The Second Cut – Louise Welsh
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?
Thrilling and atmospheric, The Second Cut delves into the dark side of twenty-first century Glasgow. Twenty years on from his appearance in The Cutting Room, Rilke is still walking a moral tightrope between good and bad, saint and sinner.
I received a review copy from Canongate
Twenty years ago Louise Welsh unleashed The Cutting Room into the world. It featured Glasgow auctioneer Rilke and his boss Rose and it took readers into a dangerous tale of death and secrets with the awkward and unforgettable Rilke leading the story. He was a strong gay character living his life at a time where gay characters were not accepted in many circles. Liaisons snatched in parks and public toilets were dangerous but integral parts of Rilke’s social life.
Now two decades later Louise Welsh returns to Rilke’s Glasgow and we quickly see how much has changed but also how much has stayed the same. Those illicit liaisons are now co-ordinated and accepted dates which can be arranged with a swipe on an app. The book opens with a wedding of two of Rilke’s friends and all the guests are celebrating a same-sex marriage with an extravagent party. The tone of The Second Cut is immediately lighter than The Cutting Room where Rilke was exploring an old home and rooting around in the attic where he makes the shocking discovery in that novel.
But for Rilke life isn’t all light and fun. The auctionhouse where he works is experiencing cash flow problems and the staff are not as reliable and efficient as Rose would like from her employees. An opportunity lands at Rilke’s feet when one of his oldest friends (maybe acquaintance would be more to his agreement) makes Rilke aware of a large estate house outside the city which needs cleared. It’s a potential payday bonanza for Bowery Auctions but nothing is ever straightforward and taking on the job is going to bring many problems to Rilke’s door.
The tip-off on the house clearance came from Jojo, a fast living party loving character who is about to dance off this world. His death shocks Rilke and brings him into contact with a student who shared a house with Jojo and who used Jojo as a focus for his artworks. Jojo needs a funeral and his death indirectly brings some very unsavoury characters out of the shadows and into Rilke’s face.
Louise Welsh has brought beloved characters into the modern day and she has done it with some style. The Second Cut was a terrific read as the characters felt all too real and the danger Rose and Rilke find confronting them was extremely believable and also shocking.
I really enjoyed the time I spent with The Second Cut, Welsh is a natural storyteller and the pages flew by as I became lost in the world of auctions, parties, artwork and Glasgow gangsters.
The Second Cut is available in hardback, digital and audiobook format. You can order a copy here: https://www.waterstones.com/book/the-second-cut/louise-welsh/9781838850869