FINISHED READING - The Dark Remains - by William McIlvanney & Ian Rankin

The body of lawyer Bobby Carter has been found murdered. It is unclear who is responsible among the various street factions at work in Glasgow. Has his body been placed deliberately by one gang in order to implicate the other? What was Bobby Carter himself up to? Has he upset one gang leader enough to have him removed? What is clear is that relations between the gangs are tinder dry, and that flames could easily be fanned into an uncivil war is looking highly likely. It is therefore really vitally important that the Glasgow police crack who did the murder ASAP.  

DC Laidlaw is new to the local force. He prefers to operate as much on the fringes as he can, without incurring censure from his superiors or colleagues. Its a delicate balancing act he most of the time manages to pull off. He is fearless in talking face to face to the gang leaders, and puts himself in real danger. Yet how else will he find out what the real truth is about Bobby Carter's death, when so much is being spun for gang advantage or as a smokescreen for someone else. And who might that be?

The Dark Remains, was only in draft form when William Mcilvanney died. Its written as though this is the iconic detective Laidlaw's first case. Ian Rankin took it on to fully finish the nascent themes in the draft novel.  Not an easy assignment for even as accomplished a crime writer as Rankin. Having not read any previous McIlvanney novel, its hard to tell how good a job Rankin has done here. I'm not familiar with Rankin's writing style either, so cannot discern where one crosses over the other. 

What I can detect is that the story feels to need rounding and filling out more. It lacks a bit of edge at times, and there is a sense that it required something injecting into it in places, to give it more heft. That said the denouement when it does arrive is neatly contrived. McIlvanney pretty much invented the Tartan Noir genre of crime novel set in Scotland. So there is obviously something of worth going on here. And a lot of writers openly declare their debt to him. Maybe The Dark Remains was not the best place to start .

CARROT REVIEW - 5/8