The Dark Remains is a retro vibe first case in the perennially popular Laidlaw series by the late William McIlvanney with an assist from Ian Rankin. Released 7th Sept 2021 by Europa Editions on their World Noir imprint, it's 208 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

There has been an ocean of commentary on tartan noir (and Scandi-noir and all the siblings). I have heard Laidlaw (there are three other books in addition to this prequel) referred to as Scottish noir or at least a precursor and while that might be strictly speaking true, and it is certainly gritty and brooding and Scottish, it's much more than that. I love crime novels with imperfect protagonists, Laidlaw has that in spades. This prequel, ghost written from a previously unfinished manuscript, has the vibe and voice and without knowing the background, I wouldn't have pegged it for a collaboration.

One of the things that sets this one apart is that McIlvanney was a remarkably adept writer, precise and masterful. There is not one fumble in the book. There is a spareness to the prose (the author was also quite well known as a poet). The characterizations are rich, varied, and precisely rendered.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 6 hours and 31 minutes and is well narrated by Brian Cox. He walks a razor edge, keeping true to the spirit of the Glaswegian accents and at the same time enunciating clearly and well and rendering the whole understandable.

That being said, this is a relentlessly dark book. It's also a beautifully written book. I'm glad to see this new entry being finished in a manner worthy of McIlvanney's oeuvre.

Four and a half stars.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

“The Dark Remains”: What a wonderful, unexpected kick to the face! Having never read (or even really heard of) the Laidlaw books, I was very pleasantly surprised and stunned to find such a wonderful “tartan noir” novel (I am not a fan of that term) started by William McIlvanney and finished by one of the all-time greats, Ian Rankin.

The spark that starts this book set in 1972 is the disappearance (and murder) of Bobby Carter, a lawyer working for one of the local Glasgow crime bosses whose body is found behind a pub in the territory of a rival local crime boss. Do we have the beginnings of a gang war?

Enter DC Jack Laidlaw, your kinda typical lone wolf young cop with a reputation for getting cases solved. Laidlaw feels that this isn’t a case of two gangs starting a turf war, but he needs to figure it out before the city explodes.

And off we go. Working with his partner DS Bob Lilley, Laidlaw hits the streets to try and prevent more violence. And here is where the story really shines – the interplay between all of the various factions, the politics that take place everywhere: the renegade cop vs. by-the-book cop, the crime boss vs. other crime boss, the crime boss vs. his underlings, the underlings vying for power, and (of course) the cops vs. the criminals. McIlvanney and Rankin interweave the various threads and murky motives into one heck of a picture of gritty 1972 Glasgow. Not all of the criminals are evil, not all of the cops are good guys. And in the middle of it all is our flawed hero Laidlaw, deliberately sabotaging his career and his marriage as he pursues the truth.

A wonderful find and a gateway into the rest of the Laidlaw novels, which I will now be reading.

I requested and received a free advanced electronic copy from Europa Editions, World Noir via NetGalley. Thank you!

When William McIlvanney died in 2015, he left behind a pile of papers that represented the work he'd done on a new novel in the Laidlaw series. These were turned over to Ian Rankin in the hope that he would be able to make a publishable book out of them. THE DARK REMAINS is the product.
In it we meet Laidlaw as a younger man. still a detective sergeant.and in a new post, where he is an awkward fit,. But he is no stranger to Glasgow and to its underworld.. It's somewhere that he can navigate with much the same confidence, detachment, and cynicism that the original character displays.
Rankin says that all he wanted was to finish the novel that McIlvanney started and that do so properly he would have to replicate McIlvaney's voice and vision. If he were unable to do so, then he says he would have failed.
Failed he hasn't. The book Rankin has produced will be required reading for anyone who admires its source and for those who haven't read the three original volumes of the Laidlaw series, this is an excellent place to start,

A much fuller version of this review appears on Reviewing the Evidence:
http://www.reviewingtheevidence.com/review.html?id=11603

This story is a prequel to the very well-known DI Laidlaw series that is set in Glasgow. It was finished by Ian Rankin after the unfinished manuscript by the late William McIlvanney was found.

