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Ray Lennox #2
Los cuchillos largos
Justice can be a blunt instrument
"Men like him usually tell the story.
In business.
Politics.
Media.
But not this time: I repeat, he is not writing this story."
Ritchie Gulliver MP is dead. Castrated and left to bleed in an empty Leith warehouse.
Vicious, racist and corrupt, many thought he had it coming. But nobody could have predicted this.
After the life Gulliver has led, the suspects are many: corporate rivals, political opponents, the countless groups he's offended. And the vulnerable and marginalised, who bore the brunt of his cruelty - those without a voice, without a choice, without a chance.
As Detective Ray Lennox unravels the truth, and the list of brutal attacks grows, he must put his personal feelings aside. But one question refuses to go away...
Who are the real victims here?
"Men like him usually tell the story.
In business.
Politics.
Media.
But not this time: I repeat, he is not writing this story."
Ritchie Gulliver MP is dead. Castrated and left to bleed in an empty Leith warehouse.
Vicious, racist and corrupt, many thought he had it coming. But nobody could have predicted this.
After the life Gulliver has led, the suspects are many: corporate rivals, political opponents, the countless groups he's offended. And the vulnerable and marginalised, who bore the brunt of his cruelty - those without a voice, without a choice, without a chance.
As Detective Ray Lennox unravels the truth, and the list of brutal attacks grows, he must put his personal feelings aside. But one question refuses to go away...
Who are the real victims here?
416 pages, Paperback
First published August 1, 2022
108 people are currently reading
1222 people want to read
About the author
Irvine Welsh
128 books7,619 followersProbably most famous for his gritty depiction of a gang of Scottish Heroin addicts, Trainspotting (1993), Welsh focuses on the darker side of human nature and drug use. All of his novels are set in his native Scotland and filled with anti-heroes, small time crooks and hooligans. Welsh manages, however to imbue these characters with a sad humanity that makes them likable despite their obvious scumbaggerry. Irvine Welsh is also known for writing in his native Edinburgh Scots dialect, making his prose challenging for the average reader unfamiliar with this style.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 129 reviews
May 31, 2023
Lower tier Welsh novel, sadly.
Feels like it was written in a rush. Too many characters to keep track of, and then the mysteries aren't really solved by anything having to do with the plot. Even the obligatory Trainspotting cameo feels wasted.
What Welsh is really good at is taking cartoonish characters driven by pure id toward selfish motivations (Begbie = psychopathic violence, Juice Terry Lawson= sex, Sickboy = coercion, Renton and Spud and dozens of others = drugs, Ray Lennox = punish pedos), from there his characters enter situations meant to challenge conventional tabloid/broadsheet sociology and give us catharsis with a good punchline. There's some of that here, like when he tricks the internal affairs goons to busting up a pub he hates, but precious little overall. There's also an interesting cockney cop who starts to give us some real off-the-rails fun, but then disappears until the end of the novel.
As for the trans stuff... I guess I come from a similar boat to Welsh. I don't necessarily understand half of it, but I try to be supportive of trans people in general because I believe they have the same freedoms and the right to the same basic dignity that the rest of us have, and I'm sickened and resentful by the right's attempt to turn them into culture war scapegoats. Where Welsh differs is that he has a tendency to dwell on bad faith actors in the trans community, but you'll find bad faith actors in any community.
At the end of the novel, Welsh even tries to give up on understanding any of it, with one of the detectives having the revelation that all this trans stuff is 'a distraction, mate, a petty diversion from the real farking issues.' Really he would've been better off focusing on all the stuff about elite Tory abusers. He had some good lines about all of that, but it felt like his heart wasn't really in it, which is strange and sad because his previous work he was really able to dig into this kind of thing.
Did a thread of interesting bits here.
Feels like it was written in a rush. Too many characters to keep track of, and then the mysteries aren't really solved by anything having to do with the plot. Even the obligatory Trainspotting cameo feels wasted.
What Welsh is really good at is taking cartoonish characters driven by pure id toward selfish motivations (Begbie = psychopathic violence, Juice Terry Lawson= sex, Sickboy = coercion, Renton and Spud and dozens of others = drugs, Ray Lennox = punish pedos), from there his characters enter situations meant to challenge conventional tabloid/broadsheet sociology and give us catharsis with a good punchline. There's some of that here, like when he tricks the internal affairs goons to busting up a pub he hates, but precious little overall. There's also an interesting cockney cop who starts to give us some real off-the-rails fun, but then disappears until the end of the novel.
