The Papers Of Tony Veitch (Laidlaw Trilogy) - Tapa blanda

Glittering -- VAL McDERMID Brilliant . . . grips like a mangling handshake * * Sunday Times * * A crime trilogy so searing it will burn forever into your memory. McIlvanney is the original Scottish criminal mastermind -- CHRISTOPHER BROOKMYRE Enthralling . . . an unsual, unique rendition of a city and a society * * Scotsman * * In a class of his own * * Guardian * * It's doubtful I would be a crime writer without the influence of McIlvanney -- IAN RANKIN The good news is that Laidlaw is back * * Observer * * The Laidlaw books are like fine malt whisky - the pure distilled essence of Scottish crime writing -- Peter May The Laidlaw books are not just great crime novels, they are important -- MARK BILLINGHAM 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 A messy plot of corruption is on the brew for Laidlaw to cope with in his disillusioned but brilliantly expressed way * * Sunday Telegraph * * Laidlaw is an enduring hero with the dry wit and insight to make other literary detectives seem two-dimensional. McIlvanney is the razor king of Scottish crime writing -- Gordon Ferris Compelling . . . McIlvanney lays bare the soul of Glasgow, capturing every nuance of its many voices -- Alex Gray 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 Fiercely evocative and witty with it . . . McIlvanney renders absurd the traditional distinctions between novelists and writers of detective fiction * * Literary Review * *

Eck Adamson, an alcoholic vagrant, summons Jack Laidlaw to his deathbed. Probably the only policeman in Glasgow who would bother to respond, Laidlaw sees in Eck's cryptic last message a clue to the murder of a gangland thug and the disappearance of a student. With stubborn integrity, Laidlaw tracks a seam of corruption that runs from the top to the bottom of society.