Strange Loyalties - (The Laidlaw Investigation) by William McIlvanney (Paperback)

About the Book

Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw blunders his way through ruined lives and frustrated relationships investigating his brother's murder and a drug pusher in Glasgow.

Book Synopsis

"So searing it will burn forever into your memory. McIlvanney is the original Scottish criminal mastermind."--Christopher Brookmyre, best-selling author of the Jack Parlabane Thrillers

The original Jack Laidlaw novels that changed the face of Scottish mystery writing.

When his brother is killed in a tragically banal road accident, Jack Laidlaw sets off on a journey through Glasgow's underworld. There he will discover the truth about his brother and the city he thought he knew better than anybody. He will face some even harder truths about himself. Alive with wit, suspense, brilliant writing, all leading to a shattering climax, this third book in the acclaimed Laidlaw series does not disappoint.

The greatest examples of Scottish crime writing and the founding novels of what has since become known as Tartan Noir, McIlvanney's groundbreaking Laidlaw books have earned the status of classic crime fiction.

The third Laidlaw novel from the Father of Tartan Noir explores "the ruin of the body, the corruption of the soul and the shattering of society."--The Wall Street Journal

Review Quotes

Praise for William McIlvanney and the Laidlaw series

"A crime trilogy so searing it will burn forever into your memory. McIlvanney is the original Scottish criminal mastermind."--Christopher Brookmyre, international bestselling author

"Fastest, first and best, Laidlaw is the melancholy heir to Marlowe. Reads like a breathless scalpel cut through the bloody heart of a city."--Denise Mina, award-winning author of Conviction

"Compelling... McIlvanney lays bare the soul of Glasgow, capturing every nuance of its many voices."--Alex Gray, author of the DCI Lorimer novels

"Laidlaw is an enduring hero with the dry wit and insight to make other literary detectives seem two-dimensional. McIlvanney is the razor king of Scottish crime writing."--Gordon Ferris, author of the Douglas Brodie Investigations

About the Author

William McIlvanney is widely credited as the founder the Tartan Noir movement that includes authors such as Denise Mina, Ian Banks, and Val McDermid, all of whom cite him as an influence and inspiration. McIlvanney's Laidlaw trilogy "changed the face of Scottish fiction" (The Times of London), his Docherty won the Whitbread Award for Fiction, and his Laidlaw and The Papers of Tony Veitch both gained Silver Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association. Strange Loyalties won the Glasgow Herald's People's Prize.