Scottish Detective Book Series to Read Right Now
Scotland may be known for its bagpipes, its whiskey, its sublime landscapes, and its Loch Ness monster, but as fans of MASTERPIECE mysteries Annika and Guilt know, Scotland is a uniquely atmospheric setting for crimes, detectives, and murder—so much so that it has inspired its own literary genre, Tartan Noir. From the cliffs of the Shetlands to the back streets of Glasgow, if you’re searching for some gritty and gripping Scottish crime books that embody the moody mystery of the country, here are a few detective series to get you started.
- 1.
Laidlaw by William McIlvanney
Laidlaw by William McIlvanney, Europa Editions, 2014 Book One of the Laidlaw Trilogy
Hard-drinking philosopher detective Jack Laidlaw isn’t the only main character in this eponymous novel—he shares the spotlight with Glasgow itself, in its hard-boiled beauty and brutality. Investigating the murder of an 18-year-old girl, he encounters corruption, gangland villains, and the worst of society.
William McIlvanney is widely considered the father or Tartan Noir. As literary critic and journalist Allan Massie wrote in The Spectator, “Hemingway used to say that all American literature came out of Huckleberry Finn; all Scottish crime writing—’Tartan Noir’—comes out of Laidlaw.”
- 2.
Raven Black by Ann Cleves
The first book in the Shetland series by Ann Cleeves, St. Martin's Minotaur, 2008 Book One of the Shetland Series
In the wind-swept, isolated and insulated Shetland Isles, the body of a teenage girl is discovered buried in snow, and a community is gripped in fear and long-buried dark secrets as Inspector Jimmy Perez hunts for the killer. Raven Black is the first book of eight in Ann Cleeves’ Shetland series, which was adapted into the television series Shetland.
The New York Times said of Raven Black, which was awarded the Duncan Lawrie Dagger (CWA Gold Dagger) for the best crime novel in 2006, “Chilling…enough to freeze the blood.”
- 3.
Still Midnight by Denise Mina
The first book in the Alex Morrow series by Denise Mina, Back Bay Books, 2011 Book One of the Alex Morrow Series
Policewoman DS Alex Morrow can get in her own way—she’s prickly, acerbic, brilliant, and doesn’t do the right things politically; she’s smarter and more hardworking than others in the department and, having grown up poor, has a chip on her shoulder and is resentful of her golden-boy rival. But when a home invasion goes horribly wrong and a kidnapping just doesn’t add up, nothing can stand in her way of untangling the dangerous web of deceit and solving the case.
In a profile for the British Council, Denise Mina was said to make “…the crime thriller format address themes of family, female friendship, justice and revenge. She does so with Glaswegian wit and slices of horror—in ways that readers find hard to forget.” In 2017, Mina was inducted into the Crime Writers’ Association Hall of Fame.
- 4.
Bloody January by Alan Parks
The first book in the Harry McCoy series by Alan Parks, Europa Editions, 2018 Book One of the Harry McCoy Series
When Detective Harry McCoy gets a tip that a waitress will be murdered the next day, he arrives to the scene too late to save either the woman or the teenager who then turned the gun on himself. He’s soon plunged into a gripping case that sets him up against  untouchable wealthy family behind a powerful secret society, navigating 1973 Glasgow’s most seedy and dangerous streets, working both sides of the law to find justice.
Booklist called this first in a series “A must for those who take their noir straight, no chaser.”
- 5.
Knots and Crosses by Ian Rankin
The first book in the Inspector Rebus series by Ian Rankin, Hachette, 2008 Book One of the Inspector Rebus Novels
Once a member of the elite Special Air Service, now a detective inspector with a troubled family and a troubled past, John Rebus is pursuing a maniac killing young girls and gripping the city of Edinburgh in terror. Renowned author Ian Rankin said of Knots and Crosses that he’d wanted to write a modern version of The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. What he ended up writing was, according to Kirkus Reviews, “Solidly drawn characters, keen psychological insights and an intriguing, well-knit plot.”
Ian Rankin is 2004’s Edgar Award winner. His Inspector Rebus novels number 24 to date.
