The Quaker (The D.I. McCormack Mysteries)

I have recently finished Liam McIlvanney’s book, The Quaker. I read widely, genre or literary, fiction or nonfiction. For me, the most crucial aspect of a good read is that it must engage me and keep me engaged. This novel did both in buckets. I was drawn into the atmosphere and the Scottishness of a landscape I had previously not read about and indeed had not visited. So many of Liam’s sentences are underlined in my copy because they are, dare I say it of a tartan-noir novel, poetic. They roll beautifully off the tongue, through a thought, a perception, or a depiction of a character – which is always delivered through action. As a reader, I am engaged with these characters in an immediate, present way. I follow the twists and turns, false leads and hopes of a detective that usurps the standard stereotypical detective/crime novel protagonist while keeping the story safely within the confines of the crime genre. Laura Lippman said in an Aeon talk called A beautiful woman dies, and a man feels bad: why crime fiction needs a new MO, that ‘as crime writers, you have a responsibility to maintain and convey the humanity of the dead’. In The Quaker, the characters of the dead are women, but women with lives worth living, with stories of their own pre, present, and post their murders. The Quaker is a thoroughly enjoyable book that has remained with me weeks after reading

Liam McIlvanney’s 390 page “The Quaker” has won a number of awards, and was a very good read for me even though it’s been a bit over-hyped. It does have its blemishes. I’d rate it a 4 ½ - it has a good plot, an interesting lead character, Duncan McCormack, a Glasgow police detective, good prose…. Generally I like Brit crime novels, especially with late 1960s settings (see William Shaw’s excellent Breen/Tolliver series0, but for whatever reason I’m not too crazy about Glasgow settings. Now, if only Duncan were moving to London say….But the main reason this wasn’t a full five star for me was that it had sub-plot after sub-plot, more twists and turns than Glasgow closes. Enough, all ready. And then there’s Duncan’s “flaw”, after all, all our crime fiction heroes have flaws, right? But Duncan’s is not really a flaw, but it’s 1969….so figure that out for yourself. Will I read the next book? Yes, definitely.There’s a serial killer out there, he’s been out there a while, too long, and Duncan has been sent to evaluate the team and find out why the case remains unsolved. After a while, Duncan does some of his own casework and trips upon a pattern. Wait now, all of a sudden we’re in the middle of a meeting of safecrackers planning a heist at a local auctioneer. Is there a link I’ve missed. Will alleys cross? Now there’s a peterman (look it up) with a dead body and what do you know about Mary Queen of Scots? Not as much as you’ll know when finished. And keep a scorecard handy of all the players; I’m still not sure if Kilgour is a good guy or a bad one. Be mindful of all the cops. And just when you think everything is coming together, there’s blackmail. What’s next?! Maybe this is a four…..No, I’ll be kind and stay with 4 ½ and do my usual Amazon round up to 5. Generously.A final note to Liam: Sometimes less is more.

This novel is set in 1960's Scotland where a series of three murders has left investigators with thousands of pages of information but no closer to solving the crimes. Drawings of the suspect are everywhere, the newspapers are full of the story and the higher ups in the police send in an outsider to review the case. The "murder squad" resents the outsider and he, Inspector McCormack, is no more successful than the original investigators.There is more happening than internecine warfare. A group of gangsters is plotting the robbery of an auction house the night before the auction of valuable jewels and the safecracker, imported from London, bears resemblance to the murder suspect. The murderer is nicknamed "The Quaker" as he was heard to spout biblical passages, largely to do with unclean women. Without inserting spoilers, this novel won the best Scottish crime novel when it was published in the U.K. and there is a reason for it. The characters are complex, the plot is thick and the writing is first rate. A great read.

“The Quaker”, by Liam McIlvanney, was the perfect novel to read while shut away at home during the COVID-19 pandemic! An atmospheric tale to take me away from the stresses of the Spring of 2020. “The Quaker” is the first in a series introducing a wonderful character, Detective Inspector Duncan McCormack, a young, witty, smart “polisman” who has a secret of his own. McIlvanney transported me to Glasgow in 1969 and presented a series of gruesome murders for McCormick to solve. I was thoroughly engrossed in this time and place, and I will be anxiously awaiting the next D.I. McCormack novel!

This was a pretty gruesome story of multiple female murders and the Glascow (Scotland) police department is investigating in fits and starts as leads grow cold. It is almost 100% dark and sinister with the sad lives of everyone involved (this is the 1960's, early 70's when times there were tougher). It is too long and can be repetitive but we do like the main investigative (and flawed) detective as he lumbers to destiny and successfully nails the culprit.

This was a book recommended to me via Kindle. I did enjoy the read altho I found some of the descriptions of the locale overdone. The detectives and the crimes were well done. I believe they were based on a real criminal.The irony at the end of the story was indeed a surprise. All in all a good book

This is the first of the longlist for the Dame Ngaio Marsh Awards 2019 that I've read, but I read it before the longlist came out. Part Jane Harper and part Ian Rankin, the writing style is both taut and descriptive. Knowing it's based on a real story doesn't make it any less of a gripping read. As a reader you are wound up like a spring.While I had a tinge of disappointment at the outcome, it made sense. This is a really good book. Recommended.

