Deception - Alan Parks

Alan Parks' first crime thriller Bloody January started out inspired by a real life incident, and extended into a much wider view of criminality (and associated social deprivation) in his Harry McCoy series set in Glasgow in the 70s. It looks like true historical events connected to the bombing raids on Glasgow during WWII were also the inspiration for Park's Gunner, the first book in his Joseph Gunner series. Inevitably, with Deception coming as the second book in the series, that world is also going to be similarly expanded; and it is - just not in the way I might have expected.

It's no great surprise that a second Gunner book has surfaced while Parks takes a sabbatical mid-way through his Harry McCoy series (much as I was hoping for a quicker return to the 70s Glasgow police thriller), as it clearly had the potential to be a series and the sub heading 'A Joseph Gunner Thriller' suggested as much. What is a surprise however is that in Deception Parks has located the former police officer somewhere far from the Glasgow streets that we are familiar with from the author's Harry McCoy series and his first Gunner thriller.

Whether it's to stretch his writing or perhaps because Gunner's last brush with British Intelligence in Gunner naturally lends itself in a different direction, in Deception we find Joe Gunner far from Glasgow in another place and time of great historical significance. It's November 1941 and Gunner, invalided out of the army after injuries sustained on the battlefield in France and not quite ready to settle back into his former job as a police officer - less ready really as he was left in a bit of a state after helping out the intelligence services on his return home - is in New York, where so far America has been resistant to take part in the war in Europe.

Working for British Intelligence again, his boss Nickerson has found another use for Gunner's talents in supporting the war effort against Nazi spies and sympathiser groups that this time are operating to gain support in America. It's known that American help may be necessary as the war in Europe continues, and the last thing they need are wealthy and influential Americans pleading the German cause. Or indeed actual Nazis. As far as Gunner’s talents are called upon it's not much more than setting up honey traps to blackmail such Nazi sympathisers, but it looks like they have made a mistake targeting Joe Kennedy, the son of an influential senator. It has resulted with Alice, a young woman working with Joe on these operations, ending up being fished out of the freezing Hudson. 

The death of the 19-year-old woman hits Gunner hard and it's trying to find out who killed her that keeps Joe going through similar mundane anti-Nazi propaganda operations for Nickerson, especially as there are some unusual circumstances and unanswered questions around her death. The scale of the problem they are working on is growing however, as a prominent Nazi official has turned up in New York and is planning a series of disruptions that could have a greater impact on American attitudes towards the war in Europe. What no-one seems to be aware of however is the extent and intent of Japanese military movements in the Pacific.

Much as Alan Parks tries to put some geographical distance between his creations of McCoy and Gunner, there remain some similarities between the two characters, their attitudes, methods and personal problems. And other features have a ring of familiarity in the hierarchy where Nickerson takes over the position of authority trying to keep Gunner in line, and an Irish cop Patrick is a good substitute for Wattie, although a good deal more useful with his fists. But then the story needs that as the threat here is somewhat more serious than gangland crime on the streets of Glasgow, and actually a great deal more serious than Gunner initially thinks.

There's no getting away from the fact though that both McCoy and Gunner share the same literary DNA, and by the same token, the Gunner series has as much to recommend in terms of it being a gritty crime thriller as Parks' Harry McCoy series. There is no shortage of incidents and danger in Deception, which - as the title here suggests - means that there are a lot of hidden agendas, secret operations, complicated motivations and unknown outcomes to be revealed - apart from the major historical one at Pearl Harbour in 1941 that we already know about.

With that kind of period and historical detail to take into account,  not to mention some fascinating trips to dangerous corners of New York - including one to see Charlie Parker in Harlem - the whole scale of the story expands and takes some surprising and thrilling turns, with the mystery of Alice's murder underpinning the story and keeping you engaged through to the conclusion. And yet, for me personally anyway, the Gunner series lacks the raw authenticity of McCoy and the streets of Glasgow that Parks writes about so well. There are however undoubtedly many more intriguing historical incidents and places for Gunner to find himself during this period, so I expect Parks will surprise me yet again with the next Joseph Gunner thriller.

Reading notes: Deception (The Joseph Gunner Thrillers Book 2) by Alan Parks is published by John Murray in Hardback and as an eBook download on the 2nd July 2026. I received an advance eBook copy for review from the publisher through NetGalley.