Took me a while to get in to this and I very nearly gave up on it, but so glad I didn't a really gripping read with a great story line

I really enjoyed this story, mainly set in Glasgow in the late 60s. The era was vividly described, and the characters well formed. The murders are brutal and the different storylines were connected seamlessly. Recommended.

Gritty, Glaswegian murder enquiry based in the 1960’s. Superb writing that takes the reader to the heart of the squalor and hardship of this deprived area. The Quaker, as he is known has murdered young women after a night out at the local dance hall and has caused immense fear among the close knit community. The murder squad are running out of ideas so DI McCormack is sent in to report on the inquiry and as funds are being depleted and man hours become excessive he feels he has no option but to recommend winding down the search. Other crimes are needing attention but McCormack feels the answers have to be found and embarks on a personal crusade to discover the identity of The Quaker. Crime solving in the 60’s was very different to today without the benefit of technology and advanced forensics and Liam McIlvanney has perfectly captured the difficulties encountered in those days that would simply not happen now. There are many twists and shocks throughout this atmospheric book that will leave any crime fiction fan totally satisfied.

‘The Quaker’ is a genuinely gripping, atmospheric and convincing crime story set against the back drop of late 1960s Glasgow. It’s inspired by a real-life series of killings committed by a man christened ‘Bible John’ by the press. Author Liam McIlvanney wisely uses the case as a starting point for his story, rather than attempting to recreate it accurately. The result is a really compelling mystery that I couldn’t put down.

McIlvanney’s hero is DI McCormack, a determined young detective with a secret. McCormack has been sent to audit the investigation into a number of killings by serial rapist and murderer ‘The Quaker’ which has failed to yield any results. There’s a palpable tension between McCormack and the officers whose work he is checking, and the setup makes for a great twist on the normal investigative routines that are familiar from so many other crime novels. As the plot progresses and McCormack sees through the failings in the investigation to date, he begins to take control of the case. As you might expect, the truth ends up being far more complex than it at first appears.

McCormack is an utterly believable and sympathetic hero. His struggles against the engrained flaws and prejudices in the Glasgow police force are more than just a plot device. I found myself really rooting for him and caring about him as a character as well as the agent through which the mystery would be solved.

The surrounding characters are similarly convincing. McIlvanney manages to give them rich lives without getting bogged down in detail. There’s a big subplot about a safecracker which is almost as enjoyable as the main story, and which really helps to flesh out the city and the criminal gangs that run it. 60s Glasgow comes alive on the page and McIlvanny’s portrayal of the city is as accomplished as his writing of the human characters.

That sense of place and time is key to the success of the book. It reminded me a lot of the excellent ‘The Long Drop’ by Denise Mina, which is also set in Glasgow around the same time. For me, ‘The Quaker’ isn’t quite as good as that book, but it’s still definitely worth your time. It’s thrilling, the unravelling of the mystery is wonderfully satisfying and McCormack is a brilliant protagonist.

A good thriller set in an interesting period. I liked the storyline and the characters and enjoyed the way the two were interwoven through the book. Thanks for letting me review this.

A smart, decent police procedural with a strong sense of place. I was captured and transported back to the era and Glasgow... McCormack was a great main character who you immediately root for. The book starts with a bang, I especially loved those first chapters describing The Quaker's effect on society.

The mystery is quite interesting, but suffers from slow sections. It's not really a thrilling book and sometimes it loses focus, too much attention to police dynamics, which I usually love, but here not so much.

Overall, this is a good thriller, which I'd recommend to genre fans and historical fiction admirers.

Its 1969 Glasgow Scotland, when three women disappear from the same nightclub.
They are brutally murdered and dumped.
All goes quite and with no leads to go on DI McCormack has his hands full, not only with the case but from fellow officers.
A gripping read that has you keep turning the page.

An excellent read and well deserving of the awards it's already won. A dark and viscious tale of a serial killer in 1960's Glasgow. Twists and turns in the plot will keep you reading all night long. Surely optioned for TV rights.