As for the trans stuff... I guess I come from a similar boat to Welsh. I don't necessarily understand half of it, but I try to be supportive of trans people in general because I believe they have the same freedoms and the right to the same basic dignity that the rest of us have, and I'm sickened and resentful by the right's attempt to turn them into culture war scapegoats. Where Welsh differs is that he has a tendency to dwell on bad faith actors in the trans community, but you'll find bad faith actors in any community.
At the end of the novel, Welsh even tries to give up on understanding any of it, with one of the detectives having the revelation that all this trans stuff is 'a distraction, mate, a petty diversion from the real farking issues.' Really he would've been better off focusing on all the stuff about elite Tory abusers. He had some good lines about all of that, but it felt like his heart wasn't really in it, which is strange and sad because his previous work he was really able to dig into this kind of thing.
Did a thread of interesting bits here.
March 19, 2025
Perhaps the 90s when Irvine Welsh released Trainspotting (in 1993) was a simpler time. The grouses (Margaret Thatcher and Scottish society) were clearer and easier to chastise without attracting the ire of your readers and peers.
The 2020's is a weird time. Irvine Welsh himself wrote in Trainspotting - “1000 years from now there will be no guys and no girls, just wankers. Sounds great to me.”. Well, we didnt have to wait a thousand years. Three decades after Trainspotting, does anyone know what is really going on? I dont even know if the porn I look at everyday is real.
"You're a shite bird, but you were a shite guy as well .....If you're serious about transitioning you'd best focus on personality rather than gender."
The Long Knives is a topical murder mystery and police procedural in which Irvine Welsh wrestles with some of the issues and controversies surrounding the gender zeitgeist.
It is nowhere close to Welsh's best. But it is certainly better than Crime the first novel where Ray Lennox is the main hero (he was sidekick to Bruce Robertson in Filth).
The novel is a bit of a chaotic mess of sub-plots and flash backs sprinkled with too many characters whom I found hard to keep track of. Even Sick Boy makes a brief appearance in a scene which lacks the characteristic cynical Irvine Welsh wit. Sick Boy's "unifying theory of life" seems to be proving true in the case of Welsh. He has not been at his best with his last few novels. As a big fan, I sure hope Welsh roars back into form with Men in Love, set to be released in 2025.
There is a lot going on in The Long Knives. A right wing politician is brutally murdered and his penis dismembered. Ray Lennox is one of the investigators. He is struggling with his cocaine, alcohol and porn addiction while trying to normalize his relationship with fiancee Trudi Lowe. In between the murders and Lennox's personal struggles, Welsh includes flash backs to an episode in Iran in which a young brother-sister duo are abused by a rich diplomats son but they end up getting brutally punished for it. That is not the only flashback. There is Lennox's childhood when he was raped along with a friend, inside a tunnel for which he undergoes therapy with psychotherapist Sally Heart. There is Lennox's family including his bisexual sister and her son who identifies as a woman. A whole lot of police department politics including Lennox's rivalry with Dougie Gillman and his strained but erotic relationship with colleague and competitor for top job, Amanda Drummond. Then two more people end up murdered in the same fashion as the right wing politician. Welsh ties it all up in the end. But you wonder why it had to be so damn complicated. A sub-plot involving a violent trans character called Gayle could have been avoided completely.
The Iranian flash backs are lazily written. Nothing in the novel really works. I was really inspired by the social commentary in Trainspotting. But now Welsh writes stuff like this:
Those vainglorious serial killers and gangsters on my roster – all driven by the same narcissistic ego, replete with that sense of entitlement that the dimmest specimens now embrace so freely. Utter bores, spewing the same turgid, self-satisfying drivel for the consumption of the hopelessly lost and the pathetically impressionable. That terrible disease of our age; humans remoulded as the crass, reductive embodiments of neoliberal and technological stupefaction. Then there are ones born into privilege, yet who adopt a ludicrous rags-to-riches posturing to legitimise themselves. The stupid poor and the stupid rich: playing their bizarre, pathetic game of faux equality, but always to the extreme benefit of the stupid rich. Just don’t get ever the bank accounts and assets mixed up..
