Jack Laidlaw returns in the groundbreaking series. "The Laidlaw books are like fine malt whiskey--the pure distilled essence of Scottish crime writing" (Peter May, international bestselling author).

In this second book in his monumental Laidlaw series, McIlvanney tells the tale of Eck Adamson, an alcoholic vagrant who summons Jack Laidlaw to his deathbed. Probably the only policeman in Glasgow who would bother to respond, Laidlaw sees in Eck's cryptic last message a clue to the murder of a gangland thug and the disappearance of a student. With stubborn integrity, Laidlaw tracks down a seam of corruption that runs through all levels of Glaswegian society.

★ "Excellent... McIlvanney, the undisputed grandfather of tartan noir, gives reader a complex, existential hero struggling to right myriad wrongs."--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"The good news is that Laidlaw is back."--The Observer

McIlvanney, William

William McIlvanney is widely credited as the founder of the Tartan Noir movement that includes authors such as Denise Mina, Ian Rankin, and Val McDermid, all of whom cite him as an influence and inspiration. McIlvanney's Laidlaw books "changed the face of Scottish fiction" (The Times of London). His novel Docherty won the Whitbread Award for Fiction, and both Laidlaw and The Papers of Tony Veitch won Silver Daggers from the Crime Writers' Association. Strange Loyalties won the Glasgow Herald's People's Prize. McIlvanney passed away in December 2015.