Bobby March Will Live Forever

January 11, 2021
Set in 1973 Glasgow, Scotland, Edgar finalist Parks’s solid third unapologetically violent crime novel featuring Harry McCoy (after 2019’s February’s Son) immerses the police detective in the drug and music-fueled counterculture of the times. Assigned to uncover the mystery surrounding the overdose death of a rock star found dead in a hotel room, McCoy must also resolve a botched case involving an abducted child in which the wrongfully accused man committed suicide while in custody. Complicating matters is a covert mission from McCoy’s chief, who has tasked the detective to find his 15-year-old runaway niece, who may be living with her thug of a boyfriend. Though the narrative early on feels unfocused, it quickly gains purpose and momentum, and builds to an impressively powerful conclusion. Maneuvering through the mean streets of Glasgow, the morally ambiguous, deeply flawed McCoy makes an ideal antihero. The meticulously described setting is so suggestive readers may even catch whiffs of stale cigarette smoke and patchouli. Fans of Scottish noir will be satisfied. Agent: Tom Witcomb, Blake Friedmann Literary (U.K.).