This is a most excellent and satisfying story and follows in the tradition of the author’s father I lived the characters, the pace, the eighties retro setting and the end. I just hope there’s more to come. My husband enjoyed it too so you have two new fans already.

4.5⭐️
#2 in the DI Duncan McCormack series

I loved the first book so very excited to read this one. There’s a lot of references to the Quaker do it’s best to read the books in order. It’s a great retro series.

I do like the period feel of that era. Everything was so different then, the police had their own rules and agendas.

McCormack is back in Scotland after taking down the head of Glasgow CID and being branded a scab, he went to work in the Met for 6 years. Leaving behind his partner Goldie to suffer the consequences alone.
He is still an outcast, time has not healed that fracture.
He is after taking down a big time gangster Maitland, but after months can get nothing on him. I’m not a fan of gangland books, and it’s a bit too gangster orientated for my liking.

There’s not only Scottish dialect to get to grips with but smatterings of Gaelic too!

There’s plenty going on and lots of developments. I like the way various people are involved with finding the answers including some non polis. Some of the story is told in un read letters, which works well.

I find McCormack a likeable character and we get to see more of his private life which has its own problems. The characters are mostly likeable even the wanna be gangster Chris.

I felt that the first half was a bit slow, but it all comes together really well with different strands giving it a very good plot complexity.
One I overall recommend. Although too long at 500+ pages.

It feels a long time since 2018’s “The Quaker”which won this author the McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Novel, an award named after his late father, William.

The action here has moved on, same Glasgow location but six years forward to 1975. Main character Duncan McCormack has spent the years between working in London and returns to Scotland to head up the Serious Crime Squad. One of his team, Goldie, has suffered repercussions from McCormack’s handling of the case that brought down The Quaker, another, Shand is in the pocket of the Detective Constable’s Superior and the third member, Liz Nicol, has been moved across from the recently disbanded women’s section to work with the men. McCormack, himself, is secretly gay in a force where his homosexuality would not be tolerated and has abandoned a promising relationship in London, putting his work before his personal life. All of this team are outsiders which brings interesting dynamics into play.

This is quite a lengthy crime novel coming in at over 500 pages and the case hinges around two warring gangs, the Catholic Quinns and those led by the Protestant Walter Maitland, who, in the time McCormack has been down South has established a strong grip on Glasgow’s Crime World. A house fire looks set to start up tit for tat reprisals and a body turns up amongst the rubbish heaps caused by the refuse collectors’ strikes.
Time-wise, we’ve moved into “The Sweeney” territory, with little tolerance of anyone not a white heterosexual male but I’m not sure this bigotry and misogyny comes across quite as potently as it did in “The Quaker”.
The plot is always involving, taking ambitious turns and McIlvanney had me with him all the way. I’m not sure whether this is a series which will continue and if so whether the author is happy to stay in this time period or envisages another jump with the next book. I don’t think I was quite as enthralled as I was with its predecessor yet this is quality crime writing.

The Heretic is published on January 20th 2022 by Harper Collins. Many thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for the advance review copy.

I absolutely loved The Quaker so couldn't wait to read this, the second book featuring DI Duncan McCormack.

Glasgow 1975. It starts with a bang, a deadly fire in a tenement building. A body is found dumped among rubbish.

Liam McIlvanney perfectly captures the time and the place, and fills this harsh city with fully developed characters. This is state of the art crime writing. The bleak atmosphere, subtlety drawn characters and plotting are perfect.

The plot development is intricate, the tension builds steadily. This is simply a must read, I definitely recommend reading The Quaker first as many characters and plot elements carry over. There is an unexpected poignancy both in the development of the returning characters and the actions, motives and personalities of some of the new ones.

After two books this series is a contender for the finest two books in any crime series I've ever read.

Thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins UK

Five years on from solving The Quaker murders DI Duncan McCormack returns from exile in London and is faced with both a brutal gangland murder and a deadly fire that has killed 4 people. He is also still not very popular with his colleagues.

In The Heretic Liam McIlvanney has created another excellent crime novel based in 1970s Glasgow that will definitely keep a reader turning the pages whilst enjoying the multiple storylines.

Highly recommended

Maybe it's the Glasgow girl in me or maybe this book is truly an incredible piece is Scottish Crime fiction? I absolutely loved it. I do think having a background knowledge of Glasgow really serves the reader. I used to live on Novar Drive and was delighted to hear to called out in chapter one. Even without the geographical knowledge of the city, any reader who knows even a tiny bit of Glasgow's violent history will want to sink their teeth into this novel.
The plot is engaging. The character have real depth. You're pulled into the underworld of gangs, violence, abuse, exploitation and fear. I had no idea it was a sequel when I requested the book on Netgalley. I can't wait to go back and read the first one. You can easily pick up on what's happening without having read the first one though.

