Laidlaw | 
pickThis is the book that‘s credited with ushering in the #tartannoir sub-genre. Set is a gritty Glasgow populated by various sorts of criminals, a mercurial police detective, and regular folk just going about their business. Very well written and...a bit dated. Example: so much smoking! But it gets a pick from me for its legacy and also for one of the best puns I‘ve ever encountered in a book.
Young men in pubs soon pass the “pint of no return.”
1. Sometimes
2. Pre-pandemic I was in three IRL book clubs. In fact , my last “public” activity was a book club meeting. Since then they‘ve all gone virtual. Hopefully with warmer weather we can meet outside soon.
In the meantime I‘ve joined two more that meet online: Paws to Read from the animal shelter where my sister got her cat, and Bloody Scotland which just started on Facebook. Tagged book is one of the selections.
#two4tuesday
so-soThis is my #TartanNoir choice for #Booked2020 & this first book in a trilogy that was re-released earlier this year. A preface regarding its original 1977 publication date would‘ve helped. The titular detective isn‘t quite as charming as I think the trope demands & the villain doesn‘t translate well to a modern audience. Plus the cast size & head-hopping drove me nuts! Though I do think I probably would have found an audio version more forgiving.
pick#Booked2020 #Spring #TartanNoir
Great, GREAT book! McIlvanney‘s Det. Laidlaw follows in the footsteps of his noirish forebears, e.g., Chandler‘s Philip Marlowe, Hammett‘s Sam Spade + the Continental Op, and even Gardner‘s Perry Mason (as in the books, not the TV show). The story includes all of the noir tropes, i.e., embittered loner detective, ethically challenged, though guided by some abstract moral authority, and a woman—always a woman, ⬇️
“Running was a strange thing.”
#BookHunt
*How fun is this?! Want to play? @Eggs @squirrelbrain @Crazeedi @EadieB @robinb @Velvetfur @Andrew65 (provided you have time to search your books, Andrew, which I know you don‘t! But I didn‘t like leaving you out...)
#Round1
Thanks to @ShyBookOwl ♥️
so-so3 🌟 - not sure I'll continue the series but it works for #murder2020 @Tove_Reads (10th book) & #tartannoir for #booked2020 @Cinfhen @BarbaraTheBibliophage @4thhouseontheleft . Halfway through the #Spring prompts!
pickGood, gritty crime drama. Note it was first published in 1977 so there are some dated aspects.
pick#TimBitTunes #AllToAll I thought this was # all in all .... so , All in all this is a definite pick. A why done it ( as opposed to who ... ) we know the killer at the very beginning - set in 70‘s Glasgow with well written characters. It‘s a trilogy & I have the next 2 set to go. 👍🏻
Thankyou Cindy & Megan our lovely hosts , I only popped in &‘out but I really enjoyed 😘
I can see why this writer is called the “Scottish Camus “ .... very radical writing. Deals with real flawed people. His sons book ( The Quaker) was strong , I see where the son got it from , the dad is even more real again ... he writes a whole different kind of crime book. As for us readers ( me , anyway ) he doesn‘t take any prisoners. It‘s good & it‘s scary.... I‘ve a bit left to go ... afraid of the ending ... maybe it won‘t be what I think
William McIlvaney, .... I‘m only a bit in but can safely say this writer is on another level ... the origin of Tartan Noir ... the writing is old & dark & deep .. an old soul ✨father of Liam McIlvaney , who wrote The Quaker ... ( excited to find myself on this book trail )
I saw this one on my shelves and it seemed fitting for #bitinthebullet.
This is the first in a series about Jack Laidlaw, a detective in Glasgow. It sounds perhaps comparable to the Henry Hole series, although admittedly I haven‘t read it yet. I bought it only because it‘s a Europa. #noshame And I mean, it says world noir on the cover l, which sounds pretty effing awesome.
#octoberxfiles
pickOften considered the Father of Tartan Noir, McIlvanney describes with a poet's eye the mean streets and hard men of Glasgow. Laidlaw is a wonderfully complex creation, a cop with demons who remains fresh 40 years on.