I really enjoyed this book. A real page turner. Loved the pace and style. The descriptions of Glasgow in the 60s was excellent. Hadn’t heard of the author previous to this recommendation but will certainly checking out his other works.

Set in an old fashioned Glasgow of gangsters and grim characters, I found this very different from my usual reading.
Old fashioned hard police work hadn’t worked to find a murderer who was picking up his victims at ‘the dancing’. New blood brought in to examine the progress and report back to superiors proved to be unpopular, but brought new eyes to the investigation. A parallel story of a robbery became intertwined in the investigation throwing the police off track.
I really struggled to get into this book at first, and didn’t find the characters very likeable - but most of them weren’t meant to be!
A few chapters in was a different story - I was rooting for them to find the murderer, and the culprit turned out to be VERY unexpected!
A good read and will certainly be looking out for other Liam McIlvanney books from now on.

Tight police procedural, Liam McIllvanney’s The Quaker has me hooked right from the Conan Doyle and T. S. Elliott quotes. I had no idea it was based on the true crimes of a Bible John though if I had before I’d read it it would have made no difference to my appreciation of this story. Probably somewhat naively I glossed over the period in which it was set - until Duncan lights up a cigarette on the plane. I particularly liked the victims’ point of view which added a different dimension. Great characterisation, twisty plot and a maverick DI - what’s not to love! I absolutely love McIllvanney’s writing style so it’s a solid five stars from me. I can’t wait to read the next one

A very worthy award-winner. The writing throughout is exquisite and illuminates the Glasgow of the era magnificently. This is a book which strays into your dreams at night. I very much look forward to reading more from McIlvanney in future and shall be seeking out his previous work immediately.

The setting is Glasgow in winter 1969 and the first part of this book is pretty depressing. The streets are icy cold, the setting is the tenements and back yards of gangland Glasgow, and our hoped-for hero, flying squad hotshot DI Duncan McCormack, is despised by his fellow officers, having been sent from the highlands to report on why the Glasgow team have not yet found an apparent serial killer after 18 months and to close down their investigation. We also have, unhappily, what appears at first to be the typical police squad of the 1960s – violent, foul-mouthed, bigoted, and as liable to behave as badly as the criminals they are supposed to be policing.

This did not bode well for me as I’m not a lover of these so-called ‘gritty’ police dramas where the police themselves are depicted in a less than salutary light, however realistic it’s supposed to be. However, as we progressed towards the middle of the book, I was captivated by the story and the characters began to look a little more nuanced than they at first appeared.

McCormack is in the process of turning in his report and saying that he believes the killer has moved on as there have now been no women murdered and exhibiting the previous modus operandi for many months … and then the unexpected happens and another woman is found dead, with all the signs that this is the same killer. But McCormack is beginning to find links and patterns and is wondering if all is as it seems. An unlikely friendship springs up with a colleague and he gets help from an unexpected source - a former suspect, in fact – and so we progress to the final denouement over the final third of the book.

Just one real moan ... the author uses lots of Scottish words and phrases unknown to those of us outside the Scottish world - even Gaelic in places, the vast majority of which he leaves untranslated. I find this habit that some authors have of flinging out untranslated foreign-language words and phrases a little pretentious, and I must say I felt a bit the same about the 'in' terms here. Authenticity is all well and good but please give the rest of us a chance to enjoy this without having to sit with a Scottish=English dictionary next to us :-) By all means keep them in, but at least find a way to give us a clue as to the meaning ... please.

This was a cracking story written with consummate skill, and I felt the author did a fine job of bringing us several characters we could warm to despite the harsh setting – he even managed to find a convert in the likes of me, who would not normally have enjoyed this kind of book. A final confession … despite my initial prejudice, I’ll definitely be on the look-out for more from Liam McIlvanney!

Glasgow in 1969 was grim, I know because I was there. Even though that was a decade before I was born and I've never been north of York. The Quaker transported me completely into a gritty world of tough, complex characters and intricate cases.

Glasgow feels alive and darkly vibrant and the 1969 setting was so real and complete that it felt odd whenever I had to return to the real world. I enjoyed this book so much that I stopped reading a few chapters from the end so I would have something to look forward to the next day.

