I am a member of the American Library Association Reading List Award Committee. This title was suggested for the 2023 list. It was not nominated for the award. The complete list of winners and shortlisted titles is at <a href="https://rusaupdate.org/2023/01/2023-reading-list-announced-years-best-in-genre-fiction-for-adult-readers/">

Louise Welsh’s crime novel, The Second Cut, is return to Rilke, the main character in The Cutting Room. It is not necessary to read the first book–although that background undoubtedly makes Rilke a more interesting character. The book opens with Rilke, a Glasgow-based auctioneer, attending the wedding of some friends. Rilke, who is homosexual, is according to another attendee, Jojo, a “serial shagger.” And it’s true; Rilke prefers brisk, spontaneous encounters, often anonymous, and Grindr helps that happen. Rilke’s approach to sex mirrors his approach to life. No emotional involvement. Jojo, who is drunk, gives Rilke a tip about a mansion “full of antiques,” in Galloway. He also passes Rilke an unidentified bottle of liquid and says it contains “sexual energy.”


That’s the last time Rilke sees Jojo alive. The next day, Jojo is found dead in an alleyway, and since Jojo’s reputation with the police is less than stellar, his death is written off as the demise of another junkie. Jojo’s death begins gnawing at Rilke’s mind. Perhaps he would have moved on, but Rilke is questioned by the police. Meanwhile, his boss Rose, who runs Bowery Auctions takes the tip about the mansion, and soon Rilke, Rose and some employees drive out and take inventory of the mansion’s contents. The mansion is owned by the unseen, elderly Aunt Patricia who is about to be shuffled off to a nursing home while her relatives, Frank and Alec Forrest, who are cousins, and seem a little too desperate, wrap up the estate. The mansion is full of antiques and collectibles:

The Forrest clan had been eager supporters of Empire. Their fortune had been accumulated in Malaysia via a rubber plantation and then branched into South African mining. They had been in India too, working with the East India Company.

Rilke, who can’t seem to put Jojo behind him, is contacted by Sands, a seemingly vulnerable young man who rented a room from Jojo. Sands wants to give Jojo a funeral, which given the lack of funds, seems impossible, but then Sands discovers a box full of bottles, “brothers of the distilled sexual energy.” Using connections, Rilke trades the bottles for the cost of a funeral and that brings gangster Jamie Mitchell into the picture. …

The sale at the mansion raises some questions involving moral responsibility, and the auction is fraught with signs of trouble. Rilke asks a few questions and pokes into some dirty business involving drug-fueled orgies.

The Second Cut is an atmospheric crime novel infused with grime and decay. The decay is further emphasized by Rilke’s realization that his best days are past and that, sexually, he’s not such a hot prospect any more. There’s a whole new generations of men who have little time or interest in him. Rilke, who deals in antiques, knows the difference between an item of value and a piece of tat, and Rilke intuits which category he falls into. Throughout the novel, it becomes uncomfortably clear that Rilke’s sell-by-date is long past.

There is nothing except this room: the caravan of objects. The hammer in my hand beats out time, What will you give me? What will you give me for…? The hammer in my hand raps out the order of everything. The world is in my breath. Past and present, weighed and counted.

Review copy

Twenty years on from her ground-breaking debut The Cutting Room, which became a stone-cold modern classic of Scottish literature, Louise Welsh revisits cadaverous auctioneer Rilke and the grimy underbelly of contemporary Glasgow.

Technology has changed life for us all in the intervening decades, and even Rilke, who spends his time surrounded by antiques and mementoes from the past, has succumbed in some ways. In The Second Cut he now utilises Grindr for his anonymous sex with local men, though he’s still partial to an old-fashioned furtive hook-up in a darkened park too.

Business has slowed at Bowery auctions, so when old acquaintance JoJo is acting the drunken fool at a gay wedding then offers a tip about a profitable house clearance, Rilke is intrigued, even as he spurns JoJo’s offer to join a drug-fuelled mid-afternoon party. The next day, JoJo is dead. A middle-aged man counted among Glasgow’s dying homeless, even if JoJo hadn’t quite fallen that far, yet. Does anyone care?

Meanwhile Rilke and his boss Rose strike several surprises among the clearance of the crumbling country estate. Welsh spins an atmospheric, immersive tale that tears along while providing plenty of layers with characters and setting. You may not be able to step into the same river twice, but Welsh masterfully revisits old haunts. A triumph.

