The Quaker
4/5
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About this ebook
The Quaker is watching you…
In the chilling new crime novel from award-winning author Liam McIlvanney, a serial killer stalks the streets of Glasgow and DI McCormack follows a trail of secrets to uncover the truth…
Winner of the 2018 McIlvanney Prize for Scottish Crime Book of the Year
A city torn apart.
It is 1969 and Glasgow has been brought to its knees by a serial killer spreading fear throughout the city. The Quaker has taken three women from the same nightclub and brutally murdered them in the backstreets.
A detective with everything to prove.
Now, six months later, the police are left chasing a ghost, with no new leads and no hope of catching their prey. They call in DI McCormack, a talented young detective from the Highlands. But his arrival is met with anger from a group of officers on the brink of despair.
A killer who hunts in the shadows.
Soon another woman is found murdered in a run-down tenement flat. And McCormack follows a trail of secrets that will change the city – and his life – forever…
Liam McIlvanney
Liam McIlvanney was born in Scotland and studied at the universities of Glasgow and Oxford. He has written for numerous publications, including the London Review of Books and the Times Literary Supplement. His first book, Burns the Radical, won the Saltire First Book Award, and his most recent, Where the Dead Men Go, won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. He is Stuart Professor of Scottish Studies at the University of Otago, New Zealand. He lives in Dunedin with his wife and four sons.
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Reviews for The Quaker
54 ratings5 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This book is set in Glasgow in 1969 when a serial killer, nicknamed The Quaker, has killed three young women over a period of months and the police investigation is going nowhere. Detective Inspector Duncan McCormack is brought in to evaluate whether the investigation should be closed down after several months since the last murder. Just as he submits his recommendation to end the inquiry a fourth murder takes place.McCormack is a relatively young officer from the Scottish Highlands and does not fit in with the big city team working the case, but he brings fresh ideas and a different approach which helps to move the search for the killer along. Further, McCormack is gay at a time when homosexuality is illegal, but tolerated in private, although a career killer in the police.This is an exciting story with plenty of complex twists and turns including several red herrings. The mirroring of the attempts to excise corruption from the police with the city attempting to excise poverty by destroying the slums is a nice touch.Good read.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Glasgow, 1969 and DCI George Cochrane and his team have been investigating 'The Quaker' case. The deaths of three young woman with no discernible motive or connection to each other. With no suspects D.I. Duncan McCormack is brought in to access the situation and recommend closure of the case. But another victim is discovered.
An interesting and enjoyable well-written crime novel, with some fascinating characters. A very good solid start to this new series. I look forward to the next.
A NetGalley Book
In the grip of the worst winter for years, the city is brought to its knees by a killer whose name fills the streets with fear: The Quaker. He’s taken his next victim — the third woman from the same nightclub — and dumped her in the street like rubbish. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Liam 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.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Most crime novels start with a murder. This one begins with a failed investigation. Glasgow in 1969 has been terrorised for months by the serial killer known as The Quaker, who has murdered three women after meeting them at the Barrowlands dance hall. The police have a description, a witness, numerous tip-offs from callers. Hundreds of men have been interviewed and eliminated from the enquiry. Women live in fear. Then the killings stop.DI Duncan McCormack, a high flyer from another team, has been assigned the task of assessing what went wrong in the murder investigation. This immediately sets him apart from his colleagues. When another body is found, he is in an invidious position, mistrusted by the officers he needs to work with to solve the crime.McCormack is an outsider in a city which is all about tribes. Catholic or Protestant, Glaswegian or Highlander, Gaelic or Scots, Freemason or not. It is also a city in flux – as the inner-city tenements are being demolished and people clamour to move out to the new towns of the west coast.This is overwhelmingly a world of men and the novel asks interesting questions about the nature of masculinity, but it also has haunting interludes from the women who died, telling their stories in their own words. The Quaker is a novel steeped in the mood of a city and its people, with a very distinctive voice.*I received a copy of The Quaker from the publisher via Netgalley.Read more of my reviews on my blog katevane.com/blog
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Great, gritty tartan noir. Set in 1960's Glasgow, it's harkens back to the time of a city controlled by gangsters who control the cops. Or some of them anyway. In steps a young DI determined to nail a killer while protecting a secret that could land him in prison. Descriptive passages & dialogue full of local vernacular ensures you are transported to another time in this atmospheric read. Just when you think you've got it figured out, the author saves the best twists for last. Smart, well paced story with a sympathetic MC. I look forward to the next book in this series.