The Second Cut

Louise Welsh

Paperback

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Critic Reviews

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A stylish, atmospheric detective story with shades of the Gothic - from the author of the award-winning cult classic The Cutting Room

SHORTLISTED FOR THE McILVANNEY PRIZE

'Superb' The Times Crime Book of the Month

'A hardboiled gem' Guardian

'I doubt I'll read a better book this year' Val McDermid

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?

Book Details

Publisher: Canongate Books
Publish Date: May 9th, 2023
Pages: 384
Language: English
Edition: Main - undefined
Dimensions: 7.70in - 5.00in - 1.00in - 0.60lb
EAN: 9781838850890
Categories: • Thrillers - Crime• LGBTQ+ - Gay• World Literature - Scotland - 21st Century

About the Author

Welsh, Louise: -

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.
@louisewelsh00

Critics’ reviews

Praise for this book

Complex and very atmospheric, with plenty of sardonic humour and sharp observations about injustice, like its predecessor this is a hardboiled gem.-- "Guardian"

Well-wrought . . . The specificity and style of Welsh's prose - peppered with such fine Scottish words as 'bawface', 'coorie' and 'shoogly' - the depth of her characterisation and depiction of place, her gallows humour and her compassion all make The Second Cut a superb piece of work-- "The Times"

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

Superbly drawn and exquisitely written, the story moves at an exceptional pace: this is modern Glasgow at its most compelling with a contradictory-- "Daily Mail"

Richly layered, gloriously carnal, bursting with patter and irresistibly seductive--CHRIS BROOKMYRE

Bleak, witty, unfailingly compassionate and beautifully written all at the same time . . . a lightly fictionalised love letter to Glasgow-- "Spectator"

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

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

A searing reading experience . . . highly entertaining-- "Telegraph"

The Cutting Room fixes itself among a formidable modern pantheon that includes the novels of Ian McEwan and A.L. Kennedy-- "LA Times Book Review"

Astonishingly this is a first novel, catapulting Welsh straight into the superstar league, while establishing Rilke as a true original-- "The Times"

A remarkable first novel-- "New York Times"

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-- "Sunday Times"

Welsh upturns tropes and adds depth, seedy detail and Gothic lyricism to the page-turner framework-- "Telegraph"

I doubt I'll read a better book this year. Dark, funny and humane, Louise Welsh tells the stories that nobody else dares

The Second Cut is as blackly comic as it is squalid and Welsh balances all the storylines with ease-- "Observer"