 First edition | |
| Author | William McIlvanney & Ian Rankin |
|---|---|
| Series | Laidlaw #4 |
| Publisher | Canongate |
Publication date | 2021 |
| Pages | 182 |
| ISBN | 9781838854102 |
| Preceded by | Strange Loyalties |
The Dark Remains is a Scottish crime novel of the tartan noir genre set in Glasgow. Part-written by William McIlvanney who left a half-finished handwritten draft when he died in 2015, the novel was completed by Ian Rankin and published in 2021. [1] [2] See Canongate website, with interview with Ian Rankin: [3]
Jack Laidlaw has been moved to the Central Division of the Glasgow Crime Squad. He is still a DC (detective constable) and is working for DI Ernie Milligan, who was a DC with Laidlaw (Milligan joined the Masons). Robert Frederick the commander of the Glasgow Crime Squad assigns DS Bob Lilley to keep an eye on him, saying Laidlaw's reputation has always preceded him .... who has he rubbed up the wrong way this month? .... he’s good at the job, seems to have a sixth sense for what’s happening on the streets (but) he needs careful handling, if we’re to get the best out of him.
The novel is set in October 1972, early in Laidlaw's career. Bobby Carter the right-hand man and lawyer cum money launderer for Cam Colvin one of Glasgow's top gangsters has disappeared, and then his body is found – in Rhode's territory. John Rhodes is Colvin's main rival; not minor gangsters like Matt Mason and Malky Chisholm. Milligan pontificates to his team that the graffiti tells him that the Cumbrie are encroaching on the Carlton turf. A stabbing is one hell of a calling card, wouldn’t you agree? He assumes (like other gangsters) that a rival gangster arranged Carter's death, and gang warfare intensifies. But Laidlaw sees in Carter's home evidence of recent painting to cover up bloodstains from a domestic dispute after Carter was stabbed by his bullied wife and children. His wife eventually confesses (but only to Laidlaw), to keep the children out of it. Laidlaw bypasses Milligan, who he despises, by reporting directly to Commander Frederick. When the team (apart from Milligan!) are celebrating the end of the case (at the Top Spot bar, Hope Street), Frederick says privately to Lilley that if he doesn’t manage to detonate himself in the near future, he might be in line for a swift promotion .... (although he is) not exactly a team player
Laidlaw is in his late thirties. He was a handsome enough man, physically big at six-feet plus, broad-shouldered and square-jawed. He suffers from migraines. He resembles Rankin's policeman John Rebus as a maverick.
He joined the police after a year at university. He was interested in literature and philosophy, although his working-class parents expected him to get a meal ticket as a doctor or dentist (like his brother Scott, a teacher). He has books by Unamuno, Kierkegaarde and Camus on his desk. He worked on the Bible John case three years ago.
Laidlaw lives in Simshill. He is married to Ena and they have three young children, Moya, Sandra and Jack aged 6, 5 and 2. He stays in town at the Burleigh Hotel when on a case. He uses the hotel to take messages from his informers like Eck Adamson (and sleeps with Jan the receptionist).
The three Laidlaw novels (published in 1977, 1983 and 1991) have been called the first crime novels in the tartan noir genre.He is regarded as "the father of Tartan Noir " and as Scotland's Camus. [4]
Several authors emphasize the importance of these novels;
Rankin himself said that It's doubtful I would be a crime writer without the influence of McIlvanney's Laidlaw.
The Dark Remains is said to be Laidlaw’s first case, but this is not true (although The Dark Remains is set before the first three Laidlaw novels). [5]
Sir Ian James Rankin is a Scottish crime writer and philanthropist, best known for his Inspector Rebus novels.
William McIlvanney was a Scottish novelist, short story writer, and poet. He was known as Gus by friends and acquaintances. McIlvanney was a champion of gritty yet poetic literature; his works Laidlaw, The Papers of Tony Veitch, and Walking Wounded are all known for their portrayal of Glasgow in the 1970s. He is regarded as "the father of Tartan Noir" and as Scotland's Camus.
