The Papers of Tony Veitch - (The Laidlaw Investigation) by William McIlvanney (Paperback)

About the Book

"Eck Adamson, an alcoholic vagrant, 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."--Page 2 of cover.

Book Synopsis

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

Review Quotes

"The Laidlaw books are like fine malt whiskey--the pure distilled essence of Scottish crime writing."--Peter May, international bestselling author of the Lewis trilogy

"Fastest, first and best, Laidlaw is the melancholy heir to Marlowe. Reads like a breathless scalpel cut through the bloody heart of a city."--Denise Mina, award-winning author of Conviction

"This extraordinary and beautifully written novel... Captivating and unforgettable."--Publishers Weekly

"One of the finest things in modern fiction, in the Chandler and Simenon class."--Spectator

"Starts on the streets and ends up in the soul."--The Daily Telegraph

"Allan Guthrie probably comes closest to McIlvanney in his mix of humor and compassion, but even that top-flight crime writer doesn't do it with the same concentration."--Peter Rozovsky, Detectives Beyond Borders

"The Laidlaw books are not just great crime novels, they are important ones. McIlvanney proved that crime writing could have both perfect style and huge ambition. Most of us writing crime fiction today are standing on the shoulders of giants. McIlvanney is one such giant."--Mark Billingham, author of Sleepyhead

"McIlvanney's prose is simultaneously sparse and lyrical. Short sentences, paragraphs and, indeed, chapters give the feel of a thriller to some beautiful writing."--Killing Time Crime

About the Author

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