The Second Cut

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

‘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        

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

‘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        

‘Plunges the reader straight into Glasgow’s underbelly. This is hard-boiled Scottish crime writing at its best’
SARA SHERIDAN        

‘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        

‘Brilliant’
ALAN PARKS        

‘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’ STELLA DUFFY