---
product_id: 57398189
title: "Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1)"
price: "3328 kr"
currency: ISK
in_stock: true
reviews_count: 8
url: https://www.desertcart.is/products/57398189-laidlaw-a-laidlaw-investigation-jack-laidlaw-novels-book-1
store_origin: IS
region: Iceland
---

# Engaging narrative Intriguing mystery Compelling characters Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1)

**Price:** 3328 kr
**Availability:** ✅ In Stock

## Summary

> 📖 Get hooked on the intrigue of Laidlaw!

## Quick Answers

- **What is this?** Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1)
- **How much does it cost?** 3328 kr with free shipping
- **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship
- **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.is](https://www.desertcart.is/products/57398189-laidlaw-a-laidlaw-investigation-jack-laidlaw-novels-book-1)

## Best For

- Customers looking for quality international products

## Why This Product

- Free international shipping included
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## Key Features

- • **Timeless Themes:** Explore themes of justice and morality that are ever-relevant.
- • **Cult Classic Status:** Join a community of readers who appreciate this literary gem.
- • **Unravel the Mystery:** Dive into a gripping plot that keeps you guessing.
- • **Cinematic Storytelling:** Experience a narrative that feels like a movie in your mind.
- • **Rich Character Development:** Meet complex characters that resonate with your own experiences.

## Overview

Laidlaw is the first book in the Laidlaw Investigations series, offering readers a captivating blend of mystery and character-driven storytelling. Set against a backdrop of moral complexity, this novel invites you to join the protagonist on a thrilling journey through crime and justice.

## Description

Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1) [McIlvanney, William] on desertcart.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1)

Review: Who Thinks The Law Has Anything To Do With Justice - Every once in a while you come across a novel that sets you back. Such a novel has all the elements you are looking for. A superb story, characters with moral, ethical and philosophical viewpoints upon which you can relate. And intelligence, a character who can bring the story from A to B with such exquisite writing, you wonder where has this author been? The author I am talking about, William McIlvanney has been around for a long time, and a chance encounter on a book he wrote in 1977 is being renewed and given birth in the US. Laidlaw is a Scot through and through, lives in Glasgow, and is a Detective Inspector in the Glasgow police. He is a big man in stature, handsome and in his forties. He is married with three children. He is common and uncommon. "He loves philosophy and keeps 'Kierkegarrd, Camus and Unamuno' in a locked drawer of his desk. He is a potentially violent man who hates violence, a believer in fidelity who is unfaithful, and an active man who longs for understanding." He left his college years because they were trying to make him a uniform man without the thinking process he so reveres. He is at once a man who does not tolerate fools, and is looked upon as a strange man, but he is admired and respected and solves the crimes. In this story we know the murderer. We meet him in the first chapter. But it is up to Laidlaw and his colleague to give us the rest of the story. " A murder to his mind is often the consequence of a series of unrelated acts and uncertainties." He moves into a hotel during the investigation to immerse himself in the atmosphere of the murder. We meet the people of Glasgow, not the people the tourists meet, but the real characters. And, we meet Glasgow. Laidlaw loves Glasgow, and he knows most everything there is to know about Glasgow. Laidlaw knows who will give him some answers and who he needs to meet. He understands the biggest part of his job is to listen and learn. He tends to have empathy for the downtrodden and makes few judgements. Some of this story involves the Gay community and in that time there was little empathy for these kind of people. Except from Laidlaw, he knows them as people, his people to protect or to arrest depending upon the circumstances. The hate and violence in 1977 in this novel is the same as today. This books remains as fresh as the day it was written. "Hatred of others is to his mind a way of not having to engage with them, a denial of the sympathy that seeking understanding might arouse." Exquisite writing, as good as any I have read. Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice. Highly Recommended. prisrob 06-20-14
Review: Good book - I'm Finishing the Third in the Series Today - I really enjoyed this first in the Laidlaw series by William McIlvanney. I really enjoyed it and am on the third book in the series now. I very much like the main character, although I don't always understand what he's on about. He is very philosophical and loses me sometimes. I also have had trouble with keeping the characters straight, but it doesn't really matter because his writing is almost poetic, and he has not bored me once in any of the three books. I cannot forgive a writer for boring me. I recommend this book, which is very well edited, by the way, which is important to me.

