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The Heretic

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The Heretic

By: Liam McIlvanney
Narrated by: Angus King
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About this listen

 From the award-winning author comes a much-anticipated sequel to the Scottish Crime Book of the Year The Quaker…

Glasgow 1975

A deadly fire
An arson attack on a Glasgow warehouse causes the deaths of a young mother and child.
Police suspect it’s the latest act in a brutal gang warfare that’s tearing the city apart – one that DI Duncan McCormack has been tasked with stopping.

A brutal murder
Five years ago he was walking on water as the cop who tracked down a notorious serial killer. But he made powerful enemies and when a mutilated body is found in a Tradeston slum,
McCormack is assigned a case that no one wants. The dead man is wearing a masonic ring, though, and Duncan realizes the victim is not the down-and-out his boss had first assumed.

A catastrophic explosion
As McCormack looks into both crimes, the investigations are disrupted by a shocking event.
A bomb rips through a pub packed with people – and a cop is killed in the blast. The cases are stacking up and with one of his own unit now dead, McCormack is in the firing line.

But he’s starting to see a thread – one that connects all three attacks…

©2022 Liam McIlvanney (P)2022 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Crime Crime Fiction Historical Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Fiction Murder Scary Suspense

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All stars
Most relevant  
A brilliant sequel to the equally brilliant Quaker and Angus King's narration is perfect as always.

Brilliant!

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Great listen from start to finish. Memories of old Glasgow warts and all. Looking forward to the next instalment

Nostalgia without the rose tinted specs

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Absolutely excellent sequel. Narrator as always is excellent. The emotional subject of this book was gripping and had me in tears at the end.

Gripping

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Love it love it, love it. Great for a Glaswegian! Great story and narration. Fabulous xx

Love this guy

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Wow. Every time I thought I knew where the author was going he surprised me.
I’ve read many books in the 56 years I’ve been able to read to myself and I’ve lived through the time this was set in, and this book made me realise how sheltered my childhood was.

I lived worlds away from the gritty Glasgow described in this book (though a family friend of my dad’s wasn’t too far from the East End equivalent at one point in his life).

There was point I thought it was about over and wondered what the next 2 hours would involve and worried it might be “filler”… it wasn’t.

And as if the story wasn’t brilliant enough adding narration by Angus King just made it shine all the more.

Had me gripped to the end

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I loved this book from start to finish and the author has to be congratulated for his portrayal of Ayrshire and Glasgow in the early 1970s

Excellent from start to finish...

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I loved Liam’s first book in this series , The Quaker. The Heretic follows and builds on that brilliantly. Angus Kings narration is excellently measured and engaging. More please.

Superb

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Really enjoyed this.
Nicol is a great character.
Angus King = 5stars also.
Looking forward to the next one.

Get cracking with the next one Liam.

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Liam McIlvanney does not need to worry about living in the shadows of his author father; he is an excellent crime writer in his own right.
Set in the seventies in Scotland's Glasgow this book is a good reminder of many freedoms we take for granted today. Mcilvanney is not afraid to tackle harsh subjects such as religious bigotry homophobia, women's rights and much more. Not in a banging the drum way but in a way that is a true backdrop to police working conditions during this period.
This gritty taie has many strands, with many likeable and unlikeable, naive and cruel people. If there are links between the strands it is not immediately clear. So it is great that in this book we have DI McCormack return to Glasgow (who despite his own demons which are not allowed to overrun the central storyline) to help us through the mire. Sadly, what is found in the mire is not too fantastical and continues to this day. Nevertheless McCormack takes heart and fights to interrupt the cycle.
A great riveting read that bring that takes you through many emotions, a lot of that is anger to a few moments when there is respite with some quiet joy.
Narrator Angus King captures the nuances of this tale and with that gives the characters their own space.
I for one hope that we see more of Di McCormack.

Of its' time

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I got into this author as I'm a fan of Angus King's amazing narrative skill. I wasn't disappointed. Full marks for original ideas and vivid description. I'm hooked. I love that it's set in the 70s. Also great to have a gay man as a key character. All in all a fabulous book, thank you.

Excellent

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