The son of William McIlvanney, one of Scotland's most celebrated and respected authors, has won the prestigious literary prize that was named in honour of his father.
Liam McIlvanney was one of four finalists for the McIlvanney prize, previously the Scottish crime book of the year, for his novel The Quaker.
It has now been confirmed that the Ayrshire-raised author has won the award which was renamed two years ago after his dad, the country’s pre-eminent crime fiction writer, dubbed 'the father of Tartan Noir', who died in 2015.
The announcement was made at the Bloody Scotland crime-writing festival in Stirling.
McIlvanny, who is based in New Zealand, has was shortlisted for the award, along with Lin Anderson, Chris Brookmyre and Charles Cumming.
Cumming and Brookmyre have won the prize before, and Ms Anderson is a founder of Bloody Scotland.
Liam McIlvanney, 49, an academic at the University of Otago, New Zealand, garnered critical acclaim for his novel, the fictional story of a 1960s Glasgow serial killer which was inspired by the Bible John killings.
His previous works include Where the Dead Men Go, The Good of the Novel, All the Colours of the Town, Burns the Radical and The Cambridge Companion to Scottish Literature.
The books were chosen by the panel of judges, which includes comedian Susan Calman and writers Craig Sisterson and Alison Flood.
Craig Sisterson, chairman of the judges, said at the time of the shortlisting: "Forty-one years ago, William McIlvanney rocked the British literary world with Laidlaw, a gritty and socially conscious crime novel that brought Glasgow to life more vividly than anything before.
"This year's shortlist for the McIlvanney prize demonstrates how modern Scottish crime writing has flourished from those seeds."
The judges said that in McIlvanney's The Quaker he has "in a crowded market, created a protagonist who is fresh and distinctive.
"He takes the familiar tropes and makes them extraordinary."
The award includes a prize of £1,000 and a promotion in Waterstones stores.
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