We meet Rilke, coasting through life on a sea of alcohol and sometimes stronger stuff, homosexual (still not completely accepted by society), and smoker. These three things are his coping mechanisms in a life that shows the gritty, seedy underbelly of Glasgow. He works with Rose, femme fatale, and we are introduced to a few other characters who made an appearance in the second book. That I read first. WORKING AT TCR: "For me you spend most of your life working so to have a team around you can trust and rely is on is key for me. I love coming to work, working alongside my team and creating amazing hair" A cunning serial killer, who was likened to the mythological Ferryman, had Liverpool churning, and his clever use of social media had his popularity soaring and his followers swarming each fresh crime scene for his artistic yet gruesome exhibits featuring the mutilated organs of his victims or graphics/videos of their demise. This was a complex and compelling thriller and I couldn’t seem to gain traction on the mystery, as it was slippery, confounding, multi-textured, and complicated by unreliable and deceitful characters with closets full of their own dark secrets. The second feature that fascinated me was the fact that Rilke is single, white, 43 years old and gay. Throughout the novel, Dyer includes some chapters purely from the Ferryman's point of view, and his mind is definitely a chilling place to inhabit. At one point, he admits in his private thoughts that art is a lie, and the beauty of that lie brings us close to the real truth. Ironically, this is important information that the police wish they had earlier. When Kharon, whose real name is Karl Obrazki, is killed in brutal fashion, the cops are flustered. They never saw it coming and failed to protect someone who promptly went from suspect to victim.

The Cutting Room is a dark, sharp-edged story, following Rilke, the cadaverous 43 year old gay employee of a failing auction house whose behavior defines risky. He is called to evaluate the contents of a house, a house whose contents are richer than the auction house has ever seen. He is given the job on the condition that the auction be completed in a week's time and that he clear out the contents of an attic office personally. In the attic he finds a collection of first edition erotic books and, in a cardboard box, a handful of pictures taken in Paris in the 1950s, two of which seem to show the murder of a young woman. Rilke sets out to discover what happened and in the process discovers more sleaze and criminal behavior than he had ever expected. I always admire when two authors can work together as a team to produce a well written book. And this is the case when Margaret Murphy and Helen Pepper get together as Ashley Dyer to produce fascinating murder mysteries. Of course, if Welsh was a heterosexual female, you could argue that some of her description of what Rilke does to other men might coincide with her own experience. Thus, you could say that she is able to use her normal descriptive powers, but adjust only the gender of the narrator. However, without venturing into her sexual past, she is openly and proudly gay, so again you have to admire her skill in portraying all aspects of genre and sexuality. I wonder how many heterosexual male authors could match her ability. Canongate is to publishLouise Welsh'sfollow-up to her "once in a generation"debut novel The Cutting Room, first published two decades ago. Nathan opened TCR in 2009 inside One Leisure Huntingdon. Over the years he has trained and grown a strong team of stylists around him to create a professional salon with a relaxed, friendly atmosphere. Education has been a key part of his success in training his stylists. Nathan worked in a secondary school training hairdressers of a school age for two years. He then moved on to become a Matrix CRAFT educator teaching other salons and their stylists the latest in the hair industry. This included hair care products, cutting and colouring techniques, business advice as well as working alongside some of the UK's leading hairdressers on photo shoots and TV award ceremonies.The Cutting Room is the story of Rilke, an auctioneer from Glasgow who comes upon a hidden collection of photographs when clearing a house. He becomes obsessed by the photographs and the story hidden within, finding himself caught up with the Glasgow underworld and struggling to stay afloat.

THE CUTTING ROOM is Louise Welsh's debut novel, published for the first time by Text Publishing in Australia in 2006.FAVOURITE ASPECT OF HAIRDRESSING: "I love educating and teaching stylists new hairdressing skills. I get a real buzz out of watching stylists achieve their potential" The Sunday Times described The Cutting Room as: "one of the most intriguing, assured and unputdownable debuts to come out of Scotland in recent years". [3] The List was particularly impressed by Welsh's portrayal of Glasgow: "...the city becomes a character in its own right; Gothic, dismal, decaying and frightening in equal measure". [4] This last characteristic allows Welsh to further circumvent the conventions of the crime genre. However, she does it without detracting from the intrinsic appeal of the genre itself. As a result, her success asks the question, why can't there be more gay narrators and protagonists in the crime genre?

Rilke's not exactly the archetypal hero accidental investigator. He's in his 40's; his personal hygiene is a bit offhand; he's an auctioneer for one of Glasgow's less than salubrious auction houses and he's gay with a taste for anonymous sexual encounters anywhere, anytime.This was such a well done crime thriller! I loved all the investigative and forensic details. I particularly liked all the time that Lake and Carver spent with the medical examiner. The characters were all so well developed, so real. I particularly was fascinated by Carver and the auras he would see as a side effect of his head injury. Oras that allowed him to read peoples moods and emotions, that really helped him in his role as a detective. We also got a glimpse into Ruth Lake’s past and private life. Glimpses that I am sure will be expanded on in future books. I also got to spend some time in the mind of this serial killer. This book was told from multiple perspectives including that of this sadistic deranged killer. If you’re like me and like spending some time with crazy you will love how off the chains this character was! I’ve really been trying to avoid starting any new crime series, but I am certainly glad I gave this one a shot! Going to try to read the first book before the next one comes out. What a wild and crazy ride that I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of!🎧🎧🎧 Peter Noble masterfully narrated this dark tale. I thought he had the perfect English accent to draw me into this atmospheric story. When you read a book set in England there is nothing better than having it read to you by someone with an accent, it really gives you a true sense of the story. The Cutting Room by Ashley Dyer is a very highly recommended police procedural/thriller with Detectives Lake and Carver on the search for a serial killer.