Love this author. This one plunges the reader straight into Glasgow’s underbelly. What a ride this book was to read. I sailed thru the pages and had a great time reading it.

I am not much of a LGBTQ fan. But I have heard about the author, Louise Welsh a lot, so decided to read The Second Cut. But, I felt that that the story was not going in the direction which I wanted. It was, rather a difficult read for me because of too much local slangs. For me the book was not thrilling enough. Still, I would not say that the book is bad, it is just I was not made for the book. It needs readers who fully understand LGBTQ topics. Sometimes, while reading I felt that the book has enhanced too much on relations between characters rather than thrill.

I would like to give the book 3 stars. Thanks to Netgalley and Canongate Books for providing me an opportunity to read and review the book.

this one was interesting because under normal circumstances this is something i wouldn't enjoy but it caught my at just the right time. it's sort of a thriller but it's not terribly thrilling, it's got some amatuer-sleuthing and it works on a couple levels as it also showcases the glasgow queer scene. as i understand, it's a sequel but truly i didn't know that and it's enjoyable regardless. there's a bit of CCC [cringeworthy contemporary commentary] , namely of the 'Gen X vs Gen Z queers" variety but it's got some heart. my favourite part of the novel was definitely how rooted in place it was. all my underlined quotes had to with the psychology of place, 'urban vs rural' and the way that living in the city, in lockdown, had affected the characters (admitted this was not a huge part of the novel). overall i'm not sure who i would recommend this to, but if you think you'd love a queer almost-not really mystery/thriller, give it a go

Edinburgh has Inspector Rebus, genteel and a little sad; Glasgow has Rilke, always chasing his next Grindr match while trying to stay afloat.
At a time when novels with gay protagonists often come with pink covers, Welsh shows us a different side to what it means being gay: the slurs, the sexually motivated violence, oppression and danger from without and within the community.
Welsh portrays the seedy, the dark, the animalistic ugliness of human desires, be they sex, money or oblivion. The Second Cut's Glasgow is not the 'dear green place', it's a character in its own, dark and despicable and yet strangely alluring, and always vaguely threatening.
Her masterly use of the weather plays into this effortlessly; it is always raining or about to, it is cold and dreary (dreich, a word I had forgotten I knew), and reading it one feels it never gets warm, or even properly light, all through the book. We cling to Glasgow's seedy underbelly, and it is wet with slushy mud.
There is a mystery - two mysteries entwined - in this story, but against the rich backdrop of the lives of the people we follow throughout the book, they almost take second rate; not the sleuth's personal problems as a backdrop to the crime they solve, but the other way around.
The build-up of the tension towards the end is impeccable; you both desperately need to read on and yet don't want to know; and against this the denouement felt a little flat, too easy; but then it is not the roaring thriller that needs a big show-down with bangs and bombs, so perhaps this was fitting in the end and a parallel to the lives lived in this book: full of potential and expectation that cannot be fully realised.
There are many very descriptive passages, and converations are also interspersed with generous helpings of description. It's all good description and helps set the rich mood of the book, but it does get a bit much and at times took me out of the reading experience.
I would recommend this to anyone who enjoys literary mysteries/thrillers with dark realism but low on the graphic violence/gore scale.
I want to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a free review copy of this book. All opinions here expressed are my own.

The long-awaited follow-up to The Cutting Room. I remember loving the first book, and it's actually what turned me on to this author. I was just as big of a fan of this one. Intrigue and mystery. Well-written and incredible twists. Recommended!

This is a dark, wet, muddy Glasgow of which I have no experience; likewise, Rilke’s LGBTQIA+ underworld. Both were eye openers.
I haven’t read ‘The Cutting Room’ but I doubt that matters as this novel stands alone. I’d jumped into reading the book, taking little notice of the cover or author’s name, so it was such a surprise to realise that the writer is a woman. I was so convinced that Rilke’s first person POV was legitimate. I have nothing but admiration for Louise Welsh’s ability to get inside his skin and create such an authentic character.
The plot was engaging as it unfolded to the satisfying, exciting conclusion. Loved it!
Thanks for the opportunity to read this manuscript for an honest review.

Way back in 2009, I read and reviewed “The Cutting Room” by Louise Welsh (although it only appeared on my blog in 2014), and that was when I was introduced to the term “snuff-porn” which is… er… not very nice; but apparently, it is as exactly as unpleasant and kinky as it sounds. In that book, we also get to know Rilke, and his (mostly unsavory) proclivities for less than amorous encounters with mostly random men. Well, it has been over 20 years since that book was released (in 1999), and Welsh decided to resurrect him for this sequel novel. Yes, I know that neither crime fiction nor noir murder mystery books are my usual fare, but Welsh writes so compellingly that I had to ask for the ARC when I saw it available on NetGalley.

