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Laidlaw

A Laidlaw Investigation, Book 1

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About this listen

Meet Jack Laidlaw, the original damaged detective.

When a young woman is found brutally murdered on Glasgow Green, only Laidlaw stands a chance of finding her murderer from among the hard men, gangland villains and self-made moneymen who lurk in the city's shadows.

Winner of the CWA Silver Dagger.

©1977 William McIlvanney (P)2013 Canongate Books Ltd Crime Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Fiction Crime

Critic reviews

"The best new character in crime fiction for years" ( Daily Express)
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Would you listen to Laidlaw again? Why?

Would Listen again, it flowed like poetry in parts & gritty in others, Laidlaw is a cross between Taggart & Gene Hunt,

What did you like best about this story?

EVERYTHING! loved Laidlaw & would like to see it on the T.V or Big Screen

What does William McIlvanney bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

His voice is hypnotic, its his timbre & rhythm of reading not forgetting his accent that can only do the words justice

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Where Laidlaw reads to his children & then again when he puts his son back to bed, shows a softer side to the character

Laidlaw is AMAZING

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Takes you to Glasgow and the west of Scotland. Amazing discriptive background full of character. Believable narrative, amazing characters great storyline and escapism.

Great Writing Stunning

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The beauty and honesty of McIlvanneys writing and his ability to frame the violence of every day life with the eyes of a hard man and the vocabulary of a poet.

Superlative writing - stark realism couched in poetry

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William McIlvanney is simply the greatest of the Scottish crime writers, a tour de force. So much more than a detective novel more a meditation on the human condition.

One of the great crime novels

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Great book - rich characters, rational original plot, great narration. I eagerly await more from this author.

Loved it! More please

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