'He kicked the door open so the likes of Ian Rankin, Denise Mina and me could sneak through behind him'
VAL McDERMID

'The pure distilled essence of Scottish crime writing'
PETER MAY

'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

'It's doubtful I would be a crime writer without the influence of McIlvanney's Laidlaw'
IAN RANKIN

'A crime trilogy so searing it will burn forever into your memory. McIlvanney is the original Scottish criminal mastermind'
CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE

'McIlvanney is the razor king of Scottish crime writing, carving out crackling prose and pounding storylines. His Laidlaw is an enduring hero with the dry wit and insight to make other literary detectives seem two-dimensional'
GORDON FERRIS

'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

'If you only read one crime novel this year, this should be it'
Guardian

'In his compelling novel, LAIDLAW, McIlvanney lays bare the soul of Glasgow, capturing every nuance of its many voices'
ALEX GRAY

'William McIlvanney paints a world of harsh reality, but does so in language that is strangely beautiful and hauntingly poetic. His work defies pigeonholing in any genre: this is simply great writing from a master of his craft'
CRAIG RUSSELL

'Laidlaw is a fascinating, infuriating and memorable character . . . McIlvanney probes the nature of society and the limitations of human guilt with razor sharpness'
Scotsman

'Deeply understood people, fine descriptive writing'
The Times

'The best new character in crime fiction for years'
Daily Express

'[MacIlvanney] shows deftly and convincingly why crime fiction is the ideal place for closely-observed social realism, painting a vivid portrait of working-class Glasgow in the 1970s in the extracts from his three novels, all featuring Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw'
The Skinny