Hmmm ..... it seems to me like the rest of us, Welsh does not know what is really going on. I mean, what is a writer supposed to do when everyone is addicted to Youtube, watching podcasts and Elon Musk is the rebel hero? When a cunt like Donald Trump is president of the USA and is trying to stop wars but you cannot really praise him because he is a twat and you are too self conscious to say that maybe Trump is not so bad compared to the neoliberals or whatever name you came up with to ridicule the pathetic liberal opposition that exists today.
Welsh is like a commentator who has been overwhelmed by the events of the last two decades. Gone is the self-assured tone of his 90s novels when his prose rendered in that Scottish accent would hit you in the gut and the characters felt like they were your best friends.
Ray Lennox despite being a flawed macho guy with issues you could identify with, comes across as a boring blow hard who does not really have a point of view on anything. Welsh's views, expressed through Ray seem forced. As if he is walking on egg shells. What would Mark Renton or Sick Boy have thought about the whole gender issue? They would have laughed at it. But I am a big fan of Welsh so I will read anything that he puts out. Only the scenes between Ray Lennox and Dougie Gillman were hilarious in this novel. Everything else was tedious and seemed like Welsh did not have a great time writing it.
The 2020's is a weird time. Irvine Welsh himself wrote in Trainspotting - “1000 years from now there will be no guys and no girls, just wankers. Sounds great to me.”. Well, we didnt have to wait a thousand years. Three decades after Trainspotting, does anyone know what is really going on? I dont even know if the porn I look at everyday is real.
"You're a shite bird, but you were a shite guy as well .....If you're serious about transitioning you'd best focus on personality rather than gender."
The Long Knives is a topical murder mystery and police procedural in which Irvine Welsh wrestles with some of the issues and controversies surrounding the gender zeitgeist.
It is nowhere close to Welsh's best. But it is certainly better than Crime the first novel where Ray Lennox is the main hero (he was sidekick to Bruce Robertson in Filth).
The novel is a bit of a chaotic mess of sub-plots and flash backs sprinkled with too many characters whom I found hard to keep track of. Even Sick Boy makes a brief appearance in a scene which lacks the characteristic cynical Irvine Welsh wit. Sick Boy's "unifying theory of life" seems to be proving true in the case of Welsh. He has not been at his best with his last few novels. As a big fan, I sure hope Welsh roars back into form with Men in Love, set to be released in 2025.
There is a lot going on in The Long Knives. A right wing politician is brutally murdered and his penis dismembered. Ray Lennox is one of the investigators. He is struggling with his cocaine, alcohol and porn addiction while trying to normalize his relationship with fiancee Trudi Lowe. In between the murders and Lennox's personal struggles, Welsh includes flash backs to an episode in Iran in which a young brother-sister duo are abused by a rich diplomats son but they end up getting brutally punished for it. That is not the only flashback. There is Lennox's childhood when he was raped along with a friend, inside a tunnel for which he undergoes therapy with psychotherapist Sally Heart. There is Lennox's family including his bisexual sister and her son who identifies as a woman. A whole lot of police department politics including Lennox's rivalry with Dougie Gillman and his strained but erotic relationship with colleague and competitor for top job, Amanda Drummond. Then two more people end up murdered in the same fashion as the right wing politician. Welsh ties it all up in the end. But you wonder why it had to be so damn complicated. A sub-plot involving a violent trans character called Gayle could have been avoided completely.
The Iranian flash backs are lazily written. Nothing in the novel really works. I was really inspired by the social commentary in Trainspotting. But now Welsh writes stuff like this:
Those vainglorious serial killers and gangsters on my roster – all driven by the same narcissistic ego, replete with that sense of entitlement that the dimmest specimens now embrace so freely. Utter bores, spewing the same turgid, self-satisfying drivel for the consumption of the hopelessly lost and the pathetically impressionable. That terrible disease of our age; humans remoulded as the crass, reductive embodiments of neoliberal and technological stupefaction. Then there are ones born into privilege, yet who adopt a ludicrous rags-to-riches posturing to legitimise themselves. The stupid poor and the stupid rich: playing their bizarre, pathetic game of faux equality, but always to the extreme benefit of the stupid rich. Just don’t get ever the bank accounts and assets mixed up..
Hmmm ..... it seems to me like the rest of us, Welsh does not know what is really going on. I mean, what is a writer supposed to do when everyone is addicted to Youtube, watching podcasts and Elon Musk is the rebel hero? When a cunt like Donald Trump is president of the USA and is trying to stop wars but you cannot really praise him because he is a twat and you are too self conscious to say that maybe Trump is not so bad compared to the neoliberals or whatever name you came up with to ridicule the pathetic liberal opposition that exists today.