In this book, we get to meet
Jack Laidlaw. He has a reputation of not getting on well with people and he tends to rub people up the wrong way.  On the positive side, he's got a sixth sense that gives him an edge and he knows what is happening on the streets.
When the body of the crooked lawyer Bobby Carter is found in an alley next to a bar that belongs to another gang it looks like a turf war is inevitable. There are many suspects but what and who is really behind this killing? Will he be able to figure it out?
The story is set in 1972 and the writing takes you back to that era. We have backstabbing gangsters, violence, poverty and abuse. Everything you expect in a great gangster read!

A highly entertaining read!

Thank you to NetGalley and Europa Editions for the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion

What a treat to read a prequel for a series I've not read- thus giving me a new set of books by a regrettably deceased author to explore. Set in 1972 Glasgow, it rings with the grit and noir and introduces a classic tortured detective in DI Jack Laidlaw. Along with his partner DS Bob Lilley, he is investigating the murder of Bobby Carter, a gangland lawyer with lots (lots) of enemies. Can these two solve the crime before things explode? The path to the answer is not that clear. I liked this as much for Laidlaw as I did for the procedural. He's quirky (he takes the bus) and philosophically inclined. Thanks to the publisher for the ARC. Although this is short, it felt right sized as an introduction. It's also a great read.

I never read anything by William McIlvanney before but I love Tartan Noir so the blurb and Ian Rankin make me request this arc.
That said it's a gripping, gritty, atmospheric and dark thriller. I was hooked since the beginning and fell in love with the style of writing and the storytelling.
I have to confess that i'm able to tell who wrote but I can surely say it is well written, well plotted and the characters are vivid.
The descriptions, the atmosphere brought me back in time and it is an exciting read.
Please do not expect a Rebus mystery as this story it's on the darker side of Tartan Noir.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Exposing the grittier side of Glasgow in the 1970s, this is not an action packed thriller, but rather an old fashioned who done it.

William McIllvanney’s death in 1995 left his last manuscript featuring Laidlaw unfinished. Ian Rankin has skillfully completed it.

Hugely atmospheric, it is the unique and colorful characters rather than the mystery itself that make this book. I haven’t read the other Laidlaw novels, but did enjoy this one. It is actually a prequel, introducing the Laidlaw character. It would be interesting now to read the earlier novels that feature the later Laidlaw!

This was just an ok read for. Didnt really engage with it I as felt that not a lot going on and did not find the plot very strong. I am usually a fan of any crime books set in Glasgow which was what attracted me to this book but unfortunately it did not have me turning the pages at my usual pace and was quite happy to have it finished. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

A moody and sublime tale set in early 1970s Glasgow, a wonderful prequel to William McIlvanney's ground-breaking Laidlaw trilogy. Set in Glasgow in 1972 - Jack Laidlaw is a detective constable with a reputation for knowing what’s happening on the streets but not working well with fellow cops. When gangland lawyer Bobby Carter is murdered, Laidlaw must find the truth before the city explodes. THE DARK REMAINS is a brilliant read: and masterful act of literary ventriloquism by Ian Rankin. It's gritty, atmospheric, and menacing. Hand-in-hand with crackling prose, readers are transported decades back to witness the earlier days of a fascinating detective.

I went into this on blind trust. This is my first read of these two authors. I am familiar with Ian Rankin as an author. I got this recommendation from a Facebook reader who was excited about this novel and was highly excited about its upcoming release.
Not my typical read and really wasn’t sure what to expect in this Scottish crime mob story ~ Who knew ~ it was going to be better than expected?

Want to thank NetGalley and Europa Editions ~ World Noir for this uncorrected eGalley.
This file has been made available to me before publication in an early form for an honest professional review.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for September 7, 2021

I love these books that begin in one writer's mind and jump to another's. You can feel where Rankin stepped in at times, but for the most part it's like a collaboration - not unlike something you might find in a writer's room for a TV show. Which is how much of this book felt. In the best possible way. Something you'd want to binge-watch, although here it's a binge read.
The Laidlaw books were some of the first to introduce the heavy drinking, tough cop. Without Rankin, this novel would have simply remained unknown.
This book is intense. It bounces around a little, appealingly so. There is an underlying, and overwhelming, sense of tension.
Having only ever read one of the Laidlaw books, I feel it's time to return now and read the rest. If you were waiting for another Rankin novel, you won't be disappointed with this one. These two writers together have created something immensely pleasurable and a reading experience you might not get anywhere else this year.

