WINNER of the 2022 British Book Award for Crime & Thriller Book of
the Year
In this scorching prequel, New York Times best-selling author Ian
Rankin and Scottish crime-writing legend William McIlvanney join forces
for the first ever case of DC Jack Laidlaw, Glasgow's original gritty
detective.
Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong kind of people. When
his body is found in an alley behind a pub that is known to be under the
protective wing of a local crime boss, the fragile equilibrium that has
been keeping Glasgow relatively safe for months is shattered. Besides a
distraught family and any number of powerful friends, Carter has left
behind his fair share of enemies. So who is responsible for his death?
DC Jack Laidlaw's reputation precedes him. He's not a team player, but
he's got a sixth sense for what's happening on the streets. His boss
chalks Carter's death up to the usual rivalries, but Laidlaw knows it
can't be that simple. As two Glasgow gangs go to war, he needs to find
Carter's killer before the whole city explodes.
William McIlvanney's Laidlaw books changed the face of crime fiction.
When he died in 2015, he left half a handwritten manuscript of Laidlaw's
first case. Ian Rankin has finished what McIlvanney started. Here, in
The Dark Remains, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal
world of 1970s Glasgow, and Laidlaw's relentless quest for truth.
"Fantastic--like witnessing Scottish noir's Big Bang creation in the
company of its greatest living exponent... Like Maradona and Messi
playing in the same team."--Lee Child, #1 New York Times
bestselling author of the Jack Reacher thrillers
