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'Unputdownable' Sunday Times
'I was hooked from page one' Guardian
When Rilke, a dissolute auctioneer, comes upon a hidden collection of violent and highly disturbing photographs, he feels compelled to discover more about the deceased owner who coveted them. Soon he finds himself sucked into an underworld of crime, depravity and secret desire, fighting for his life.
A remarkable first novel
I was hooked from page one. Rilke is not Welsh's only great creation. The huge supporting cast of misfits and outsiders . . . are equally memorable. And Glasgow becomes a character in itself: it is oppressive, foreboding - a dark place for a dark tale
Astonishingly this is a first novel, catapulting Welsh straight into the superstar league, while establishing Rilke as a true original
Welsh upturns tropes and adds depth, seedy detail and Gothic lyricism to the page-turner framework
The Cutting Room fixes itself among a formidable modern pantheon that includes the novels of Ian McEwan and A.L. Kennedy
This elegiac, elegant and atmospheric book is an original and compelling first novel. Rarely can such Gothic material have been treated with such subtlety
Welsh's prose can flit from clipped and short to elegant and graceful . . . As taut a thriller as you'll get; full of unexpected alliances, double crosses and a brutal denouement worthy of classic American hard-boiled fiction
Welsh succeeds in making Glasgow her own
An astonishingly accomplished debut, this is always in my top ten books of any genre . . . Welsh brilliantly draws a gothic Glasgow of despair and decay as she lays bare the depths of human deviance
Louise Welsh is the bestselling author of eight novels. Her awards include the Crime Writers' Association Creasey Dagger and the Saltire First Book of The Year Award. She is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, and lives in Glasgow.
@louisewelsh00