I've never read McIlvanney before. I'm an avid reader of the Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin, who was called-in to complete this book.

it is a very well plotted mystery. What's not to enjoy:
Gritty Glasgow setting, a dead lawyer who my or may not be dirty, a family saga and gangland warfare!

Who killed the lawyer and why and what other secrets are the family hiding?

I was not let down.

This is a tricky one for me to review, as I've never read McIlvanney's Laidlaw stories. I'm a big Ian Rankin fan, and a fan of Scottish crime fiction in general, though, which is why I requested the ARC from Netgalley. So, first, thank you to Netgalley, the publisher and the living half of the author team for granting my request.
Like I said, not knowing what McIlvanney's work is like, it's hard to judge how close Rankin came to getting the style right. To me, the dialogue sounded authentic and the prose felt like it had the right sort of tone. The sense of place was there, and the 70s setting was believable but not overdone.
For people like myself going in blind, this really did seem like a good introduction. You didn't have to know anything about the series or the characters to enjoy it or to understand what was going on. The story was straightforward- there's been a murder amongst the denizens of the criminal underworld, and it's shaken things up. It's up to Laidlaw and his new partner to solve the case. The solution was a pleasant surprise, and if you think back, you can see where it was hinted at throughout the story, which I appreciate.
Laidlaw's character isn't exactly a likable guy- quite the opposite, in fact- but he gets the job done. His new partner, who is likable/good, sort of acts as an audience stand-in, and it works. We get to know Laidlaw and the world he inhabits through his eyes, in real-time.
I enjoyed it, but if you're a Laidlaw fan, I'd definitely check out reviews by other fans to see how well Rankin really did in getting the feeling right.

I've always been a big Ian Rankin fan, but this title was just too local to hold my interest. About halfway through I gave up trying to fight my way through the provincial references to the narrative and quit reading. It just wasn't worth the effort.

If you're not a Scot or don't know Scotland well, I think you'll find the book hard going and not a lot of fun.

This was really great! Ian Rankin finished a previously unfound manuscript of McIlvanney's and immersed himself in the world of Laidlaw to bring us this gem, The Dark Remains. This was a fantastic Scottish mob crime story with excellent characters. Thanks to Netgalley and Europa Editions, I was able to read this one, and started it the moment I received the approval. Glad I did!

The "the hard-drinking, philosopher detective, Jack Laidlaw" is a fantastic character - I'm glad to have Rankin brought him to a new audience - especially me.

Author Ian Rankin takes up this unfinished novel by the late William McIlvanney, who wrote three Jack Laidlaw novels. The Dark Remains is a prequel to that trilogy. Rankin clearly tried to leave himself out of the story as he uses the late author's style to complete the novel. It's a good novel too. We see the gangs of Glasgow with all of their interior politics, whether gang v. gang or gangster v. boss. The same seems true for Glasgow's police department. Rivalries,factions and lots of office politics abound. The last is the relationship between the police and the gangs. It's not a black and white world, but it sure is an interesting one. The Jack Laidlaw character adds to that as he stirs trouble to suit his own ends.
Thanks, NetGalley for the ARC.

This “collaboration” between Mclvanney and Rankin really sings. And I cant tell where one ends and the other begins. This is tartan noir at its finest. Dark, complex, well written, violent and morally complex. Wish there could be more. Read and savor like a fine dark noirish wine.

I love a good thriller but somehow "Tartan Noir" and its acclaimed instigator William McIlvanney had escaped me although I had read much by his brilliant sportswriter brother, Hugh.

This prequel, finished off by the wonderful Ian Rankin, whose books I have enjoyed, is the real deal.

Dark, violent at times but so beautifully and evocatively written with the eponymous hero so perfectly depicted in prise tat is almost lyrical at times.

I will shortly be buying the three Laidlaw novels and eagerly look forward to reading them.

This book will ne a massive success and fully deserves to be so.