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Canongate is to publish the "dark, grimy" debut novel by Alan Parks titled Bloody January in January 2018.
Publishing director Francis Bickmore acquired world English language rights in a two-book deal from Tom Witcomb at Blake Friedmann.
The first in a series of dark, grimy crime novels, Bloody January brings to life the "seedy side" of 1970s Glasgow. It introduces Harry McCoy, an attractively maverick detective, who leads a helter-skelter plot that winds from moneyed elite to wayward music groupies to the brutal gangs of the city’s urban wasteland.
Bickmore said: "This is stunning Scottish noir debut. Dark and fast as hell, Bloody January is a moral thriller which reads like a 1970s Gorbals take on The Wire. It tells the story of Glasgow, and how the trade in drugs and organised violence changed its face forever. Parks’s skewiff detective Harry McCoy is the perfect guide.’
Parks added: "I am more than delighted to be working with Canongate on the Harry McCoy series of crime novels. They are a perfect home for Bloody January and the novels to come. I am very much looking forward to working with Francis and the team in 2017."
Witcomb said: "I’m incredibly pleased that Alan will be published at Canongate – I can’t think of a better home for Harry McCoy than one he shares with McIlvanney’s Laidlaw. Bloody January is one of the most accomplished debut novels I’ve ever read – one of those rare cases where a book is ready straight out of the box. Under Francis’ care, it won’t be long before Harry McCoy is contending for the title of Scotland’s greatest detective."