Review: THE DARK REMAINS, William McIlvanney and Ian Rankin

• 
  This edition made available to by my local library through Libby
  
• ISBN: 9781838854102
• Publisher: Allen & Unwin Canongate September 2021
• Page Extent: 288

Synopsis (publisher)

In this scorching crime hook-up, number one bestseller Ian Rankin and Scottish crime-writing legend William McIlvanney join forces for the first ever case of DI Laidlaw, Glasgow's original gritty detective.

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. 

My Take

Jack Laidlaw is a maverick. He believes he works best on his own, and constantly rubs people up the wrong way. The Commander, Robert Frederick of the Glasgow Crime Squad has asked DS Bob Lilley to babysit Laidlaw because he needs careful handling. Laidlaw certainly doesn't like attempts by DI Ernie Milligan to give him orders and dictate how he does things. Milligan and Laidlaw have history. They were DCs together, Milligan rose the ladder, Laidlaw hasn't.

Essentially Milligan and Laidlaw are different as chalk and cheese, and Milligan can't resist any opportunity for a bit of one-up-manship.

Most of the novel is occupied with the cut and thrust between two rival Glasgow gangs. Running in the background is the investigation into lawyer Bobby Carter's death.

Having never read any William McIlvanney before I can't tell how good a job Rankin has done of completing the original manuscript.
Ian Rankin has spent most of lockdown writing a novel – but it isn’t a new Rebus. Instead, the Scottish writer has been putting the finishing touches to a handwritten manuscript left by the late William McIlvanney, the so-called godfather of “tartan noir” and author of the Laidlaw detective books.
https://www.theguardian.com/books/2020/dec/05/ian-rankin-to-complete-william-mcilvanney-final-unfinished-novel-the-dark-remains
But Rankin said The Dark Remains was unlikely to be the start of a franchise. “It’s just there was that one unfinished book and there was enough material there that meant it could be finished,” he said. “And why wouldn’t you want a new William McIlvanney book out in the world?”

I can't see Rankin writing any more in this "series" despite the comments in the blurb about this being a "scorching crime hookup". For me it was a little disappointing.

My rating: 4.4 

I've also read

THE COMPLAINTS
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HIDE & SEEK
4.4, BEGGARS BANQUET
4.4, WITCH HUNT - writing as Jack Harvey
4.5, THE FALLS
4.7, THE IMPOSSIBLE DEAD
4.8, STANDING IN ANOTHER MAN'S GRAVE $18
4.7, SAINTS OF THE SHADOW BIBLE #19
4.5, EVEN DOGS IN THE WILD # 20
4.5, RATHER BE THE DEVIL #21
5.0, IN A HOUSE OF LIES   #22 4.8, A SONG FOR DARK TIMES #23