*NOMINATED FOR THE 2026 THEAKSTON OLD PECULIER CRIME NOVEL OF THE YEAR AWARD*

*Nominated for the 2026 Crime Writer’s Association Historical Dagger Award*

Praise for Gunner:

"Great stuff. A vivid sense of place and time and what a main character!”

– Ian Rankin, #1 bestselling author of the Rebus series

“This is a powerful, dark, keep-‘em-guessing series starter that shows the utter horrors of war, the lengths to which powerful people will go to maintain their influence, and the meaning of love, loyalty, good, and evil.”

– Booklist, starred review

"In this superb historical espionage thriller, Parks (To Die in June) introduces Joseph Gunner, a former Scottish police detective on medical leave in Glasgow after being injured on a French battlefield during WWII. Gunner is a clever, endearing hero whose personal and professional baggage have enough heft to sustain future installments. This is a winner."

– Publishers Weekly, starred review

"A notably original protagonist swept up in a high-level conspiracy reaching from Whitehall's corridors of power to Berlin and Rudolf Hess's doomed flight to Scotland. Enthralling."

– Financial Times

"This well-researched historical thriller,. . . perfectly captures the chaos,
danger and moral mess of a world turned upside down by conflict” - The Guardian

"A brilliant milieu, fantastic characters, an exciting story—in other words another typically great Alan Parks novel.”

– Adrian McKinty, New York Times bestselling author of The Chain

"Parks's characters jump out at you and the story fizzes with history and colour. A brilliant thriller to kick off a new series.” - The Sun (London)

"[A] compelling story. You have the ingredients of a striking drama that is destined for a series and, possibly, for television, but with a sharper, darker edge.”

– Scottish Daily Mail

"An auspicious debut for Parks' new detective, and drenched in a murky, quite enthralling atmosphere of paranoia in which nothing can be taken at face value.” - Scottish Herald

"Great storytelling, and a gripping insight into war-torn Glasgow. I loved it.”

– Peter James, #1 bestselling author of the Roy Grace Series

"Gunner brings World War noir to the mean streets of Glasgow, setting a jaundiced eye onto a slice of history rarely explored in crime fiction. A lean, mean and ruthlessly readable thriller.” 

– Vaseem Khan, author of City of Destruction