The Dark Remains

Ian Rankin author William McIlvanney author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Canongate Books

Published:2nd Sep '21

Should be back in stock very soon

The Dark Remains cover

'Fantastic' Lee Child
'Absolutely brilliant' Mick Herron

If the truth's in the shadows, get out of the light . . .


Lawyer Bobby Carter did a lot of work for the wrong type of people. Now he's dead and it was no accident. Besides a distraught family and a heap of powerful friends, Carter's left behind his share of enemies. So, who dealt the fatal blow?

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 the violence up to the usual rivalries, but is it that simple? As two Glasgow gangs go to war, Laidlaw needs to find out who got Carter 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. Now, Ian Rankin is back to finish what McIlvanney started. In The Dark Remains, these two iconic authors bring to life the criminal world of 1970s Glasgow, and Laidlaw's relentless quest for truth.

Two maestros for the price of one! All fans of quality crime fiction are in for a rare treat. McIlvanney and Rankin at the very height of their powers -- PETER JAMES
Fantastic - like witnessing Scottish noir's Big Bang creation in the company of its greatest living exponent -- LEE CHILD
McIlvanney and Rankin are the dream team. To have Rankin completing an unfinished McIlvanney novel is a crime fiction fan's dream come true -- MARK BILLINGHAM
The journey through 1970s Glasgow, its grotty tenements and genteel suburbs, makes for a gripping and atmospheric novel * * The Times, Book of the Month * *
Absolutely brilliant. I was excited by this partnership the moment I heard it was happening, and it absolutely lives up to expectation. The Dark Remains is a triumph -- MICK HERRON
The personality of the tough, intelligent Laidlaw leaps off the page as readily as it did in the first novel that bore his name * * Financial Times * *
Mean, moody and menacing. Perfect synchronicity from two of the best crime writers of our time -- SUE BLACK
Two legends of Scottish crime fiction blended like a deluxe whisky -- CHRIS BROOKMYRE
[Rankin's] dialogue has the same spiky wit [as McIlvanney's], he adjusts to gangster-ridden Glasgow with aplomb, and the deft period context - politics, pop, telly, football, booze brands, language, family and marital mores etc - is the most compelling reason to read the book besides its charismatic existentialist sleuth * * Sunday Times * *
By turns cynical, hardboiled and philosophical, Jack Laidlaw is the quintessential crime fiction protagonist, and Ian Rankin delivers a wholly satisfactory homage * * Irish Times * *

  • Winner of British Book Awards – Crime and Thriller Book of the Year 2022 (UK)

ISBN: 9781838854119

Dimensions: 234mm x 153mm x 21mm

Weight: 351g

288 pages

Export/Airside - Export/Airside/Ireland