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  • Bloody January

  • Harry McCoy Thriller, Book 1
  • By: Alan Parks
  • Narrated by: Andrew McIntosh
  • Length: 8 hrs and 42 mins
  • 4.1 out of 5 stars (98 ratings)
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Bloody January cover art

Bloody January

By: Alan Parks
Narrated by: Andrew McIntosh
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Summary

When a teenage boy shoots a young woman dead in the middle of a busy Glasgow street and then commits suicide, Detective Harry McCoy is sure of one thing. It wasn't a random act of violence.

McCoy uses his underworld network to lead the investigation but soon runs up against a secret society led by Glasgow's wealthiest family, the Dunlops. McCoy's boss doesn't want him to investigate. The Dunlops seem untouchable. But McCoy has other ideas....

©2017 Alan Parks (P)2017 W. F. Howes Ltd

Critic reviews

"A blistering plot, unforgettable characters and writing so sharp it's like it's been written with a knife." (Sarah Pinborough, author of Behind Her Eyes)
"Bloody and brilliant." (Louise Welsh)

What listeners say about Bloody January

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Good Story but...

The narration of this dark, gritty and depressing tale is very good and I would certainly listen to more stories read by Andrew McIntosh. However, whilst I am a fan of Scottish crime stories and am not usually phased by their associated violence and swearing, I found the constant use of the ‘c’ word in Bloody January to be both irritating and offensive and this would deter me from listening to more from this author. Perhaps Alan Parks should bear in mind the comments he attributes to Susan regarding the word?!

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brutal,truthful,fantastic

This is a great listen.sometimes hard to carry on with due to it brutal violence,drugs and drink but it was or should I say still is what that life is like whether in Glasgow,Liverpool or London or anywhere.and covering up the wealthy nut jobs lords and all and back in the 60s and 70s they was allowed to get away with murder literally look forward to more from mr parks and mr Macintosh on audible 6 stars baz

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8 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Arduous...

I really struggled to finish this! In the end it wasn't worth the effort. I loved the fact it was set in my native Glasgow and set in 1973 when I knew the pubs and hotels etc. At first I thought "Great! A real Glasgow accent! Sadly however I am unsure where the narrators accents derived from. The Glaswegian was annoyingly peppered with a strange, unidentifiable non Scottish lilt.
The story itself was a huge let down. I really enjoy a good old Glasgow gangster tale, but this one just did not hit the mark. It had great potential at the beginning but died a death less than half way in.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars

Not to my taste.

Disappointed with the narrator, seemed to have very little expression to the story telling. I found the use of offensive language spoilt rather than added anything to the story. In fact I had to give up listening half way through.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

just couldn't get through it

dull dull dull

tried really hard to get through it but had to give up

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Loved it

As a Glasweigan I loved hearing about all the bars I grew up drinking in. Was surprised by other reviews that state there's lots of swearing, I genuinely didn't notice it and it fits the characters well. good story and I'm excited for the next one!

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Brutal & brilliant

This is a very 'Glasgow' book - if you come from there like I do, you'll know exactly what I mean. Modern take on the old-school police thriller with a massively flawed central character. Lots of violence and sex, but not gratuitous or sexist. Really well performed - he's very good at the different accents. I'm really excited about this because it's the first of a series of 12 books by the look of things (one for each month).

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Interesting and Unusual

This was an enjoyable story because it was clear from the beginning who the culprit was. The joys of the narrative were the side stories of the detectives in what was essentially a class battle to get Harry McCoy's superiors to act on the unwelcome evidence he provided. The writing itself was good, the subtexts were fascinating. The story was paced well and the characters rounded and well developed, apart from the thankfully few references to a cult which I felt was not credible. This is a minor criticism however, and I look forward to listening to more adventures of Harry McCoy.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    1 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Absolute rubbish

The author probably believes he's written an authentic gritty cop/underworld crime novel. There are no good guys both cops and criminals alike are foul mouthed aggressive amoral "scum". Usually a crime novel builds interest pushing you to know how it plays out however with this the longer you listen the more disinterested you become. There are no clever twists and turns or tension building storyline. I feel sorry for the narrator who spent upwards of 9 hours swearing shouting and sharing various sexual encounters. I gave up after 3 hours.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars
  • MJ
  • 04-06-23

Harry McCoy is interesting

Enjoyed this dive into 1970s Glasgow crime scene, feels gritty, real and not nearly as gruesome as some reviews suggested, Harry’s life is worth further exploration - already downloaded the next two books.

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