Welsh is like a commentator who has been overwhelmed by the events of the last two decades. Gone is the self-assured tone of his 90s novels when his prose rendered in that Scottish accent would hit you in the gut and the characters felt like they were your best friends.
Ray Lennox despite being a flawed macho guy with issues you could identify with, comes across as a boring blow hard who does not really have a point of view on anything. Welsh's views, expressed through Ray seem forced. As if he is walking on egg shells. What would Mark Renton or Sick Boy have thought about the whole gender issue? They would have laughed at it. But I am a big fan of Welsh so I will read anything that he puts out. Only the scenes between Ray Lennox and Dougie Gillman were hilarious in this novel. Everything else was tedious and seemed like Welsh did not have a great time writing it.
November 30, 2022
The Long Knives (2022) is a sequel to Crime (2008) which in turn was a follow-up of sorts to Filth (1998). It works fine as a standalone novel.
Edinburgh cop Ray Lennox, haunted by a childhood attack, is investigating the violent torture, disfigurement and murders of powerful people with guilty secrets. Lennox is unsure whose side he’s on as the establishment victims seem to deserve their grisly fates.
This is very dark indeed with occasional suitably black humour. If you have a strong stomach and are invested in Welsh's world then this is another rollicking ride. It's a page turner despite being a little confusing and very implausible.
Whilst not peak Welsh there's still plenty to enjoy and appreciate for his fans.
4/5
Ritchie Gulliver MP is dead. Castrated and left to bleed in an empty Leith warehouse.
Vicious, racist and corrupt, many thought he had it coming. But nobody could have predicted this.
After the life Gulliver has led, the suspects are many: corporate rivals, political opponents, the countless groups he's offended. And the vulnerable and marginalised, who bore the brunt of his cruelty - those without a voice, without a choice, without a chance.
As Detective Ray Lennox unravels the truth, and the list of brutal attacks grows, he must put his personal feelings aside. But one question refuses to go away...
Who are the real victims here?
Edinburgh cop Ray Lennox, haunted by a childhood attack, is investigating the violent torture, disfigurement and murders of powerful people with guilty secrets. Lennox is unsure whose side he’s on as the establishment victims seem to deserve their grisly fates.
This is very dark indeed with occasional suitably black humour. If you have a strong stomach and are invested in Welsh's world then this is another rollicking ride. It's a page turner despite being a little confusing and very implausible.
Whilst not peak Welsh there's still plenty to enjoy and appreciate for his fans.
4/5
Ritchie Gulliver MP is dead. Castrated and left to bleed in an empty Leith warehouse.
Vicious, racist and corrupt, many thought he had it coming. But nobody could have predicted this.
After the life Gulliver has led, the suspects are many: corporate rivals, political opponents, the countless groups he's offended. And the vulnerable and marginalised, who bore the brunt of his cruelty - those without a voice, without a choice, without a chance.
As Detective Ray Lennox unravels the truth, and the list of brutal attacks grows, he must put his personal feelings aside. But one question refuses to go away...
Who are the real victims here?
November 17, 2024
Police procedurals generally aren't my thing, but Irvine Welsh's take on it makes for a good read.
More conventional than most of his books about decedent sex addicts and drug addicts in Scotland, he does use his twisted imagination to come up with some gripping scenarios. Note that it's more a sequel to the Crime TV series than it is the quite different Crime novel.
Ray Lennox may be something of a cliché of the messed-up grim detective protagonist, but for fans of the Welsh-verse it's worth reading. Long Knives is also worth reading as an introduction to these books, because not despite its adherence to the more mainstream mystery genre. So I still recommend.
I'll rate it 3.5, rounding up.
More conventional than most of his books about decedent sex addicts and drug addicts in Scotland, he does use his twisted imagination to come up with some gripping scenarios. Note that it's more a sequel to the Crime TV series than it is the quite different Crime novel.
Ray Lennox may be something of a cliché of the messed-up grim detective protagonist, but for fans of the Welsh-verse it's worth reading. Long Knives is also worth reading as an introduction to these books, because not despite its adherence to the more mainstream mystery genre. So I still recommend.
I'll rate it 3.5, rounding up.
