About The Book

“The Cutting Room fixes itself among a formidable modern pantheon that includes the novels of Ian McEwan and A. L. Kennedy. . . . Not your average gumshoe.” –Los Angeles Times Book Review

When Rilke, a dissolute and promiscuous art dealer, comes across a collection of highly disturbing erotic photographs during an estate evaluation that’s being curiously rushed by its executor, he feels compelled to unearth more about the deceased owner who coveted them.

Driven to discover whether the images represent real events or facsimiles of a sinister sexual vision, Rilke descends into an underworld of illicit urges, deviant habits, and overwhelming obsessions.

The Cutting Room is a compulsively readable literary thriller and a journey of discovery, decadence, and deviousness.

Praise

“[An] archly composed and cleverly constructed debut novel. . . . Welsh’s willingness to foreground such big, unsettling questions makes The Cutting Room much more memorable than the usual ambient noir fare. . . . You remain as haunted as [Rilke] is by that one awful photo and what it may mean.” –Chris Lehmann, The Washington Post

“It makes for a fascinating juxtaposition as our dissolute hero combs through Georgian silver and other assorted stuff of Empire on his way to confronting a thoroughly modern mystery. . . . Rilke’s investigation is rewarded with his worst fears, making The Cutting Room a gritty tour of Glasgow’s demimonde and a brutal fable for the age of Blair.” –Mark Rozzo, The Lost Angeles Times Book Review

“A rare opportunity to see an accomplished talent in action.” –The New York Times Book Review

“Louise Welsh introduces some inventive riders to the . . . law(s) of detective fiction.” –The Washington Post

“Reminiscent of early, perverse Ian McEwan.” –San Francisco Chronicle

“Intriguing, assured and unputdownable.” –Sunday Times (London)

Awards

Winner of the Crime Writers Association John Creasey Dagger 2002
Winner of the BBC’s Underground 2003 Award