Laidlaw

William McIlvanney

Jun 2014 · The Laidlaw Investigations Book 1 · Europa Editions

About this ebook

First in “a crime trilogy so searing it will burn forever into your memory. McIlvanney is the original Scottish criminal mastermind” (Christopher Brookmyre, international bestselling author).
 
The Laidlaw novels, a groundbreaking trilogy that changed the face of Scottish fiction, are credited with being the founding books of the Tartan Noir movement that includes authors like Val McDermid, Denise Mina, and Ian Rankin. Says McDermid of William McIlvanney: “Patricia Highsmith had taken us inside the head of killers; Ruth Rendell tentatively explored sexuality; with No Mean City, Alexander McArthur had exposed Glasgow to the world; Raymond Chandler had dressed the darkness in clever words. But nobody had ever smashed those elements together into so accomplished a synthesis.”
 
In Laidlaw, the first book of the series, readers meet Jack Laidlaw, a hard-drinking philosopher-detective whose tough exterior cloaks a rich humanity and keen intelligence. Laidlaw’s investigation into the murder of a young woman brings him into conflict with Glasgow’s hard men, its gangland villains, and the moneyed thugs who control the city. As the gangsters running Glasgow race Laidlaw for the discovery of the young woman’s killer, a sense of dangerous betrayal infests the city that only Laidlaw can erase.
 
“From the opening chapter of Laidlaw, I knew I’d never read a crime novel like this.” —Val McDermid, international bestselling author
 
“It’s doubtful I would be a crime writer without the influence of McIlvanney’s Laidlaw.” —Ian Rankin, New York Times–bestselling author
 
“Laidlaw is a tough novel, with an exciting ending, and it is superbly written. You should not miss this one.” —The New York Times

“A classic of the genre.” —The Guardian

Ratings and reviews

Jack Laidlaw is going after a killer. A young woman is found brutally murdered in a park. Laidlaw is extremely unorthodox in the way he is driven to find justice for the victims. This victim happens to be the daughter of a violent criminal .. and father is demanding the killer be found or he will find him himself. It's a fast start with a teenage boy, brandishing a knife, is running through the woods ... fleeing the murder scene. What reason could this young man have for murdering this woman? Who he is ... what he has done .... and most importantly why ... remains to be seen. In this first book of the series, the reader is introduced to Laidlaw's personal life.... his soon to be ex-wife, his lover, good friend Brian Harkness, and multiple others that he meets and greets along the way. There are an additional 2 books in this series. This is a Scottish Noir written and set in the 70s. Although not a contemporary story, it has aged well. The characters are skillfully written and have stood the test of time. The plot is a bit complex, but becomes easier to understand the more you read. Many thanks to Canongate / Black Thorn / Netgalley for the digital copy of this crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

About the author

William McIlvanney is widely credited as the founder of the Tartan Noir movement that includes authors such as Denise Mina, Ian Rankin, and Val McDermid, all of whom cite him as an influence and inspiration. McIlvanney’s Laidlaw books “changed the face of Scottish fiction” (The Times of London). His novel Docherty won the Whitbread Award for Fiction, and both Laidlaw and The Papers of Tony Veitch won Silver Daggers from the Crime Writers’ Association. Strange Loyalties won the Glasgow Herald’s People’s Prize. McIlvanney passed away in December 2015.