"Laidlaw" was originally published the year I was born. I've heard of William McIlvanney's work over the years but assumed he was an auld duffer. How wrong was I? This novel is a masterclass in Scottish literary crime fiction. McIlvanney's prose is exquisite. His characters leap from the page. I'm stunned by his workmanship and feel an utter fool for not sampling it sooner.

I didn't realise this is a reprint of a historic novel.
If you like your crime reads set in the 1970s then I'm sure this is a book for you, unfortunately I prefer a more modern read.

Thank you NetGalley and Canongate for the eARC.
Set in Glasgow, (where I was in 1969 in a bar where I think Denise Mina worked!) this is a really good novel, probably the first in the wonderful Scottish noir genre. As a rabid reader of this genre I was happy to get stuck into Laidlaw and really enjoyed it. The descriptions of Glasgow were great and D.I. Jack Laidlaw, the dour, very private police detective who suffers from debilitating migraines, is a character I found fascinating. The case he's investigating involves the murder of a young woman, but the story is so much more than that. It's dark and almost claustrophobic, beautifully written and uncovers the dark underbelly of Glasgow I never saw or knew of. Definitely recommended!

Complex police procedural set in Glasgow. Laidlaw,a tough old school detective is paired with a rookie who struggles to understand his complexities,while trying to solve a vicious murder. The interactions amongst the many characters was good.