🎯 Where Should I Start?
ⓘ About Liam McIlvanney
Liam McIlvanney is the bestselling author of the “Conway Trilogy” and the “Duncan McCormack” series. He happens to be the son of William McIlvanney of the acclaimed “DI Jack Laidlaw” series. Liam was born in Kilmarnock in Ayshire and went to Oxford and Glasgow Universities. He lectured on Irish and Scottish literature for more than a decade at the University of Aberdeen before he moved to New Zealand. He currently teaches Scottish, history, culture, and literature and on Scottish-Irish literary connections at the University of Otago. He is a Stuart Professor of Scottish chair at Otago. Liam was a heavy reader right from the time he was a child and was attracted to the writing of Ray Bradbury.
All Book Series by Liam McIlvanney
The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature
Latest in the series · book 4 of 4 · published 2012 Co-authored · Gerard Carruthers
? Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Liam McIlvanney?
Liam McIlvanney is the bestselling author of the "Conway Trilogy" and the "Duncan McCormack" series. He happens to be the son of William McIlvanney of the acclaimed "DI Jack Laidlaw" series. Liam was born in Kilmarnock in Ayshire and went to Oxford and Glasgow Universities.
Which Liam McIlvanney series should I start with?
The best place to start is the Conway Trilogy series, the earliest of Liam McIlvanney's multi-book series: it opens with All the Colours of the Town (2009) and runs to 2 books across 2009–2013, ending with Where the Dead Men Go (2013). Liam McIlvanney's other series stand alone, so they can be read in any order.
How many books has Liam McIlvanney written?
Liam McIlvanney has 9 books catalogued in this guide, published between 2002 and 2025. 4 of them belong to 2 named series — the largest being the Conway Trilogy series with 2 books — and 5 are standalone titles, collections or anthologies.
In what order should Liam McIlvanney's series be read?
Read each series in publication order — the numbered entries in each series follow the year each book first appeared. Liam McIlvanney's series do not depend on one another, so they can be started in any order; by start date they are Conway Trilogy (2009–2013, 2 books) and Duncan McCormack (2018–2022, 2 books).
How are Liam McIlvanney's books organised into series?
This guide splits Liam McIlvanney's 9 books into 2 named series and 5 titles that stand alone or appear only in collections: Conway Trilogy (2 books, 2009–2013); Duncan McCormack (2 books, 2018–2022).