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Strange Loyalties

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Strange Loyalties

By: William McIlvanney
Narrated by: Mark Bonnar
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When his brother dies stepping out in front of a car, Detective Jack Laidlaw is determined to find out what really happened. With corrosive wit, Laidlaw relates an emotional quest through Glasgow's underworld, and into the past. He discovers as much about himself as the loved brother he has lost in a search that leads to a shattering climax. Crime Thrillers Mystery Police Procedural Thriller & Suspense Fiction Crime
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Critic reviews

"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)
"It's doubtful I would be a crime writer without the influence of McIlvanney's Laidlaw. Here was a literary novelist turning his hand to the urban, contemporary crime novel and proving that the form could tackle big moral concerns and social issues" (IAN RANKIN)
"A crime trilogy so searing it will burn forever into your memory. McIlvanney is the original Scottish criminal mastermind" (CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE)
"Glittering" (VAL McDERMID)
"The Laidlaw books are not just great crime novels, they are important ones" (MARK BILLINGHAM)
"Transfixing"
"Starts on the streets and ends up in the soul"
"Told superlatively well. Laidlaw has . . . become even more heroically moving"
"Immensely readable"
"McIlvanney is the razor king of Scottish crime writing, carving out crackling prose and pounding storylines. His Laidlaw is an enduring hero with the dry wit and insight to make other literary detectives seem two-dimensional" (GORDON FERRIS)
All stars
Most relevant
The third part of the trilogy is a different fish, as Laidlaw investigates (unofficially) the death of his brother, which may or may not, have been suicide. Or were the usual cast of thugs and thieves responsible?

Enjoyable end to the trilogy

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Thus is my 1st McIlvaney book &I loved it. Jack Laidlaw is a very cerebral detective and a complex man. The icing on the cake for me was having Mark Bonnar as the narrater. (be still my beating heart) . Would highly recommend this book.

Loved it

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People surveying people, excellent. It’s not so much that I can write a 15 word minimum description of this book, it’s that it took place at all.

Life

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I've only come across this in 2025, all I can say is it's never too late to discover a masterpiece

Outstanding

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I only discovered William McIlvanney when he had already died. All the Laidlaw books are stunningly well written and the mixture of crime drama and philosophy unique. I definitely recommend you read or listen to them all.

A masterpiece

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