LAIDLAW

People either love or hate Glasgow's unconventional DI Jack Laidlaw, who believes there are no monsters--only people. This 1977 mystery, focusing on the investigation of a girl's brutal murder, won the Crime Writers of America Silver Dagger and was the first entry in the tartan noir genre. The author-narrator has a heavy Scots accent. He adeptly enhances the rich narrative and wonderful dialogue, perfectly rendering the ironic comments and serious observations of the detectives. Tension accelerates when high-placed friends of the criminal and Laidlaw's team race each other to find the murderer fist. Most of the action takes place in pubs and outdoors, and audio gives listeners a real sense of being there as this tragic story unfolds. Unfortunately, sloppy production edits mars the otherwise solid audiobook. S.G.B. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: JUNE 2013]