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3.81 AVERAGE
3.81 AVERAGE
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The book which inspired some of my favourite crime writers. It's a big label to live up to, and as I often find to be true the high expectations meant that I didn't enjoy this book as much as I'd hoped to.
Laidlaw is a Glasgow police detective. He doesn't fit the normal mould. He's interested in the why as much as the who, and isn't afraid to go against the grain to get to the heart of an investigation. He does gets results thought, which is why he's given the freedom to pursue his own enquiry, apart from the main one, into the death of a young woman. The victim is the daughter of a man on the fringes of Glasgow's gangland culture, and Laidlaw finds himself walking the line between working with the hard men looking to find the culprit, and trying to ensure that the murderer survives to fact justice.
It's easy to see why McIlvanney's detective inspired the likes of Ian Rankin, Denise Mina and Val McDermid. This is a detective who plays outside the rules, but all for the greater good. He has a respectful but cautious relationship with some of Glasgow's underworld, which lets him get to the people who would never normally speak to the police.
However, having read the authors who followed in these footsteps this feels like quite a basic story in comparison. This is the first of a trilogy of books about Laidlaw, with a fourth - a prequel - due for release later this year written by Ian Rankin based on notes and outlines McIlvanney wrote before he died. It was with a view to reading that fourth book that I read this first one. I will try books two and three and hope that it grows on me enough to try the new book when it comes out, but I'm not in a hurry.
I’m always looking for a new crime series to sink my teeth into, and Laidlaw seemed like something that would grip me. Unfortunately, this one ended up not being for me – in fact, I found it a chore to finish.
My biggest problem with this was that I simply couldn’t connect to it. I didn’t care about the characters, which left me disinterested in what was going on. When you add in the fact the story was predictable, and there were no big shocks, this one failed to provide me with a crime series I want to follow.
I’m sure this will work for many, but it didn’t work for me.
My biggest problem with this was that I simply couldn’t connect to it. I didn’t care about the characters, which left me disinterested in what was going on. When you add in the fact the story was predictable, and there were no big shocks, this one failed to provide me with a crime series I want to follow.
I’m sure this will work for many, but it didn’t work for me.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
The writing is great, and I would go to 3.5 stars if I had the option just on the strength of that. I wasn't as enthused about the story itself -- seemed a bit simplistic. But I will certainly read on in the series.
I liked this complex and well written story, it's gripping and entertaining.
Even if it's not recently written it aged well and I liked the plot, the characters and the solid mystery.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Even if it's not recently written it aged well and I liked the plot, the characters and the solid mystery.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.
Crime fiction is my go-to nonsense distraction when my brain is full. This, however, is something else! Written in the 70s, it’s fairly standard Woman Is Murdered fare, apart from the quality of the writing which is a lot more poetic and smarter than the average.
Interesting insights into old Glasgow and some brilliant Weegie turns of phrase. A couple of gay characters who face some crap, and a surprisingly ‘woke’ detective.
CW: sexual violence, murder, homophobia, sectarianism, domestic violence.
Interesting insights into old Glasgow and some brilliant Weegie turns of phrase. A couple of gay characters who face some crap, and a surprisingly ‘woke’ detective.
CW: sexual violence, murder, homophobia, sectarianism, domestic violence.
Well that was the real deal. The original Tartan Noir and it shows up Rankin and Renus for the half-arsed dilettantes I have always considered them.
I had lined this up as my next read but two days before I got to it William McIlvanney died. So my reading became an ambiguous tribute - ambiguous because I didn't know whether I'd like it or not. I did like it. Very much. Laidlaw is an unloved detective. He uses empathy rather than interrogation, buses rather than squad cars. His Glasgow is every bit as squalid and alive as Rankin's Edinburgh, but his policing is real and his doubts are believable.
Also, the writing is glorious. Just a wee example is this description of the slow mannered drawl of a habitually drunk informant:
"His speech had come out like ink in the rain."
Tremendous.
I had lined this up as my next read but two days before I got to it William McIlvanney died. So my reading became an ambiguous tribute - ambiguous because I didn't know whether I'd like it or not. I did like it. Very much. Laidlaw is an unloved detective. He uses empathy rather than interrogation, buses rather than squad cars. His Glasgow is every bit as squalid and alive as Rankin's Edinburgh, but his policing is real and his doubts are believable.
Also, the writing is glorious. Just a wee example is this description of the slow mannered drawl of a habitually drunk informant:
"His speech had come out like ink in the rain."
Tremendous.