Having read the Quaker, I was eager to read this book, essentially a sequel. It follows DI Duncan McCormack in Glasgow, now in 1975. A dead body is found which the Serious Crime Squad have to investigate. The dead man is a powerful and well known politician so there is keen interest from the press.
The DI is under pressure on his return to Glasgow following a few years in the Met. He is not a popular figure amongst the police, having played a part in exposing the corruption of a senior officer, Peter Levein, in The Quaker.
The book opens with a fire in a condemned tenement next to a warehouse. What follows is a trail amongst the Glasgow underworld ruled by Walter Maitland, a potential turf war, a car bombing outside a bar and a side story, told in letter form, of a brother and sister who had been in a Care Home together, but then split up, and not seen each other again. How these weave together and form the story is what McIllvany does so well.
The central detective, DI McCormack has his own personal issues, as does the female DC Liz Nicol, a woman and a divorcee in the police force in the 1970s – although Liz is treated rather more sympathetically by her police colleagues than the public at large.
It bounds along at a good pace and has plenty of authentic touches for the time period. The story moves along with enough characters to bring strands of the plot together but with strong dialogue and insightful descriptions it doesn’t get over complicated, as some police procedurals can do. Another excellent read.

The second in the DI Duncan McCormack series set in 1970s Glasgow but it can be read as a stand-alone. McCormack is back in Glasgow after a 6 year absence working in London and is initially called upon to investigate a nameless corpse but his main aim is to continue his quest to put gangland boss Walter Maitland behind bars.
This is an an excellent crime thriller: it has great believable characters and a plot that goes in many directions involving rival gangs, police corruption and looked after children. It is difficult to put down once you are caught up in the momentum of the writing.
Highly recommended and my thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

DI Duncan McCormack put away a notorious serial killer 5 years ago, but in the process exposed a bent senior copper and made some enemies.. After a spell in London he has returned to Glasgow where he wants to convict Maitland, a major gang boss. Instead he is put on the case of what seems to be a vagrant who perished in a tenement fire; early signs however show that. things are more complicated and a web of intrigue begins to unfold.. some old wrongs will emerge and grudges settled. Complex and compelling with a sting in the tail.

Liam McIlvanney follows the brilliant Quaker with another stonking crime thriller set in 1970s Glasgow.
Our main protagonist, DI McCormack, returns to sectarian Glasgow after a 5 year spell in London. The reasons for his return are not clear, what's clear is that after his exploits in bringing down his senior officer in "The Quaker", he is not welcome. Shoved to one side to churn paper he soon finds himself embroiled in the 2 biggest cases Glasgow has seen in 5 years. What follows is an exciting tramp through a well depicted city torn by sectarianism, yet so far untouched by IRA mainland bombing campaigns, but still dealing with poverty, economic depression, organised crime dealing cheap drugs and institutional corruption.
McCormack treads a thin line, all the time hiding a dark secret that that keeps him on the edge of meltdown.
Excellently paced narrative, stylish writing and accurate evocation of the people and feel of an era. Spot On.

I absolutely loved this book. Unlike many of the other reviewers I have not read the first book featuring DI McCormack however this does not have me or any other reader at a disadvantage as this is very much a stand alone novel and lack of previous knowledge is not a hindrance to enjoying this story.
There is an excellent plot which I will not go in to and the writing really evokes the Glasgow of the early 70's as well as the workings of the City of Glasgow then Strathclyde Police forces. Some very well written characters too and this book will have you hooked as soon as you start reading it. The previous novel has now been added to my "must read" list.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HarperCollins for my ARC in exchange for a fair review.

A brilliant book. Not only did I find it difficult to put down as the story is so gripping, but it was a pleasure to read as it is so well-written. Incredibly atmospheric with great characters - I can't wait for the next book in the series.

I loved the tension of this book. Duncan McCormack is a gritty Glaswegian copper just returned from The Met after several years. Shunned by the majority of his colleagues for having 'dobbed in' a former bent policeman. He now has a small team that comprise the Serious Crimes Unit. Fire, murder, kidnap and gang warfare. Will they get the offender? Brilliant.

Complex characters, shocking events and atmospheric settings in this outstanding novel. The highs and lows of Glasgow in the 70s sensitively portrayed.
Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

I found this book quite difficult to get into, probably because it's quite different to what I usually read. The book is set in Glasgow in the 1970s and follows a detective, Duncan McCormack, in solving a number of crimes.

The imagery is excellent and I felt as though I really got a feel for the gritty Glaswegian streets. It is a very 'Scottish' book and I regularly came across local terms and phrases that I just didn't understand, however, it did fit well with the story.

I found the book a bit slow to get into and the story not overly interesting; however, as it unfolded and everything started to link together, I found it quite enjoyable.