With the two McIlvanney writers as father and uncle, it is no wonder that Liam produces such fine work. The writing talent is deep in his genes as displayed by this his latest novel. Have I read a better crime novel in recent years. An emphatic no.For strangers to Glasgow it is simply a gripping novel based loosely on the never caught terror of The Barrowland Ballroom , Bible John. For those like I who were enjoying the 60s in the Dear Green Place it is a time machine taking you back 50 years to the dance halls, pubs, cafes , music and football of that time. I can vouch for the authenticity and painstaking detail . Who else remembers Harry Margolis and his ballroom orchestra, the Magic Stick and the price of a half and a half pint back then.Against this background is a sordid, multiple rape and murder mystery involving the Glasgow underworld, straight and bent coppers and a dedicated , clever D I McCormack a highlander who himself is not all that he seems. The dialogue is fast, funny and true to the time. There are more than a few twists and surprises as the investigation proceeds. Is the perpetrator brought to justice or like the Bible John murders never solved? Don't let me spoil it for you, buy it and enjoy it as much as I did.

Old enough to remember Bible John and the shock waves that ran through Glasgow at the time (one of the bodies was discovered near where I lived), I greatly enjoyed reading Liam MacIlvanney's fictional recreation of these events. Readers unfamiliar with the city or the Bible John murders will still find this a good read with an ingenious plot leading to a surprise, and satisfying, denouement. There are plenty of fascinating characters on both sides of the law with the interaction between them producing some realistic and entertaining dialogue. The period ambience is convincingly observed and Liam MacIlvanney's writing recalls some of his father's linguistic skills, although he is very much a class act in his own right (or should that be 'write' ?).

I’m often a tad suspicious when a book wins so many awards and is so acclaimed by so many. This book however deserves all the accolades apportioned to it. It is simply one of the very best crime fiction novels I’ve read.
Set in 1968-1969, an era I know something about because I was there! Albeit a teenager at the time but the historic detail within the book is absolutely spot on.
Four women have been murdered in Glasgow and discovered in condemned tenement buildings and one was dumped on wasteland.
There are both unusual and common factors to the murders that lead the police (polis) to conclude that it is the work of one man. The women had been out to dancing venues in Glasgow and each had recently associated with a religious bible quoting man with fair hair. The media and the investigation team referred to the man as The Quaker and hence this became his nickname. At a time when birth control for women first became easily obtainable from a GP, it was the time of sexual liberation for women and casual encounters with the opposite sex were becoming more acceptable, at least amongst the youth of the day - it was the era of ‘free love’ and many took advantage.
Glasgow however was in the grip of fear of this elusive murderer, who despite a massive media campaign and his photofit image appearing everywhere still had not been caught.
‘With a nod to the real life crime case of a religious man known as Bible John, a bible quoting serial killer at large in Glasgow 1968-9’
The lead protagonist in this book is DI Duncan McCormack, a popular and successful Flying Squad officer. We know little about McCormack except for his origins in a small village in Argyll. Early on though it’s revealed that he has clandestine outdoor encounters with young men. At a time period where men having same sex relationships could be shamed publicly and jailed, he takes a massive risk of discovery.
McCormick is sent to Glasgow from the Highlands to try to help wrap up the Quaker case with the team of officers when the search for him is getting stale after several months and there are no new leads.
The Glasgow team though make McCormack feel as welcome as a dose of cholera (think SO19 personnel in The Line Of Duty) police officers investigating other police officers (or so they think) has never been particularly welcome within the force in the UK, today or historically.
Despite their often open hostility to McCormack. One officer in the team, Goldie slowly and reluctantly at first works well with him and eventually the two become a team of their own.
The investigation is thorough, the list of suspects grows until a safe breaking peterman crook uses a top floor flat in a condemned tenement in Glasgow to hide out after a ‘job’ involving breaking into an auctioneers. When another woman is found dead - murdered in the building where he is in hiding, he is conveniently put in the frame as The Quaker.
While there are gruesome details in this book, there is nothing gratuitous. The details are important to the plot and very relevant.
There are no so called ‘twists’ in this book. To call them that is far too pat and conventional. I would call them completely gobsmacking false trails and multi-layered events that lead you up one highland path and down some very dark gulleys into a conclusion that left me completely breathless.
Thank the gods, I’ve heard that there is a sequel to The Quaker out soon!

Excellent book. Completely evokes the times in which the storyline is set- late 1960’s. This was a time of gangs, corrupt police and social reformation; in this case, Glasgow. Some reviewers have voiced their dislike of the characters- well, that’s what they were like then. In respect of police, results were more important than the actual guilt of a would be suspect. It was dog eat dog, pay offs, back stabbing and extreme violence.D.I. Mc Cormack has been seconded from the Flying Squad, to assess and potentially write off a series of vicious murders of three women, in Glasgow. He’s made as welcome, by colleagues, as a rat in a bakery. The only detective who has some time for Mc Cormack is D.S. Goldie. Together, they sieve through complicated evidence, getting nowhere fast.The storyline is intricate and gripping. I’ve never been to Glasgow but from the descriptions, I could have been; they very detailed. The question is, can justice win over corruption?Well written and highly recommended.

Expect the unexpected in this pacy, clever story of murder and corruption,set in late 1960s Glasgow. There are hints of Bible John, a world of shady gangsters, safe crackers and at its centre a detective to rival Morse