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May God Forgive

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( 1,235 ratings, 153 reviews)
Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
May God Forgive by Alan Parks is a gripping crime and thriller novel. Set in Glasgow during the 1970s, it follows Detective Harry McCoy as he navigates a complex investigation involving kidnapping, deception, and brutal crimes. The story combines a dark and atmospheric setting with intricate plotting, delivering an intense and suspenseful reading experience.
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Format: Paperback / softback
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

If you're intrigued by gritty and atmospheric crime narratives set in the 1970s, you might appreciate this book. The richly detailed setting and intense, complex characters promise to keep you on the edge of your seat, delivering a thrilling dive into the shadowy underworld and its intricate mysteries.

Book Hero thinking about your next read

McCoy has twenty-four hours to find two kidnapped boys before they turn up dead, in this dark and gritty Harry McCoy thriller

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

May God Forgive, the winner of the McIlvanney Prize, is set in a Glasgow that is a city in mourning. An arson attack has left five dead, tempers are frayed, and sentiments are 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, their van is rammed by a truck, and the men 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 newspapers: one down, two to go.

Detective Harry McCoy has twenty-four hours to find the kidnapped boys before they all turn up dead, and it is going to mean taking down some of Glasgow's most powerful to do it.

Series: A Harry McCoy Thriller

View all
  • February's Son
    On dark nights, someone needs to light a few fires... Bodies are piling up with messages carved into their chests. Rival gangs are competing for control. New drugs have arrived in Glasgow, and they've brought a different kind of violence to the broken city. The law of the street is changing, and demons from Detective McCoy's past are coming back...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • May God Forgive
    May God Forgive, the winner of the McIlvanney Prize, is set in a Glasgow that is a city in mourning. An arson attack has left five dead, tempers are frayed, and sentiments are 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,...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The April Dead
    SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE FOR SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 'One of the great Scottish crime writers' - The Times 'Brilliant' - Sunday Times Crime Club NO ONE WILL FORGET In a grimy flat in Glasgow, a homemade bomb explodes, leaving few remains to identify its maker. Detective Harry McCoy knows in his gut that there'll be more...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Bloody January
    'Gripping and violent, dark and satisfying. I flew through it.' - Bret Easton Ellis 'A blistering plot, unforgettable characters and writing so sharp it's like it's been written with a knife ... Detective McCoy is a true noir antihero and the perfect guide through the vice and violence of Glasgow's underbelly. Bloody January firmly sets Alan Parks in the same...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • To Die In June
    One missing child. Two murders. A midsummer nightmare. 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...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Bobby March Will Live Forever
    WHO IS TO BLAME WHEN NO ONE IS INNOCENT? There's a heatwave in Glasgow and the drugs trade is booming. The whole force is searching for missing thirteen-year-old Alice Kelly. All except Harry McCoy, who has been taken off the case after a run-in with the boss, and is instead sent alone to investigate the death of rock-star Bobby March,...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

May God Forgive by Alan Parks is a gripping and intense entry in the crime fiction genre, earning praise for its compelling storytelling and evocative portrayal of urban decay. Critics highlight Harry McCoy's character as a standout, with the series being recognised as a powerful addition to Scottish crime fiction, rivalling classics in the genre. Fans of taut, morally complex plots will find Parks' writing both absorbing and thrilling.

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781838856793

Publisher: Canongate Books

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 27 April 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Canongate Books

Edition: Main

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 23.0mm

Width: 129.0mm

Height: 198.0mm

Weight: 256g

Pages: 384

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 Litterature Policiere, February's Son was nominated for an Edgar Award, Bobby March Will Live Forever was picked as a The Times Best Book of the Year and The April Dead was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year. He lives and works in Glasgow.May God Forgive is the fifth Harry McCoy thriller.@AlanJParks

Also by Alan Parks

View all
  • February's Son
    On dark nights, someone needs to light a few fires... Bodies are piling up with messages carved into their chests. Rival gangs are competing for control. New drugs have arrived in Glasgow, and they've brought a different kind of violence to the broken city. The law of the street is changing, and demons from Detective McCoy's past are coming back...
    Paperback
    $2600
    Elsewhere:
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • The April Dead
    SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE FOR SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 'One of the great Scottish crime writers' - The Times 'Brilliant' - Sunday Times Crime Club NO ONE WILL FORGET In a grimy flat in Glasgow, a homemade bomb explodes, leaving few remains to identify its maker. Detective Harry McCoy knows in his gut that there'll be more...
    Paperback
    $2300
    Elsewhere:
    $2499
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Bloody January
    'Gripping and violent, dark and satisfying. I flew through it.' - Bret Easton Ellis 'A blistering plot, unforgettable characters and writing so sharp it's like it's been written with a knife ... Detective McCoy is a true noir antihero and the perfect guide through the vice and violence of Glasgow's underbelly. Bloody January firmly sets Alan Parks in the same...
    Paperback
    $2799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • Deception
    The second instalment in the thrilling WW2 Joseph Gunner series, from the award-winning author of the Harry McCoy books. New York, December 1941. Joseph Gunner, former soldier, is off the front lines and on the streets of New York, tasked with helping tip America into the Second World War. Working for a section of the British Secret Service, Gunner spends...
    Paperback
    $3799
    Available
    Ships in 4-6 weeks
  • To Die In June
    One missing child. Two murders. A midsummer nightmare. 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...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Bobby March Will Live Forever
    WHO IS TO BLAME WHEN NO ONE IS INNOCENT? There's a heatwave in Glasgow and the drugs trade is booming. The whole force is searching for missing thirteen-year-old Alice Kelly. All except Harry McCoy, who has been taken off the case after a run-in with the boss, and is instead sent alone to investigate the death of rock-star Bobby March,...
    Paperback
    Sold Out
  • Gunner
    A brand new crime series from the award-winning author of the Harry McCoy books 'A notably original protagonist . . . swept up in a high-level conspiracy reaching from Whitehall's corridors of power to Berlin and Rudolf Hess's doomed flight to Scotland . . . enthralling' Financial Times 'Great storytelling . . . I loved it' Peter James, #1 bestselling...
    Paperback
    Sold Out

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