I hadn't realised that it was the second in a series, and I haven't read the first book. There are references to it, and I'm guessing it would help to have read it in terms of knowing more about the characters. However, this does work as a standalone novel, and I didn't feel as though I was missing any information having not read the first.

The ending was excellent and brought everything together nicely. It was a clever story and well written.

My thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher for sending me an ARC in return for an honest review.

A gritty story of a seedy bigoted city that was Glasgow, of drug dealing and prostitution controlled by criminal gangs with beatings and murders to provoke fear and respected, with police moles helping them to foul police attempts to bring them to justice. A gay catholic DI is trying to home in on them but is diverted by the discovery of a tortured, murdered, vagrant found on a rubbish dump. The subsequent complex investigating reveals that the seeming vagrant is person of note, an ex-MP, a city councillor with vast business interests. As a fire had recently occurred of warehouse owned by criminals, followed by an explosion destroying a club and the owner brother of the gang leader, the police think it is gang related. After eliminating the usual suspects however, it is only with help from unexpected quarters that the DI risking his life, manages to bring down the perpetrator before things escalate further. While the police are helpless in bringing them down, the activities of the gang in exploiting girls from a care home who have no family so that they can be disposed of without trace, unnoticed and without consequences, has unexpected results when an unaccounted friend and a brother find out and bring matters to surprising end.

Liam McIlvanney’s first Duncan McCormack book The Quaker won the 2018 Scottish Crime Book of the Year. In The Heretic he brings McCormack back to the mean streets of 1970s Glasgow, six years after the events of The Quaker. So that while this is a sequel and some of the action ties back to The Quaker, no knowledge of that first book is required to enjoy The Heretic as a great standalone crime novel.
It is 1975 and after spending time working for the Met in London, Duncan McCormack has returned to Glasgow to take up his old job. But his ghosts still haunt him. Despite being lauded for solving the Quaker case back in 1969, McCormack is still hated by much of the Glasgow police as that investigation brought down a senior officer on corruption charges that implicated plenty of other officers. So much so that his commanding officer, Chief Inspector Haddow wants to see him gone. McCormack wants to bring down a local crime lord called Walter Maitland but Haddow assigns McCormack and his team to a murder. Although the victim turns out to be well connected, including to the Maitlands and things are soon also complicated by links to a warehouse fire that killed people in the tenement next door and a suspected IRA bombing of one of the Maitland’s pubs.
Glasgow in the 1970s seems to be a fertile place for crime narratives. Alan Parks’ Harry McCoy books (starting with Bloody January and now stretching to four books) explore the same time and place. Like Parks, McIlvanney delivers a deep sense of time and place – of the march of development in the city running over its ancient roots, of the corruption that flourishes in that environment and of influence of the surrounding political turmoil fuelled out of Ireland. And he does so with a suitably tormented but effective investigator with skeletons in his closet and the weight of the force against him but with a team of outsiders. And of course an engaging mystery which also manages to tie up some questions left hanging from The Quaker.
The Heretic is a great follow up to the The Quaker. By jumping forward a few years McIlvanney gets to dig in to the longer term consequences of that investigation but also to present McCormack in a different place and a slightly different Glasgow. But most importantly, he delivers a strong mystery and a great procedural to tie it all together. This is definitely not the last we will be seeing of McCormack and it is exciting to consider what McIlvanney might do with him next.

I never repeat the blurb. It took a good while to get back into the 1970s Glasgow setting of The Quaker, but once I did, what a great read. Thrilling, sad, full of tension. Loved it.

I am grateful to Fiction Marketing@HarperCollins UK and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

I loved Liam McIlvanney's book, The Quaker, and I was delighted to receive a copy of his latest book, The Heretic.

As anticipated, this crime thriller lived up to my expectations and then some.

The story, again set in grittily detailed Glasgow, follows Detective Inspector McCormack as he pursues one central theme - the destruction of Walter Maitland, crime boss extraordinaire. Intriguingly, that plays out against numerous subplots - both historical and current - each brilliantly described and detailed. It also begins to draw out more fully his hidden secret.

Liam's characterisations are intense and highly descriptive. Their dialogue is earthy and realistic, and, even though I am only half a sassenach, I had to look up the meaning of the word 'teuchter'! Their life histories and contexts are superbly detailed, and they flow together into a fantastic story, with outcomes you might not anticipate.

I am now a nailed-on fan of Liam's, and I await his third book with eager anticipation.

I also highly recommend this book to anyone who loves police procedural./crime/thriller that has pace, power and a knockout punch!

A quite nice detective story, set in Scotland, with a twist or two relating to the politics in play between the Protestants and the Catholics. All in all it made for a wanting to find out what happens next tale. Downside for me, yet again, is the need perceived by authors to dumb down a story by the too frequent use of the f-word, 256 times in this book, never mind that variety of other expletives with a 4 letter base. For that reason, as always, I have deducted 1 Star reducing my rating to 3 Stars.