<<This review originally written for Good Reading magazine, Australia >>

Having not read “The Cutting Room“, the award-winning 2002 novel which introduced the character Rilke, I was unsure if I should be jumping in with “The Second Cut“. I needn’t have worried, as this novel holds up very well as a stand-alone. And be warned, it is as dark as its cover.

This book is more edgy than the thrillers I’m accustomed to, though the characters were so authentic and well described that I was immersed in the narrative. A narrative I might add that often left me feeling uncomfortable…

The writing was a pleasure to read. “His good looks had receded beneath his personality.” “That was the trouble with a life on the edge. It could be hard to know where the edge was, until you tumbled into freefall.”

Rilke was a sympathetic character whose life choices don’t always serve him well. He lives alone and is very lonely. He uses the online gay dating service Grindr to find sexual partners that can remain anonymous. He has few friends outside of his work as the head auctioneer at one of Glasgow’s successful auction houses, Bowery Auctions.

“The Second Cut” tackles some gritty themes of drug use, anonymous sex, gay orgies, people trafficking, crimes against the elderly, corruption, homelessness, and organized crime. It depicted the seamy, sordid underbelly of Glasgow. The Glasgow tourist bureau would shudder if this side of the city were brought to light.

I’m glad I read this novel, but would be hesitant to read more of Rilke’s story, only because it is so sordid and dark. I was rooting for him to find a more steady partner, someone to care for him that he cared for in return. Perhaps I should remove my rose coloured glasses and surrender to the darkness…

This book put the noir in Tartan Noir.

3.5 stars rounded up

I didn't read the first novel by this author but I had no issue with this one.
Dark, twisty, and gritty. An excellent storytelling kept me hooked and the grim description of the setting were fascinating.
I will surely read other novels by this author.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I hadn’t read the first of the Rilke novels from 20 years ago, but this book easily stands on its own. It features distinctive and well-drawn characters as well as a richly detailed depiction of modern Glasgow. There’s so much focus on the setting that things almost seem to move slowly. That’s not to say nothing is happening: there’s an abundance of detail—sometimes just the daily workings of the auction business or everyday life in the LGBTQ community, but also the darker side of Glasgow by night, with drunkenness, drug dealing, occasionally abusive behavior at drug-fueled sex parties, etc. The thing is, with all this scene-setting, however dramatic it may be, it’s actually possible to get a little bored while waiting for something to advance the investigation. Eventually the case gets back on track, but it takes its time.

Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate for a digital advance review copy.

This was a steady story that plodded along, was not unpleasant to read because I did enjoy it but it didn't wow me...
The premise of the story is that Rilk finds out a very close friend JoJo has died but not just that, he was found in a street. They both had house clearance companies and helped each other out every now and again. As the investigation into JoJo's death is slow, Rilk starts finding things out quietly on his own. JoJo was gay and enjoyed going to sex parties where drugs were a plenty and Rilk investigates more, he finds himself with more questions than answers.
I really think this book is worth a read,
Many thanks to Netgalley for the free arc book for an honest review.
#Netgalley, #canongatebooks, #@louhopew.

I don’t usually read crime/thriller novels but thought I’d try this one, as I’d heard good things about Louise Welsh’s The Cutting Room. It was a great well written read!
It takes place in Glasgow in the violent underbelly of the city. Rilke, an auctioneer, is our flawed, witty narrator, getting on in years but always keen for a hookup on Grindr. The plot starts with the death of one of his acquaintances who’s also a client. And off we go! It tackles some difficult issues: people trafficking, drugs, alcohol, and rough sleeping. There’s brutality, orgies, gangsters and the LGBTQ+ community.
I did feel it was a bit over long but it’s gritty, funny, sharp and the storytelling is excellent.
Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the ARC. All views are my own.

Thank you to the author, Canongate and NetGalley, for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is the sequel to the author's first novel, which I has not read, and reads well as a stand-alone. The setting is gritty and dark, and the story is wonderfully written - but may be a bit much for those not ready to be confronted with the nitty-gritty of a promiscuous LGBTQ+ lifestyle. I found the inside look at the world of auction houses fascinating, and the crime/mystery aspect creepy and addictive.

In this long-awaited sequel to Louise Welsh's debut novel, Rilke is still working the same job at a Glasgow auction house, he's still picking up men, but using Grindr instead of wandering through parks late at night, but he's a little older and showing his age. When the auction house is offered the job of clearing a large house in the country, they jump on the chance and are even willing to ignore a few things that might give a more reputable firm pause. But as the indications that something is wrong pile up, Rilke goes digging, even as he also gets involved in settling the affairs of one of their long-time customers.

