Laidlaw

A Laidlaw Investigation, Book 1

By: William McIlvanney

Narrated by: William McIlvanney

Length: 7 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

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

Critic reviews

"The best new character in crime fiction for years" ( Daily Express)

Better to read than listen

As much as the author’s accent adds to the atmosphere, for me it was too difficult to translate aurally. I needed to rewind frequently.

Well constructed and full of wonderful turns of phrase

With Rebus, Ian Rankin shows his love for the city and law enforcers of Edinburgh. This book is more about the people, outlook and language of the common people of Glasgow. Definitely worth a listen.

A Good Read

Ive listened to so many bad books lately, i almost gave this one 5 stars because i never thought once about returning it. Pleasant to hear this in Scottish accented English. You can tell this book wasnt written in the last couple of years because it isnt chock full of filler. The protagonist is a tormented tough guy, but he doesnt whine all the time or drink himself into blackout. He is pretty interesting, actually, has a different attitude and is more thoughtful than your average tough guy. Im disappointed that Audible doesnt have the other books in this series.

scottish noir at its best

What a great story. Terrific to hear the author read it. Will listen again.

Reads like the Glasgow I grew up in.

the writing is tight and crisp redolent of the Glasgow patter which I heard every day of my life.

Great story, garbled narration

Terrific story. But the author should’ve let someone else read or the audiobook director should’ve insisted on clearer annunciation and better sound quality. I’m familiar with Glasgow accent but this was still hard to understand.

Treasure

So much more than a police procedural, which it is at its heart. It is a magnificent piece of writing in so many, many respects. The exposition on the role of doubt is transcendent. True treasure, yours to find for yourselves.

Convoluted snd Brilliant

Laidlaw is not your typical detective story by a long shot. The hard (mostly male) characters and byzantine plot are an interesting read, made all the more authentic by the narrator's Glaswegian brogue.

But as skilled as the writer is, he has no gift for narration. The characters all sound exactly the same and it is very difficult to keep track of who is whom. His brief foray into an East End accent is embarrassingly awful.

Still, this is a worthwhile book if for no other reason than to dive into 1970s Scotland.

forerunner of good noir

Would you consider the audio edition of Laidlaw to be better than the print version?

For me audio is always better than print.

What other book might you compare Laidlaw to and why?

Girl With The Dragon Tattoo--both are first in their respective parts of the country.

Which character – as performed by William McIlvanney – was your favorite?

Laidlaw

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No, but it was a book I immediately listened to a second time.

Any additional comments?

I am desperate for the other two of this trilogy to be put on Audio....hopefully with the author reading them.

Only OK

It was hard to understand the narrator and therefore hard to follow the story line.