What I found here was that today, 20 years on, Rilke can find hook-ups via Grindr rather than by wandering the sordid streets of Glasgow’s more seedy parts of the city. While that seems a bit safer, Rilke is never one to stay totally out of trouble, and he doesn’t seem to be overly avoiding Covid, either. But that was neither here nor there. This very twisty plot involving his auction house, an estate sale, the seemingly untimely death of his (erstwhile) friend, and an underworld kingpin who forces others into doing his dirty work, becomes increasingly captivating as the story unfolds. Thankfully, while Welsh does give us some fairly distasteful scenes along the way, she stops well short of graphic sexual encounters to keep even this prudish reader turning to the next page.

Looking back on my review of the first book, I see that there were quite a few things about that novel that didn’t work for me all that well. Obviously, I didn’t recall all that when I asked for the ARC, because 20+ years later, I only remembered that I had enjoyed the book, despite its dark undertones. The Rilke of my memory was more self-debasing than today’s Rilke, and from that book, I wasn’t sure he’d survive another 20 years. Apparently, he cleaned himself up a bit over the past years, but he still isn’t the dashing, leading man you might expect as a classic protagonist. But that’s what I like about these books – the fact that our main character isn’t totally likeable, and yet he has a way of getting to us, and we forgive him many of his trespasses – although not all of them, of course. Despite that, we get caught up in his flaws, and are rooting for him to not only solve the mystery, but to stay alive until the end of the novel.

Welsh’s style hasn’t faltered in this book, and the first-person narrative helps us become more sympathetic to Rilke. The atmosphere of this novel is heavy and highly prevalent, even when the sun is shining (which apparently doesn’t happen much in Glasgow). Once again, I was impressed with how Welsh shows us the more shadowy corners of this city, and once again, I thought that if I ever get back to Scotland, I might decide to avoid this city on my itinerary. That’s not actually fair to Glasgow, to be honest, since I do recall that my one short visit there was quite pleasant. So, while Welsh might make Glasgow sound dirty and unappealing, that shouldn’t put us off the city altogether.

In any case, to answer the question in the title of this review, I think this book really was deeper than the previous one. Furthermore, Welsh includes just enough backstory information here that it could easily be read as a stand-alone novel. Mind you, Welsh also includes quite a few Scottish and/or current UK pop culture references that I didn’t get, so that might detract from your reading of this story (I’m sure her fans will get all of them, though). Despite that, it’s still a very good page-turner, and I’m going to warmly recommend it, with a healthy four and a half stars out of five (that’s one full star more than the first book).

How much do you remember of a book you read 10 years ago? Apart from what they call a classic, I mean (that's probably why they're classics, they're memorable). Because although I don't recall all the details of "The Cutting Room", Louise Welsh's first book, I do remember the impression it left on me. This was that it was a very accomplished thriller with a particularly distinct setting.



Therefore, I jumped, almost literally, at the opportunity offered to me by NetGalley to read The Second Cut. The Second Cut is not a sequel, but a thriller taking place in the same geographical setting with the same main character, gay auction room denizen Rilke, and with some recurring characters from the previous novel. Times, however, have moved on and the book is set in Glasgow once again but 20 years later. Rilke is therefore 20 years older, but not much wiser, and far more cantankerous.
Society's approach to homosexuality and deviance may have changed somewhat in the Grindr. era, but there are still battlefields. Drug addiction is even more of a problem, as is organised crime which feeds it. Gay orgies are a thing. Poverty still rages and the auction business is still as seedy as heck.

Faced with the sad and suspicious death of an acquaintance, despite himself, Rilke cannot help getting involved again and very soon find himself up to his neck in the cutthroat milieu of the Glasgow underworld.

I am very happy to say that The Second Cut does not disappoint and is as memorable and atmospheric as its predecessor, the witty and pithy dialogue deserves particular mention.

A fine read, but not for the squeamish.

Not what I was expecting but was good.
Read through netgalley.
Little bit like if lovejoy and Irvine Welsh had a baby (but in glasgow). I haven’t read the cutting room which precedes this but felt this book works as a stand alone novel. Characters were funny and clever and the story fun.
Would recommend!

Great book, by an author I will read more of! Thrilling plot, great writing and brilliant characters. Highly recommend to others.

Though I haven’t read The Cutting Room, I quickly became acquainted with auctioneer Rilke and the characters from Bowery Auctions. This is an engaging mystery that takes the reader into Glasgow’s LBQT community and the darker crime and drug dealing scene. An even more fascinating mystery unravels when Rilke pursues the whereabouts of an old woman whose house is being cleared by her son and nephew. This is not a fast paced crime thriller but the vividly described characters and story made this a page turner.

