.jpg) First edition | |
| Author | William McIlvanney |
|---|---|
| Country | Scotland |
| Language | English |
| Series | Laidlaw #1 |
| Genre | crime fiction |
| Publisher | Hodder and Stoughton |
Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | Print (Hardcover) |
| Pages | 224 |
| ISBN | 0340207272 |
| OCLC | 3108663 |
| 823/.9/14 | |
| LC Class | PZ4.M1498 Lai PR6063.A237 |
| Followed by | The Papers of Tony Veitch |
Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney, first published in 1977.[1] It features the eponymous detective in his attempts to find the brutal sex related murderer of a Glasgow teenager. Laidlaw is marked by his unconventional methods in tracking the killer, immersing himself in a 1970s Glasgow featuring violence and bigotry.
When Laidlaw was released in 1977, McIlvanney was known for recently winning the Whitbread Prize with his historical family novel, Docherty; as a complete departure from that genre, it surprised many of his readers.[2]
This novel is considered the first 'Tartan Noir' and is cited as being inspiration for the Rebus novels by Ian Rankin.[3] Alan Massie wrote that "Hemingway used to say that all American literature came out of Huckleberry Finn; all Scottish crime writing — ‘tartan noir’ — comes out of Laidlaw."[2]