Richard Laymon Same Vein

RATING:

Date of Release: August 2003

Publisher: Penguin Books

Review Source:

The Cutting Room by Louise Welsh

It isn't the plot that makes Cutting Room such an impressive and riveting novel. No, if the truth be told, plot is possibly the one weak element in Welsh's story. The premise is certainly fascinating: an aging gay auction house dealer turns investigator after stumbling across possible evidence - from among a rare collection of pornographic books - of a snuff murder being committed in an earlier time. His firm is struggling and needs the money from the job to survive. Before he completes the job, his client dies and he and his boss are tempted to make off with the collection including the evidence but are stopped by an inquisitive and awakening conscience.

Rilke is an enthralling anti-hero figure. He is jaded, depraved and dissolute. He cruises bars and parks after work to satisfy his lust for young flesh but his conscience remains alive, buried beneath the stains and ravages of smoke, drugs and drink. Here, Welsh shows her natural talent with characterisation. Rilke's associates and the other lowlife who make up the human landscape are also utterly real and believable.

But that's not all. Welsh delves deep into the art auction business and emerges with an authentic and vividly assembled picture of the trade. She's great at scene setting and creating the right atmosphere for her story. What's possibly lacking is a sustained interest in plot development. And this is most evident in the way she engineers the denouement. Suddenly, in a blink of an eye, it's all over.

"The Cutting Room" is nevertheless a formidable debut and one of the most impressive crime novels recently released. Excellent read.

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