Christopher Brookmyre is a Scottish novelist whose novels, generally in a crime or police procedural frame, mix comedy, politics, social comment and action with a strong narrative. He has been referred to as a Tartan Noir author. His debut novel was Quite Ugly One Morning; subsequent works have included All Fun and Games until Somebody Loses an Eye (2005), Black Widow (2016) and Bedlam (2013), which was written in parallel with the development of a first-person shooter videogame, also called Bedlam. He also writes historical fiction with his wife, Dr Marisa Haetzman, under the pseudonym Ambrose Parry.
The Inspector Rebus books are a series of detective novels by the Scottish author Sir Ian Rankin. The novels, centred on Detective Inspector John Rebus, are mostly based in and around Edinburgh. They are considered an important contribution to 'Tartan Noir'.
Denise Mina is a Scottish crime writer and playwright. She has written the Garnethill trilogy and another three novels featuring the character Patricia "Paddy" Meehan, a Glasgow journalist. Described as an author of Tartan Noir, she has also dabbled in comic book writing, having written 13 issues of Hellblazer.
James Stewart of the Glen, also known as James of the Glens, was a leader of the Scottish Clan Stewart of Appin. He was wrongfully accused and hanged as an accessory to the Appin Murder, the assassination of Colin Roy Campbell.
Black & Blue is a 1997 crime novel by Ian Rankin. The eighth of the Inspector Rebus novels, it was the first to be adapted in the Rebus television series starring John Hannah, airing in 2000.
Tartan Noir is a form of crime fiction particular to Scotland and Scottish writers. William McIlvanney, who wrote three crime novels, the first being Laidlaw in 1977, is considered the father of the genre.
Stuart MacBride is a Scottish writer, whose crime thrillers are set in the "Granite City" of Aberdeen, with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae as protagonist.
Laidlaw is the first novel of a series of crime books by William McIlvanney, first published in 1977. It features the eponymous detective in his attempts to find the brutal sex related murderer of a Glasgow teenager. Laidlaw is marked by his unconventional methods in tracking the killer, immersing himself in a 1970s Glasgow featuring violence and bigotry.
The Impossible Dead is a 2011 novel written by the Scottish author Ian Rankin. It is the second novel in the Malcolm Fox series.
The Papers of Tony Veitch is a crime novel by William McIlvanney. This book is the second in the series featuring the character Laidlaw. This series of books is recognised as the foundation of the Tartan Noir genre.
Strange Loyalties is a 1991 crime novel by William McIlvanney. This book is the third in the series featuring the character Laidlaw. This series of books is recognised as the foundation of the Tartan Noir genre.
Dark Road is a 2013 play written by Ian Rankin and Mark Thomson. It made its world premiere at the Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh in September 2013, and is expected to embark on a UK tour in 2014.
The Kiln is a novel by William McIlvanney, first published in 1996.
Even Dogs in the Wild is the twentieth instalment in the bestselling Inspector Rebus series of crime novels, published in 2015. The novel takes its name from the song of the same name by the Scottish band The Associates from their album The Affectionate Punch.
Isobel Murray is a Scottish literary scholar, Emeritus Professor at the University of Aberdeen. She edited the work of Oscar Wilde and Naomi Mitchison. She also edited a series of interviews which she and her husband Bob Tait carried out with Scottish writers, and wrote a biography of the writer Jessie Kesson.
A Song for the Dark Times is the 23rd installment in the Inspector Rebus series written by Ian Rankin. The phrase "dark times" was meant to refer to the era of Brexit, autocratic leaders, and so on, as of 2019, but the book was published in 2020, in a period of COVID-19 lockdowns. The title is from one of the book’s epigraphs, Bertolt Brecht on “singing in/about the dark times”; also, “Songs for the Dark Times” is the title Siobhan Clarke gives to a CD compilation she has burned for John Rebus, which he plays while driving north in his car.
A Snowball in Hell (2008) completes Christopher Brookmyre's suspense trilogy featuring DI Angelique de Xavia. She and her antagonist, Simon Darcourt, were introduced in A Big Boy Did It and Ran Away (2001), while she was the central character in The Sacred Art of Stealing (2002), where she met the third main character of Snowball, the magician Zal Innez. Brookmyre himself sees Snowball as a sequel to two separate books.
Alan Parks is a Scottish crime writer in the Tartan Noir genre. His fifth novel May God Forgive won the 2022 McIlvanney Prize as the best Scottish crime book of the year.