The classically taciturn, hardboiled, lone wolf detective protagonist of this book (who is also, refreshingly, gay) is not lying when he notes, "This is Glasgow. We don't do uplifting." Recommended for all readers. ( )

If you’re the type who needs to read series in order or does not like spoilers, you will absolutely want to read The Quaker before reading The Heretic. The Heretic, set six years after the events of The Quaker, repeatedly mentions who did it in that first book. I found this helpful because it had been some time since I’d read the book, but it was brought up enough times to be a bit annoying. That was actually my overriding thought with this book: why did it have to be so long? It could have been the particular edition I had, or my hyper-shrunken attention span. I did find the book more engaging once I’d actually buckled down to sit down with it. I did also find Duncan a bit mood-swingy at times. ( )

In Glasgow, in 1975, Detective Inspector Duncan McCormack has returned to the very station he’d left three years earlier after having arrested and testified against a fellow police officer. Now, he’s been relegated to investigating an act of arson that resulted in two deaths. When a body is found on top of a trash heap, he’s assigned that case, too, because its assumed the victim is a homeless person. It soon is determined the victim is no homeless, in fact, he’s a former member of Parliament. His small four-person team doesn’t agree on why the man was killed, but McCormack is convinced that his death is related to the very person he returned to Glasgow to take down, the powerful head of a local crime syndicate.

McIlvanney has written wonderfully detailed mystery and created a complex, principled detective who has a powerful secret that must be kept regardless of the consequences to his personal life. He slowly builds toward the rather unexpected ending and has all the loose ends tied into a tidy knot by the time the book ends. The author was skilled in taking the reader back to 1975 Glasgow and giving just enough details to allow the reader to savor the city as it was.

You need not to have read the first book in this series to enjoy this second book. The author has done a masterful job of reintroducing his main character without boring those who have read the first book.

If you enjoy historical mysteries set in near past with complex and flawed characters, this book deserves to be at the top of your to-be-read list.

My thanks to World Noir and Edelweiss for an eARC. ( )

After nailing the killer known as 'The Quaker', Duncan McCormack should have been flying high. However one of the people connected to that case was a respected colleague and so McCormack is now thought a traitor. Returning to Glasgow in 1975 he is handed a dead-end case, the discovery of a mutilated body that purports to be a down and out. The post-mortem says otherwise and McCormack is now making links between that death, a fatal tenement fire and the bombing of pub. All of this is connected to a notorious gangster and a children's home now closed down.
McIllvanney's first book was great and this is is no exception. the setting in 1970s Glasgow allows for a lot of leeway with class and religion as well as just the general feel of the era. This is played beautifully with sectarian links used to great effect. The plot is believable, sex abuse, violence and tragedy perfectly brought togetehr. ( )