If you liked The Cutting Room, you'll like the sequel, which generally follows the same path. It was a little unclear as to when this book takes place; the world has moved on a few decades, but the characters are only a handful of years older. But that's a minor quibble, when it's such a treat to just spend more time with Rilke and Welsh's gritty, hardscrabble version of Glasgow. This is a fantastic noir, filled with bad men, innocents led astray, dark dealings, human trafficking and, best of all, Les is still out there, living his fabulous life.

A brilliant excursion into the darkest, grittiest corners of Glasgow, as we meet what has to be one of the most spell-binding protagonists ever crafted - Rilke, a forty-seven year old head-auctioneer - a man, “too tall, too thin, too cadaverous to look like anything other than a vampire on the make”.

Perhaps more “anti-hero” than our typical main protagonist, Rilke is a triumphant nod to the unexpected beauty, grace and strength in the just plain “regular” - the down-trodden, discarded, and unremarkable dissociated man, getting though life with his own quiet form of dignity.

(The second book in a series initiated by the author some twenty years ago, I have not yet read the earlier work, a situation I would love to quickly remedy).

The main voice of our story, Rilke, our first person POV narrator, provides a heartbreaking glimpse into his own “hollow” soul - as a middle-aged gay man who has “embraced his inner freak a long time ago”, he is now committed to meaningless Grindr hookups, “never quite able to disentangle sex and danger”, convinced at the core his particular lot-in-life is fixed.

“A long-limbed spider in a three piece suit”, Rilke is something of a smart-aleck; intelligent, judgmental, and sardonic, (not to mention sidesplittingly funny in his wry and off-the-cuff observations), wearing his emotional detachment, a closely-guarded mask, always front-and-center - allowing the reader only the briefest of glimpses into what we can clearly see to be his essential goodness, his achingly-self-deprecating isolation, and his heavily-disguised and deeply-held compassion.

Along with the acquisition of his current clients, proprietors of a creepy and neglected Georgian mansion, deep in rural Scotland, (the kind of place you would swear can only “draw bad things to it” ) and now the setting for a house-clearing auction, Rilke’s world explodes with a series of frantically-paced events, beginning with an unexplained death, and rapidly expanding to include several of Glasgow’s most dangerous and desperate.

As the sense of menace builds to a claustrophobic pitch, Rilke’s furtive brush (unwilling but unavoidable) against the grimly-subversive underground world of sex parties, illicit drugs, and debauchery has the sordid and wretched feel of descent into irreversible madness.

As Rilke struggles to get to Truth, and ultimately Justice, this intricately-woven tale expands to consider friendship (in all its forms), morality, and perverse resilience, as Rilke confronts the inherent and unresolvable contradictions in doing right, against all odds, when face-to-face with mortal danger.

Without giving the plot away (no spoilers here), the author cuts through it all - skillfully pulling off a satisfying and very acceptable ending, along with the dropping of a final tiny-but-enticing teaser, which may or may not hint (marvelously) at more to come in this superb saga.

A great big thank you to NetGalley and the author for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.

The atmosphere of this novel is dark and moody, a perfect fit for the gritty streets and dangerous beauty of Glasgow. Rilke is the chief auctioneer at Bowery Auction House, a business that is teetering on the edge. When at the wedding of two old friends, Rilke runs into his longtime acquaintance, Jojo. Rilke is sorry to see that Jojo looks like a wreck. They’re both over 60 now, and both veterans of years of drinking, smoking, drug use and risky sex in Glasgow’s gay clubs and parties. But unlike Jojo, Rilke has given up most of his vices, and now his Grindr use is the only reminder of his past.

Jojo gives Rilke a tipoff to a grand old house packed with antiques, demanding a substantial finder’s fee. It turns out Jojo is right. The house is a long drive away and its owners don’t seem quite right, but it’s the score the business needs. When Rilke wants to get in touch with Jojo soon after, he finds that Jojo was found dead in an alleyway, leaving a crummy apartment with a large cache of drugs and a young roommate who insists that Rilke help him make sure Jojo gets a decent sendoff.

Rilke is trying to do right by Jojo, while working on inventorying the big old house, but both efforts lead him into danger from the Glasgow mob. Rilke’s personal code may just get him killed.

It’s probably not very fair to compare Rilke to Rebus, but it’s difficult not to see a resemblance between the two hard-bitten loners with a keen sense of justice and a lot of experience with the dark sides of their Scottish city homes. But it would be unfair to author Louise Welsh to suggest that this is some kind of copycat effort. She has her own style and Rilke is a vividly created character. This is an excellent choice for fans of noir, Tartan or otherwise.

