Happiness Is A Book: And Did Murder Him by Peter Turnbull

 Happiness Is A Book: And Did Murder Him by Peter Turnbull

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Gunner by Alan Parks

  

Joseph Gunner has returned to a war-torn Glasgow after being severely injured in the early days of World War II. With an eye injury that the doctors hope will improve over time, a leg injury that likely won’t, and a morphine addiction to cope with the pain, all Gunner wants to do is find a quiet place to regroup. He isn’t given the opportunity. His old boss in the Glasgow police, Detective Inspector Malcolm Drummond, meets him at the train station. Drummond’s retirement was rescinded because the younger police officers were drafted. Drummond bullies Gunner into helping him identify a badly damaged body found among the neighborhood casualties from the latest German bombing. Results from the autopsy indicate the victim was not a local and lead Gunner to the local POW farms to ask if they might be missing a prisoner. His involuntary involvement in a backdoor political conspiracy spirals from there. This primary story line is based on history: some pro-German factions in England urged collaboration with Hitler at the beginning of the war but faded when popular feeling turned against them.

At the same time Gunner searches for his younger brother who registered as a conscientious objector but who fled his work assignment on a farm. Fearing a prison sentence or worse for him, Gunner canvasses the bars where his brother’s Communist cronies gather, hoping to bring his brother in before he’s arrested.

In the background, Gunner watches Drummond, who has become far too close to one of the local gang leaders, build a lucrative black-market business. The criminal competition forcefully drafts Gunner as a go-between to tell Drummond to back off, creating a relationship with Gunner that he knows he will come to regret.

Much has been written about London during the Blitz, this is the first I have read about Scotland which was also heavily bombed. The descriptions of the attacks and their aftermath are painfully vivid and convincing.

I am a huge fan of Alan Parks. His Harry McCoy books, which describe Glasgow in the 1970s, are among the first I recommend to anyone rash enough to ask me for reading suggestions. This book is the first of a series about Glasgow during the 1940s, seen through the eyes of Joseph Gunner, a terrific new character.

The Crime Fiction Lover review compares the book to the Bernie Gunther series by Philip Kerr, set during World War II in Germany. https://crimefictionlover.com/2025/07/gunner-by-alan-parks/

 

 

·         Publisher: ‎John Murray/Baskerville

·         Publication date: ‎July 17, 2025

·         Language: ‎English

·         Print length: ‎288 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎1399819666

·         ISBN-13: ‎978-1399819664

  

Amazon Associate Purchase Link: https://amzn.to/4otgGi5

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2025

 

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

SleuthSayers: Old English Words, New Scottish Quotes

SleuthSayers: Old English Words, New Scottish Quotes: Two weeks ago I wrote about my family's visit to Scotland for the World Science Fiction Conference. I promised that this time I would in...

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: The Fear of Falling by John Harkin

John Harkin is a native of Glasgow, Scotland, where he still lives. As a former police commander and hostage negotiator, he has first-hand knowledge on which to base his crime fiction plots. His experience in uniform, CID, and firearms teams and with policing armed sieges and major incidents has clearly informed his debut novel, The Fear of Falling (Bloodhound Books, 2022), the first DI Luc Kidston police procedural.

Set in the late 1980s, when Glasgow is beginning to emerge from its long economic decline, crime is still rampant, especially in and around the famous Gorbals tenements. Someone with a samurai sword decides to punish one of the most egregious drug pushers, leaving Kidston’s team frantically searching for him before the victim’s friends find him and make him an object lesson to anyone else who might be feeling unhappy with their activities.

In addition, one of Kidston’s Detective Sergeants has been charged with severely injuring a young woman. The investigating officer has a long-standing grudge against Kidston and is plainly using the case as an opportunity to embarrass Kidston. Kidston is convinced of his officer’s innocence and launches an unofficial and unsanctioned investigation of his own, despite the damage that discovery of his efforts to protect his officer will do to his own career.

I find it hard to believe that this is a debut. The writing is confident and competent, the characters are fresh and well developed, and the story line drips with authenticity. The vivid portrayal of teamwork and competition within the police department speaks compellingly to the author’s front-line experience. The action sequences are especially good; the final confrontation with the samurai avenger would translate into a great visual for a film. Harkin is an author to watch.

 

·         Publisher: ‎ Bloodhound Books (January 4, 2022)

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Paperback: ‎ 336 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 1914614631

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1914614637

 

Aubrey Nye Hamilton ©2022

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Aubrey Nye Hamilton Reviews: Bloody January by Alan Parks

I learned about Alan Parks during the online Hull Noir conference in March 2021.  He is a Glasgow author who spent most of his career in the music industry. He wrote a book about social housing in post-war Glasgow which somehow metamorphosed into the first Harry McCoy historical thriller. It was one of the top crime debuts of 2018 and was shortlisted for the Grand Prix de Littérature Policière, the most prestigious award for crime and detective fiction in France.

Bloody January (Cannongate, 2018) introduces Harry McCoy, newly promoted to detective on the Glasgow police force. Harry has a drug addict girl friend who’s a prostitute, and his best friend from his childhood is now a criminal kingpin. Harry also has a bit of a drinking problem. He gets a tip from a coldblooded killer in prison about a murder that’s about to take place. With little to go on and not really believing the stool pigeon, Harry still looks for the prospective victim and finds her just in time to see her killed and her murderer shoot himself in full view of a bus station packed with witnesses at morning rush hour. Harry returns to the jail to question his informant more closely, only to find he’s been killed too. Three murders in 24 hours is a lot, even for Glasgow, and Harry’s supervisor says he wants a resolution fast.

Set in January 1973 amid the poverty and desperation of Glasgow, the general population is sad, depressed, and struggling. Steelworks, coal mines, engine factories, and other heavy industries went out of business about that time, leading to long-term economic decline with mass unemployment, population flight, and high levels of urban decay. New gangs moved in, younger and more violent, and hard drugs arrived with them. This backdrop of Glasgow’s low point is perfect for noir crime fiction.

McCoy is an interesting character who faints when he sees blood, unfortunate in a homicide cop. He’s got a turbulent backstory and crosses the line between the police and the felonious element occasionally because of loyalty to his criminal friend who protected him as a child. He does have a mostly good relationship with his manager, who recognizes McCoy’s innate ability. Light relief comes through McCoy’s green-as-grass sidekick, who is a new addition to the department. He is supposed to be shadowing McCoy to learn the ropes, but McCoy avoids him in creative ways. Parks worked in details from his music industry experience in a nice touch. An excellent piece of Tartan noir. The fourth in the series is scheduled for release in August 2021.

 

 

·         Publisher: ‎ Canongate Books; Main edition (May 28, 2018)

·         Language: ‎ English

·         Hardcover: ‎ 320 pages

·         ISBN-10: ‎ 1786891336

·         ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1786891334

 

Aubrey Hamilton ©2021

Aubrey Hamilton is a former librarian who works on Federal It projects by day and reads mysteries at night.

Lesa's Book Critiques: ON AN OUTGOING TIDE BY CARO RAMSAY

 Lesa's Book Critiques: ON AN OUTGOING TIDE BY CARO RAMSAY