"Laidlaw" is set in the urban city of Glasgow in the 90's and delivers a cutting insight to big industries and crime in society. McIlvanney creates a stunning atmosphere and examines the fascinating issues of why people commit murder and the devastating results of violence. One of the reasons I selected this novel wasn't just because of the quality and origin of the author and the setting , it was because of the infuriating character of Cheif Detective Inspector Jack Laidlaw , he is the main character and the most memorable one. He is the spearhead of the investigations into the murder of a teenage girl , he has to do this in a city of hard men, villains and fat cat businessmen. To look more deeper into the mysterious character of Laidlaw and his personality , we need to look at his interests and prejudices , Laidlaw is the main focus , in this novel and he captures everyone's imagination and thoughts . He is an unorthodox detective who is always wondering about the nature of society , threading his way through pubs and clubs trying t

"He was drinking far too much - not for pleasure, just sipping it systematically , like low proof hemlock. His marriage was a maze nobody had ever mapped , an infinity of habit and hurt and betrayal down which Ena and he wandered separately , meeting occasionally in the children."

Laidlaw's character and the way he thinks could have been moulded and created by his childhood and how devastating it was to his mentality ;

Laidlaw has an interestingly muscular argument for maintaining an engaged stance toward a brutal world. When his wife whines at him for working long hours (the bane of police marriages the world over, it seems), he snaps and he discovered he had been shouting.

"Don't swear. The children will hear you."

Jack Laidlaw is a universe apart from other examples of detectives , he examines the more intriguing issues of how and why people can commit the reprehensible crime of murder and the harrowing aftermath of crime and violence. Jack Laidlaw can deeply understand people more than anyone could ever imagine.

His marriage and interests are an issue even the reader can't fully explore and explain , he is such a complicated character to study and demands a lot of respect from the reader and the language we use ;

"Even when he was a child , it had been present in his own childish form. He remembered vividly the nights when the terror of darkness and all that's connected with the darkness , had driven him through to his parents' room . He must have run for miles on that bed". And nowadays he runs for miles on his head always thinking about how to make his life easier and better and everyone's along with him.

Laidlaw's wild imagination and thoughts can give the reader a shock as well and can take the reader into another world , especially in his childhood the reader can see deep inside his head and what was running through it constantly as a child ,a very good insight ;

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Approximate Word count = 1398
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)