Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1)

The story of Inspector Laidlaw and the complex murder investigation into a seemingly innocent young adults slaying, is one of many enthralling twists and turns which grasp and keep the readers attention until the very end. As an aspiring detective, I was interested in the strong morality of Laidlaw, and the compassion he felt for the "innocent until proven guilty". The over twenty characters carefully articulated throughout Laidlaw prove most useful in representing the cheerless heart of urban Glasgow and its shady "underground" inhabitants. Most notably the depiction of women is not for the faint of heart. While McIlvanney displays women as adherent to their husband’s abuses and neglect, one cannot forget that without the strong negative depiction of women (such as Bud Lawson and Inspector Laidlaw’s wives) the reader would lack a sense of severity and compassion for characters such as Bud Lawson and Inspector Laidlaw. William McIlvanney's Laidlaw, is able to tear down stereotypic views of a murder mystery "who done it" and replace it with a more complex psychological thriller "who done it? why? and what caused them to do it?" A definite must read for the literate and a great book to detour young girls from going to bars.

William McIlvanney presents this fictional narrative with a character so intelligently devised that it makes one wonder if its author is really Laidlaw. Laidlaw is a character that is great to follow throughout the book and leads the reader along as Watson did with Sherlock. The crime is murder. Murder of a young woman with a questionable past and Laidlaw manouvers his way through the inner societal workings of a Glasgow city to find the answers to the mystery of her untimely death. It's a great read, I highly recommend it.

McIlvanney's style of writing is slick. Laidlaw is the only one of this author's titles that I have read so far; and I have been duely impressed. The book follows an uncommon line of delivery. Instead of the usual who dunnit detective novel, Laidlaw is a why dunnit story. McIlvanney's approach is refreshing, and prevents the book from being mistaken for another dimestore paperback lacking intrigue.McIlvanney's Laidlaw needs no ambassador for its content. I agree with anyone who raves about this book. I question the integrity and reading capacity of anyone who does not find favour with this McIlvanney piece. I cannot resist sharing my personal favorite aspect of Laidlaw. The way in which McIlvanney demonstrates his intimate relation to the characters he depicts, and intricate knowledge of how people think, and live, through his amazing usage of prose, left me thrilled, even agape. McIlvanney's writing kicks ass. He has the gift of the calligraphic gab which allows readers a vicariously Scottish experience that can be superimposed on any human experience.

Detective inspector Jack Laidlaw walks the mean streets of Glasgow in the 70's; he also rides the bus and subway; he's a traveller, not a tourist, he explains to his partner harkness, through whose eyes we get to know Laidlaw. Jack Laidlaw is an unconventional cop, tough yes, but he is a philosopher, a political liberal, and a champion of the underdog; he is, like his creator McIlvanney, a humanist - everybody, no matter who or what they are, deserves respect as a human being. Another major character in this novel is the city of Glasgow itself, indeed in one passage a drunk man talks to the city. Anyone looking for a cop with a tough edge, but with human faults and failings need look no further than Laidlaw.

"Think of it this way" says Laidlaw the detective, "There are tourists and travellers. Tourists spend their lives doing a Cook's Tour of their own reality. Ignoring their slums. Travellers make the journey more slowly, in greater detail. Mix with the natives . . . They've become terrifyingly real for themselves. Their lives are no longer a hobby." Laidlaw is forever trying to understand the "why". His attempts to do so and almost overwhelming compassion are two of the best things about this book. Another is McIlvanney's depiction of the tough side of Glasgow. Add to that a compelling prose style, and the novel is hard to beat. "Laidlaw" won the Silver Dagger Award for 1977 and an earlier, non-detective novel won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award. A later novel, "The Papers of Tony Veitch" also won a Silver Dagger.