Laidlaw

People either love or hate Glasgow's unconventional DI Jack Laidlaw, who believes there are no monsters--only people. This 1977 mystery, focusing on the investigation of a girl's brutal murder, won the Crime Writers of America Silver Dagger and was the first entry in the tartan noir genre. The author-narrator has a heavy Scots accent. He adeptly enhances the rich narrative and wonderful dialogue, perfectly rendering the ironic comments and serious observations of the detectives. Tension accelerates when high-placed friends of the criminal and Laidlaw's team race each other to find the murderer fist. Most of the action takes place in pubs and outdoors, and audio gives listeners a real sense of being there as this tragic story unfolds. Unfortunately, sloppy production edits mars the otherwise solid audiobook. S.G.B. (c) AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine

Starred review from April 28, 2014
First published in 1977, this reissue of the stunning first volume of McIllvaney’s Scottish crime trilogy introduces Det. Insp. Jack Laidlaw. The brooding, philosophical Laidlaw is the odd man out in his Glaswegian police cadre, always the one who’s more interested in the “why” than the “how.” His latest case involves the rape and murder of 18-year-old Jennifer Lawson, who just happens to be the daughter of a notorious gang figure, Bud Lawson. Laidlaw sifts through conflicting clues, along with his new partner, Det. Constable Brian Harkness, all the while trying to keep one step ahead of both the murderer and his more conventional superiors. Peppered with authentic Scottish slang, with much of the dialogue written in Glaswegian dialect, this is the novel that gave birth to the movement known as Tartan Noir and inspired the likes of Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, and Denise Mina. For anyone looking for a cop who’s more than a badge, Laidlaw is the perfect hero. Agent: Laura Mamelok, Susanna Lea Associates.