Thanks NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

So, I know that it wasn't necessary for me to read The Cutting Room in order to follow The Second Cut, but I wanted to. There is such a heaviness to that twenty years gap, especially because if there is anything I can say about TCR from this perspective is that it's very much a product of its time.
-I'll start with the most obvious thing: In afterword, Welsh explains how she wrote TCR because she was enraged by Keep the Clause Campaign. So, yes, Rilke was a homosexual protagonist by design and sure, that anger is palpable in her words. Reader is in Rilke's head and you are supposed to be bothered by the ways he has to go around meeting men. And to be fair, she put the onus on legislation, on skewed or wrong beliefs of homosexuality some people share, not just the violence toward them (which is more a consequence of beforementioned) to show that. Twenty years later, many battles for same sex couples have been won, but there is still place for improvement. And Welsh still has a thing or two to show through Rilke. This book opens with a gay wedding and reading them back to back only emphasises what a staggering difference it is. Different time and Rilke faces different challenges, only Rose stays fabulous.
-But when I say that TCR is a book that's very much the product of the time it was written in, I also mean that in every other way book was following a trend, a noir cliche if you please. Sex intermixed with violence cloaks around protagonist's life and crime he investigates. He's mostly apathetic, there is no happy ending nor a completely satisfying answer to the mystery at the centre. Slurs, gay panic, sexual risk behaviour that are not a staple in mystery books these days. The Second Cut was was an improvement in many ways, but particularly in Rilke's characterization. He has mellowed a lot and he's not as cynical as before. In book #1 we were told Rilke cares about what happened to the girl in the picture, but I never actually believed it was because of her- it's that faceless female victim you know nothing about while you get to know everything about the bad guy (now that's the trope of noir we can leave behind). Rilke was doing it just because, or even worse: because dancing with danger was exciting, because he is so edgy and troubled. And that was more boring and predictable to me than anything else. In book #2 Rilke can't explain why he's pursuing what happened to Jojo considering their relationship, but you realize he cares. It's basically the same reason, but this time I actually believe it. Jojo is a person, imperfect and annoying, but somebody cared. You see, Welsh didn't change Rilke: he is still someone who's not entirely good or bad. His sex life still leads to questionable choices, but in this one Welsh made a better balance to show him being a risk -taker (grindr) as opposed to being reckless he arguably was in TCR. His friendship with Rose is deeper. Rilke in TCR considers a very young male prostitute, Rilke in TSC reluctantly steps into lose mentorship role. I am not sure if the change was a result of Rilke being older or Welsh improving her writing, but I can say I liked Rilke in TSC considerably more and only because he is a more interesting character and not .
-And speaking of writing, let's be clear: The quality was always there. But, in my honest opinion, Welsh is actually a better writer now. There is no that many cultural references, the story is more polished, the dialogue snappier. While TCR was Rilke showing graphic pictures and asking uncomfortable questions between having very pearl-clutching sex life, this one actually has a stronger mystery element. Essentially, we are following two threads: one is Rilke wanting to know how Jojo died and the other is, once again, murky situation behind house clearance Bowery is hired for. Both mysteries are engaging and keep your attention until they finally merge in culmination scene. I loved the intricacies of auction house business and I potential for mystery when Rilke digs into history behind furniture or various collections of house owners.
All in all, this was a good read. And yes, I didn't have to read The Cutting Room but I am glad I did because it made me enjoy this book and Welsh's writing more.

I absolutely loved this dark brooding novel. Very engaging with fantastically drawn characters and intricate, tightly drawn plotting.

I read the first in the series, "The Cutting Room", recently as it showed up on a favorite author's Top Ten list. Once I finished it, I raced out to download the rest of the series. Imagine my disappointment when I saw it was a stand alone! And a 20 year old one at that, so I wasn't expecting to ever get to spend more time in Rilke's Glasgow. I was absolutely thrilled to see an ARC became available. And then relieved that it lived up to my high expectations.

The words "gothic", "gritty", and "noir" jump to mind when reviewing this novel, but they'd give the wrong impression because this is a wholly contemporary and realistic novel. While not afraid to examine the bitter darkness in humanity, there's an overarching humanism to the novel. Rilke is a complex man who has a fundamental decency towards the world who often never returned the favor.

Denise Mina and Val McDermid fans, you've found your next favorite author.

The Second Cut by Louise Welsh is a fast-read, noir mystery. It is the second in a series, though I had not previously read the first and it didn't seem necessary to understanding this second book.

Rilke, an auctioneer, gets himself caught up in a drug-related, human-trafficking ring. After his friend, Jojo dies, Rilke is forced into a part of Jojo's world that he doesn't initially want to enter. Jojo, before he died, passed on a tip of a big country estate looking to unload its contents. Eventually, Rilke and his boss, Rose, land the auction. Much of the action of the story takes place either in Glasgow's underground gay scene or in the countryside. Rilke is a flawed character, though, by the end of the story, I found myself rooting for Rilke and his cast of cohorts.

I would recommend this story to anyone who likes noir mysteries. Although parts of the story were easy to figure out, the story itself was a good escape into a world I knew nothing about.

Thanks to #NetGalley for the #ARC of #TheSecondCut

It has been a long time since the first in this series but oh what a wait! It was fabulous. Tightly plotted, lots of interesting characters and a real page turner. Read it in a day!