-old son is missing DI Harry McCoy initiates a search in the local area. But it turns out that there is no son. Harry is confused especially more so when he realises they have something to do with the Church of Christ’s Suffering and is determined to keep an eye on the situation. Harry and Wattie have been sent undercover to Possil as DCI Murray believes that there has been police involvement in a string of post office robberies. But Wattie doesn't know the real reason they are there. Plus, there have been an unusual amount of homeless people dying. When a homeless man approaches Harry with the information that he believes that they are being poisoned, he is struck down with fear as his father is homeless and the perfect target!

Harry seems a changed man in this book. More mature. More settled. He might still make questionable decisions and his friendship with Cooper is still worrying but he seems aged in a way. Grown up, more aware of himself. Harry has gone through a lot in this series but this also seems the most personal book, one that really drills deep into the father-son relationships in his life and how he deals with them. There is also a kaleidoscope of other father-son variations throughout the book and it shows how fundamental a relationship that is in shaping one's identity. A poignant take on this theme and is empathetic with it.

This is a series which is a firm favourite of mine and one I always look forward to reading. I fear that July might be brutal.

Let me know if you pick this one up!