Strange Loyalties

This third book in the series begins with Jack Laidlaw’s despair and anger at his brother’s death in a banal road accident. His questions as to the dynamics of his bother’s death lead to larger questions about the nature of pain and injustice about meaning of his own life. Laidlaw is determined to learn more about the circumstances surrounding Scott Laidlaw’s death. His investigations will lead to a confrontation with his own past and a harrowing journey into the dark Glasgow underworld.

Strange Loyalties (Murder Mystery/Scottish Noir)

By William McIlvanney

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

ISBN #978-1609452537

Price $13.35 (paperback)

256 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

Jack Laidlaw is trying to come to terms with his brother’s death. Apparently, while drunk; Scott Laidlaw walked in front of a car, some saying suicide, others that it was just an accident, but Jack wants to find out what led up to that night, and his brother’s rendezvous with sudden death

His investigation starts uncovering problems in Scott’s life, including a failed marriage, and a mysterious night in college when Scott’s life seemed to change to a darkness that Jack never suspected. While he’s on a personal search, his police team is searching for a killer that may connect in some way back to Scott.

This was another interesting look into the Glasgow underworld where drugs and murder are the normal way of life, and where Jack seems to be pulled deeper into it’s bottomless pit of darkness and inhuman savagery, while his own family drifts apart. Although most of the story surrounds Jack’s family and friends, the book kept my interest, and is another deep look into the dark underworld of Glasgow. Highly recommended.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories

The Papers of Tony Veitch

The Papers of Tony Veitch (Noir Mystery)

By William McIlvanney

Europa Editions www.europaeditions.com

ISBN #978-1609452247

Price $16.00

274 Pages

Rating 5-Stars

“The Formula Is Tough, And So Is Jack Laidlaw.”

Glasgow Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw is called to the deathbed of Eck Adamson, a old wino he had once befriended. In the hospital he learns that the old man was poisoned, and Eck mumbles something about it being in his wine. Who would kill an old bum that had never harmed anyone? A piece of paper contains a poetic message in an educated writing, while Eck wrote names on the same paper. These names lead Laidlaw and his partner, Detective Constable Brian Harkness into the underworld and to people living in mansions. Is the murder of a gangster and a missing university student tied into the same mystery?

Jack Laidlaw is a maverick within the Glasgow police department, following his own instincts instead of police procedural. Where the police know the names of city streets, Laidlaw knows the city. It is part of him, and he of it. He’s not afraid to venture into the badlands if it will bring him information to a murderer, and he knows the underworld as well as himself.

The author doesn’t just write mysteries, his stories penetrate the lives of the people involved.  Jack Laidlaw is human, he feels the loss of life, the waste of humanity in the dark side streets where men kill, and others struggle to survive.  He’s not perfect, as he is estranged from his own family, and struggles with his own failings. But like a bloodhound, he keeps to the trail until the case is solved, and a killer is brought to justice. Mystery fans will love the Jack Laidlaw noir series.

Tom Johnson

Detective Mystery Stories