Back in mid-September, I wrote about my admiration for the Laidlaw books by William McIlvanny.
It’s now been announced that one final Laidlaw novel will appear from notes McIlvanny left before he died.
The new book will be finished by Ian Rankin, which is a very good sign for lovers of crime fiction.
Although Rankin’s Inspector John Rebus is based in Edinburgh, while McIlvanny’s Laidlaw works out of Glasgow, the two men have much in common.
Mavericks, loners, questioners of authority, intelligent, disturbed by the level of crime and corruption in their respective cities. Both men have a deep understanding of criminals and their motivations, and a relentless determination to use that knowledge to solve crimes and defend the innocent and weak.
Rankin has often spoken of his debt to McIlvanny, who has been described as the Godfather of tartan noir. This is going to be a book I’ll buy on the day of publication
