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A review by ridgewaygirl
The Second Cut by Louise Welsh
5.0
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.
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.