The writing is excellent, atmospheric and engaging with beautifully understated dialogue. I hope this is the first in a long line of Duncan McCormack novels and I look forward to reading anything and everything written by McIlvanney.

A very gritty and riveting read. You can almost be in Glasgow in the late sixties. It kept me going until late. Thanks #NetGalley #TheQuaker

It is easy to see why 'The Quaker' has won such high praise and the Scottish Crime Book of the Year award, as this is a proper page turner and one with plenty of twists & turns in the plot.

Set in 1969 and Glasgow has been brought to its knees by a serial killer spreading fear throughout the city - the Quaker. DI McCormack is called in to report on the murder investigations and whether the case should be kept open after no success in tracking down the killer.

McIlvanney vividly creates the atmosphere of the late 60's in Glasgow, where gangsters and corrupt coppers murky the investigation into finding the Quaker, DI McCormack himself hides a secret that could jeopardise the investigation as it reaches its climax.

Never too graphic, but with plenty of menace coming through from the villainous characters involved.

One of the best crime novels I have read in a long time, Liam McIlvanney should be on your 'must read' list if not already on there.

A long read, not too easy due to the (totally necessary for authenticity) Gaelic and Glaswegian dialect but a skilfully woven tale of a serial killer's crimes and the attempt of the team to bring him finally to justice, under the watchful eye of a senior officer parachuted in to see why the investigation has stalled. Set in Glasgow in the 60s/70s, this was a truly enjoyable read.

Particularly enjoyed this book as it is set in my hometown of Glasgow so its always nice to be able to really picture the setting. I enjoyed the writing and the storyline and I particularly enjoyed the character of McCormack who was had his own troubles whilst dealing with issues within the Force. A good book and I look forward to reading more.

A good story with lots to keep your interest throughout. The ending finished well although possibly slightly obvious

One of the more intriguing turn-ups in literary awards in 2018 came via the McIlvanney Prize given each year to the best Scottish Crime novel. In 2016 this award was renamed in honour of the writer known as “The Godfather Of Tartan Noir”, William McIlvanney who died in 2015. The previous winners since the rebranding had been Chris Brookmyre and Denise Mina and in 2018 the Prize went to Liam McIlvanney, William’s son for "The Quaker".

There’s certainly no nepotism at work here as this is a very strong slab of crime fiction which fulfils the criteria perfectly and beat off the other shortlisted new titles by previous winners Brookmyre and Charles Cumming together with Lin Anderson.

This is Liam McIlvanney’s sixth publication which includes three fiction (a two parts of the way through trilogy begun in 2009) and three non-fiction works, two of these in conjunction with Ray Ryan. This novel is, hopefully the first in a new series, set in late 1960s Glasgow featuring DI Duncan McCormack, a member of the Flying Squad team who is seconded to an ongoing murder investigation to produce a report as to why a triple killer known as “The Quaker” has remained undetected. His interest in the case turns into a personal obsession whilst those above him want the investigation scaled down.

I like the feel of the period, clearly illustrated as a time when “the polis” operated with different standards. McCormack is a closeted gay officer at a time when homosexuality in Scotland still equalled a prison sentence and career ruin and this adds a fascinating dimension which stands this character out from the norm of crime fiction detectives.

The victims are also allowed to express their viewpoint in first person narrative sections, another thing which here is done well and adds to rather than impedes the flow of the piece.
I found this very readable and highly entertaining. I very much liked McCormack who is an outsider here in more than one sense and I would be very keen to read more novels featuring him.

McIlvanney currently works and lives in New Zealand but has convincingly conveyed the feel of Sixties Glasgow. There’s political incorrectness a-plenty with the nickname of a killer known to make biblical references a case in point. The novel was actually loosely based upon a real like killing spree by an individual known as Bible John, an undetected serial killer from the same time and location. Those who like their crime gripping and hovering around the edge of darkness should seek this out. I have limited experience of Scottish crime but this has certainly whetted my appetite to read more.


The Quaker was published in hardback in June 2018 and in paperback by Harper Collins in Feb 2019. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the review copy..