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The Times: Crime Books of the Year (BOTY)
'I doubt I'll read a better book this year' Val McDermid
'Compelling, immersive and brimming with life' Graeme Macrae Burnet
Auctioneer Rilke has been trying to stay out of trouble, keeping his life more or less respectable. Business has been slow at Bowery Auctions, so when an old friend, Jojo, gives Rilke a tip-off for a house clearance, life seems to be looking up. The next day Jojo washes up dead.
Jojo liked Grindr hook-ups and recreational drugs - is that the reason the police won't investigate? And if Rilke doesn't find out what happened to Jojo, who will?
Thrilling and atmospheric, The Second Cut delves into the dark side of twenty-first century Glasgow. Twenty years on from his appearance in The Cutting Room, Rilke is still walking a moral tightrope between good and bad, saint and sinner.
— VAL McDERMID
Rilke’s return is a treat: a dark, complex literary crime novel bursting with life. Louise Welsh’s band of outsiders and misfits are lovingly drawn, her Glasgow vibrant and gritty, the crimes she depicts terrifying and tragic
— PAULA HAWKINS
Plunges the reader straight into Glasgow's underbelly. This is hard-boiled Scottish crime writing at its best
— SARA SHERIDAN
One of the most enjoyable mysteries I've read this year, The Second Cut had me from the word go. Rilke's world feels rife with possibilities for dark doings - and Welsh's writing is fresh, funny, fearless and fun
— JOSEPH KNOX
This return to the world of Rilke is a masterclass in engaging storytelling. Emotionally complex, and full of dark wit and deviant energy, this is a wonderful examination of the state of our culture today
— DOUG JOHNSTONE
Richly layered, gloriously carnal, bursting with patter and irresistibly seductive
— CHRIS BROOKMYRE
Twenty years is a long time to wait for a “sequel” but Louise Welsh has made the wait completely worthwhile. In Welsh’s writing, Rilke’s world remains recognisably queer – not sanitised, not tidied, not safe before the watershed – and all the better for it . . . (Please can the next one come a little sooner?)
— STELLA DUFFY
Getting another look behind the curtain at Rilke’s world was a squalid thrill. Louise Welsh reclaims her crown as the queen of Glasgow’s grubby glamour
— KIRSTIN INNES
A tale of antiques dealers, gangsters and chemsex parties set in the sleazy side of Glasgow. A terrific bit of crime storytelling, written with panache and wit
If writing a sequel to a bona fide Scottish classic weighed heavily on Louise Welsh you'd never know. The Second Cut grips from the very opening pages. The Glasgow it portrays is seamy but humane, its cast of characters flawed but endearing. The whole thing is compelling, immersive and brimming with life. A great achievement
— GRAEME MACRAE BURNET
Praise for The Cutting Room: One of the most intriguing, assured and unputdownable debuts to come out of Scotland in recent years . . . A stunning work of fiction
A remarkable first novel
Astonishingly this is a first novel, catapulting Welsh straight into the superstar league, while establishing Rilke as a true original
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
Brilliant
— ALAN PARKS
The Cutting Room fixes itself among a formidable modern pantheon that includes the novels of Ian McEwan and A.L. Kennedy
Worth the wait
The raw, tight prose of this novel delivers an edgy glimpse into the underbelly of 21st century Glasgow . . . a witty and sometimes sordid tale of a rank outsider
Louise Welsh is an award-winning author of eight novels. The Cutting Room, her debut novel, won the Crime Writers' Association John Creasey Dagger and the Saltire First Book of The Year Award. In 2018, she was awarded the Most Inspiring Saltire First Book Award winner by public vote. She is Professor of Creative Writing at the University of Glasgow, and lives in Glasgow.
@louisewelsh00