Thank you NetGalley and Canongate for a copy of The Second Cut. Sadly, this book was not for me. I didn’t find any of the characters likable or relatable and never really understood the story or where it was going. If you don’t mind a slower story that unfolds little by little, and don’t need to root for a character, this book is probably for you.

A brilliant sequel to The Cutting Club which finds the auctioneer Rilke trying to uncover the cause of his friend’s death.
The writing is brilliant with plenty of Glaswegian slang and humour. It’s as if Raymond Chandler set foot in Partick! Thanks to Netgalley and publisher for providing a review copy.

Interesting but not really my cup of tea. Well written I just personally couldn’t get into the story. My fault for not truly knowing that’s the book would fully be about. Predictable and honestly it was a struggle to keep my interest. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This was such a compelling read! I read it through in a couple of sittings, thoroughly caught in this world of semi-legal, illegal, mildly dodgy and mostly legitimate dealings and relationships.

Rilke remains an intriguing character, one whose decision making and internal morality can cause me to yell, groan, and cheer, sometimes in the space of one page! What he never is is dull, and I would happily read pages and pages of him and Rose interacting.

One of the most interesting parts for me in this book was the various portrayals and perceptions of queer life in contemporary Glasgow. There's the conflict between youth and age, between assimilation and separation. There's no clear line or path followed, but a range of ideas and opposing attitudes.

This book has clung to my mind since I read it.

I had put that I wouldn’t recommend this book for purchase but I see the chain I work for already has it on order. I guess when you work for a chain store you can’t dictate which stores get what stock. In the store where I work a lot of our customers are elderly conservative folk, I don’t think this would appeal to the “Lucinda Riley” readers. A lot of sales are hand sells so I am hoping this gets many good reviews so it sells itself.
Rilke is a Glaswegian antiques dealer and auctioneer. He is also homosexual and partial to one time hook ups on Grindr. The story opens at the wedding of two Bobs, and Rilke meeting up with acquaintance JoJo. The next day JoJo turns up dead in a doorway down a secluded alley. The police aren’t too interested in a possible junkie overdoes but Rilke can’t keep it out of his mind and starts asking questions. JoJo has also given Rilke a heads up on an estate lot of items up for auction. everything seems to be connected and the multiple side stories running through the novel are in fact all related.

I had at the start thought I might not finish the book as it really didn’t grab me as others have, but the many positive and rave reviews convinced me to finish. It’s not a bad story, in fact it’s well told and from what I have heard from LBQT friends, oh so real.

#TheSecondCut #NetGalley

5 awesome stars for this second installment in a series I hope will continue on for a very long time, but hopefully book 3 a year or so from now instead of decades in between.

I was a bit intimidated by the idea of reading an official mystery/crime novel, but the whole book was butter smooth, the moving pieces felt fluid and spacious, and the provocative was purposeful instead of gratuitous. The cast of characters were all memorable, fleshed out and fully realized players who brought this story to life and made the journey through Glasgow to Galloway, from the first page to the very end, effortless and enjoyable.

I was riveted to the end, not because the crime piece was in its throes but because it felt like there were still tiny hooks of intrigue that refused to let up their tugging until all the ends were tidied up. It was masterful and wonderful and sombre and electric and I couldn't get enough.

this was a great read

Second cut is a welcome sequel to The Cutting room and can be easily read as a stand alone.
Antique dealer Rilke is a terrific antihero - flawed & compassionate -and he's not afraid to be drawn into the seedier side of Glasgow's gay scene and to mix with some seriously terrifying crime figures. The dialogue is full of deadpan Scottish humour and the weather is a suitable backdrop to the squalid world Rilke and his cohorts inhabit.
My thanks to the publishers and Netgalley for an ARC in exchange for a honest review.

Holy Moly, what the heck did I just read!!!!

Ok, first and foremost, I was not expecting all of this . The Second Cut is a sequel to The Cutting Room. Had I known this I would have read The Cutting Room first. However, this book can be read as a standalone and it was still highly enjoyable!

Drugs, sex, suspense, and thrill? Sign me up!

I do not want to ruin this book for anyone so I will leave you with this... I highly recommend this book but it is not for the faint of heart as there is no restraint when it comes to any subject. This book also has strong LGBTQ vibes and it was very well done.

Due to release May 3, 2022, go ahead and pre order yourself a copy .