Decades: Compiling the Ultimate Library with Lesley Kelly

Welcome to the Decades It’s my ongoing challenge to assemble a Library of nothing but the very best books as selected by booklovers. This challenge began in January 2021 and each week a new guest curator joins me and they add some of their favourite reads to the Library shelves.

Choosing five favourite books seemed far too straightforward a challenge though so I decided to throw in a random element to the selection process. This random element is why my Library is a Decades Library. When making their selections my guests are asked to follow just two rules:

1 – Select Any Five Books

2 – You May Only Select One Book Per Decade From Five Consecutive Decades

The rules are often flexed and I am often cursed as my guests turn to Google to find that elusive fifth book which was published in decade which allows them to complete the challenge of finding five books from a fifty year publication span. The winner at the end of this challenge are the readers who will have a Library full of highly recommended reads.

This week it is my pleasure to welcome Lesley Kelly to Grab This Book. You may spot a bit of a theme running through some of Lesley’s selected titles but if you have already discovered the fantastic Health Of Strangers series you will understand why that theme is there.

DECADES

I spent the years 2016-2020 writing the Health of Strangers crime series, set in Edinburgh against the background of a (fictional) killer pandemic. In a daring act of plagiarism, Real Life took this idea and ran with it. I’m currently working on Book 5 in the series, having had more than a little inspiration on everything viral over the past two years; we’ll soon know if the world has an appetite for any more plague literature! There’s info on the books here: https://www.lesleykelly.co.uk/

Here are my choices, more than a little influenced by recent events…

Noah’s Castle, John Rowe Townsend, 1975

I grew up in the 70s and 80s, worrying about the threat of nuclear war, fuel shortages, and rampaging inflation. Thank God times have changed. These troubles were obviously playing on the minds of the nation’s young adult authors, which resulted in some very dark teenage novels. This book, along with Z for Zachariah by Robert C O’Brien, was my absolute favourite piece of youth-orientated apocalyptic writing. I re-read it recently and it has definitely stood the test of time.

A is for Alibi, Sue Grafton, 1982

This series could not be more 1980s if it had backcombed hair and was wearing a neon pink ra ra skirt. I love the Californian setting, and Kinsey Millhone is as kickass a heroine as anyone could wish for. However, Ms Grafton had it easy as a crime writer – no mobile phones to get Kinsey out of her scrapes!

What a Carve Up!, Jonathan Coe, 1994

There’s no easy way to sum up this book. It’s a satire, it references the film of the same name, it has a country house, a failing novelist given a mysterious task, and an aristocratic family whose siblings just happen to be a tabloid journalist, a politician, a farmer, an art gallery owner, an investment banker, and an arms dealer. Told you it was satirical. Anyway, it’s hilarious, so go read it.

The Cutting Room, Louise Welsh, 2002

This was the book that really opened my eyes to the variety of crime writing that exists beyond the police procedural. This book has everything: a compelling (anti) hero in Rilke, an intriguing setting in the world of Glasgow auctioneers, a plot that draws you right in, and a smattering of very dark humour. Oh, and it’s beautifully written too.

Station Eleven, Emily St. John Mandel, 2014

And we’re back with the apocalypse… in this case a flu pandemic which kills most of the world’s population. The book focuses on several individuals who were in some way connected to a performance of King Lear on the night that the pandemic starts and charts their progress over the years. Much of the action revolves around the Travelling Symphony, which moves around the United States entertaining the survivors. For a book with such a dark theme, it is surprisingly hopeful. Given the events of the past couple of years, this is surely a must for the Decades Library!

My thanks to Lesley for five terrific selections. I know there’s a lot of love for Kinsey out there and I am delighted that The Cutting Room has found its way into the Library. All five books are officially included in the Decades Library and I can’t wait to see what may follow next.

DECADES WILL RETURN

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March 1

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

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