## Technical Specifications

| Specification | Value |
|---------------|-------|
| Best Sellers Rank | #1,102,822 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #3,534 in International Mystery & Crime (Books) #7,649 in Police Procedurals (Books) #18,252 in Literary Fiction (Books) |
| Customer Reviews | 4.1 out of 5 stars 3,270 Reviews |

## Images

![Laidlaw: A Laidlaw Investigation (Jack Laidlaw Novels Book 1) - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/91A+AMWzoZL.jpg)

## Customer Reviews

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Who Thinks The Law Has Anything To Do With Justice
*by P***B on June 20, 2014*

Every once in a while you come across a novel that sets you back. Such a novel has all the elements you are looking for. A superb story, characters with moral, ethical and philosophical viewpoints upon which you can relate. And intelligence, a character who can bring the story from A to B with such exquisite writing, you wonder where has this author been? The author I am talking about, William McIlvanney has been around for a long time, and a chance encounter on a book he wrote in 1977 is being renewed and given birth in the US. Laidlaw is a Scot through and through, lives in Glasgow, and is a Detective Inspector in the Glasgow police. He is a big man in stature, handsome and in his forties. He is married with three children. He is common and uncommon. "He loves philosophy and keeps 'Kierkegarrd, Camus and Unamuno' in a locked drawer of his desk. He is a potentially violent man who hates violence, a believer in fidelity who is unfaithful, and an active man who longs for understanding." He left his college years because they were trying to make him a uniform man without the thinking process he so reveres. He is at once a man who does not tolerate fools, and is looked upon as a strange man, but he is admired and respected and solves the crimes. In this story we know the murderer. We meet him in the first chapter. But it is up to Laidlaw and his colleague to give us the rest of the story. " A murder to his mind is often the consequence of a series of unrelated acts and uncertainties." He moves into a hotel during the investigation to immerse himself in the atmosphere of the murder. We meet the people of Glasgow, not the people the tourists meet, but the real characters. And, we meet Glasgow. Laidlaw loves Glasgow, and he knows most everything there is to know about Glasgow. Laidlaw knows who will give him some answers and who he needs to meet. He understands the biggest part of his job is to listen and learn. He tends to have empathy for the downtrodden and makes few judgements. Some of this story involves the Gay community and in that time there was little empathy for these kind of people. Except from Laidlaw, he knows them as people, his people to protect or to arrest depending upon the circumstances. The hate and violence in 1977 in this novel is the same as today. This books remains as fresh as the day it was written. "Hatred of others is to his mind a way of not having to engage with them, a denial of the sympathy that seeking understanding might arouse." Exquisite writing, as good as any I have read. Who thinks the law has anything to do with justice. Highly Recommended. prisrob 06-20-14

### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Good book - I'm Finishing the Third in the Series Today
*by H***E on January 23, 2020*

I really enjoyed this first in the Laidlaw series by William McIlvanney. I really enjoyed it and am on the third book in the series now. I very much like the main character, although I don't always understand what he's on about. He is very philosophical and loses me sometimes. I also have had trouble with keeping the characters straight, but it doesn't really matter because his writing is almost poetic, and he has not bored me once in any of the three books. I cannot forgive a writer for boring me. I recommend this book, which is very well edited, by the way, which is important to me.

### ⭐⭐⭐ Great reading but disappointing ending
*by N***N on October 13, 2015*

If the ending had been a little different, I'd have awarded the book 5 stars. It is vividly and eloquently written, the characters and their milieu are wonderfully depicted and one could even say the book has a message beyond entertainment, a message that is important and oftentimes not well liked: criminals are not so different from the rest; they are not monsters but humans, often very wounded humans. Still, I would have liked to know why the poor guy killed the girl. Nothing's offered to explain that and that makes the ending of the book disappointing.

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*Product available on Desertcart Iceland*
*Store origin: IS*
*Last updated: 2026-02-13*