The Cut Up cover art

The Cut Up

A Rilke Novel

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The Cut Up

By: Louise Welsh
Narrated by: Alan Cumming
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About this listen

It’s hard to be good when living is expensive. And times are tough on the streets these days. Luckily for Rilke at Bowery Auctions the demand for no-questions-asked cash is at an all-time high, and business is booming.

When Rilke hears his old acquaintance Les is fresh out of prison, his inclination is to stay well out of his way. Letting sleeping dogs lie is one thing – but when one of Bowery’s customers winds up dead on their tarmac, Rilke needs a bit of help from his friends to tidy things up. If only his friends didn’t have such a habit of making things worse.

©2026 Louise Welsh (P)2026 Canongate Books Ltd Crime Fiction Crime Thrillers Thriller & Suspense

Critic reviews

I loved everything about this book - the engaging characters, the credible backdrop to a clear, sharp plot, but most of all the writing. Oh my word, that writing! (ANN CLEEVES)
As gritty as it is compelling, The Cut Up is a thrilling tale of murder, reset and Glasgow's dark and dirty past. No detail slips Welsh's eye for an undercurrent. Wonderful (DENISE MINA)
Louise Welsh is a writer of the finest calibre, and The Cut Up is terrific - razor sharp, super smart and full of heart (DOUG JOHNSTONE)
All stars
Most relevant
The series just gets better and better and I love to be in the company of Alan Cummings

A good who done it with laugh out loud moments

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Another memorable outing for Rilke and his band of friends, enemies and everything in between. A great cast of characters and engaging plotting. Highly recommended.

Another Fantastic Outing

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