August 28, 2022
Outstanding sequel to Crime. Original, clever, incredibly funny, shockingly gruesome - all you’d expect from Irvine Welsh. This book looks at the current trans and gender identification issue with sensitivity , whilst looking at vigilantes, rape, murder, entitlement castration and paedophilia - whilst looking at the human condition. Of course the main protagonists are severely flawed, so the reader routes for them and is subsequently disappointed for them within lines not pages. We need more writers like this - Welsh is the best.
November 24, 2022
You all know by now I am biased to a fault when it comes to Welsh. I didn’t even know this one was due to be released till I saw his face on my telly one night and scrambled to get my order in.
Crime isn’t one of my favourites, and I blame the Miami sun for that. I prefer Welsh’s characters to be floating in the grey setting of Edinburgh, leaning into the darkness of the culture, and operating on familiar territory. So this sequel taking place on its rightful soil was a huge draw. Not that I’d have given it a miss otherwise, ken.
We’re back with Ray Lennox, the detective who we thought had somewhat healed at the end of Crime. The demons are still there, however, and his job does very little to promote his progress. When a local MP is brutally killed, and the motive is suspected to be a dark one, Ray is catapulted into the investigation as he simultaneously deals with continuing pressures from his own life.
Welsh shows us a lot of human affliction here; a classic offering from him. We visit transphobia, substance abuse, sexual assault, and see a range of political commentary. We’re shown the climate by anti-establishment folks trapped in a system which won’t allow them to behave how they like, and we’re treated to effective demonstrations of how those on the higher rungs are protected.
And you absolutely cannot beat the feeling when one of the Trainspotting boys makes a cameo appearance. The excitement when I realised was similar to the feeling of him winking at me when I was sitting waiting for the Trainspotting stage show to start. Unreal.
My thoughts are probably controversial, but this one is better than Crime. Grim, gloomy, gorgeous; I got all the darkness and human frailty I was looking for, and on the bleak streets of Edinburgh, where I like to see it best.
Crime isn’t one of my favourites, and I blame the Miami sun for that. I prefer Welsh’s characters to be floating in the grey setting of Edinburgh, leaning into the darkness of the culture, and operating on familiar territory. So this sequel taking place on its rightful soil was a huge draw. Not that I’d have given it a miss otherwise, ken.
We’re back with Ray Lennox, the detective who we thought had somewhat healed at the end of Crime. The demons are still there, however, and his job does very little to promote his progress. When a local MP is brutally killed, and the motive is suspected to be a dark one, Ray is catapulted into the investigation as he simultaneously deals with continuing pressures from his own life.
Welsh shows us a lot of human affliction here; a classic offering from him. We visit transphobia, substance abuse, sexual assault, and see a range of political commentary. We’re shown the climate by anti-establishment folks trapped in a system which won’t allow them to behave how they like, and we’re treated to effective demonstrations of how those on the higher rungs are protected.
And you absolutely cannot beat the feeling when one of the Trainspotting boys makes a cameo appearance. The excitement when I realised was similar to the feeling of him winking at me when I was sitting waiting for the Trainspotting stage show to start. Unreal.
My thoughts are probably controversial, but this one is better than Crime. Grim, gloomy, gorgeous; I got all the darkness and human frailty I was looking for, and on the bleak streets of Edinburgh, where I like to see it best.
September 7, 2022
Irvine Welsh channeling Ian Rankin. And Sick Boy makes a cameo appearance. What’s not to like?
March 21, 2023
Stile “tagliente”
Dopo un promettente revival con gli ultimi due romanzi (L’artista del coltello[2016] e Morto che Cammina [2018]), Welsh mette ancora da parte, speriamo provvisoriamente, i personaggi che gli hanno conferito successo, fama e fans appassionati, cioè la banda di Trainspotting, seguiti e dintorni…
Sceglie invece di recuperare (a modo suo) il genere poliziesco attraverso la figura del detective Ray Lennox, già incontrato in passato soprattutto come protagonista di Crime[2008], episodio poco memorabile ambientato in Florida. Trasferendo l’azione investigativa di Lennox dall’America a Edimburgo, Welsh sembra proporsi di abbinare il filone thriller al mondo scozzese, più aderente alle sue corde e soprattutto alla sua profonda conoscenza dell’ ambiente edimburghese, dei pub e degli strip bar nei quartieri più sordidi della città.
A mio parere l’operazione gli riesce solo in parte, perché se l’atmosfera edimburghese è come sempre rappresentata in maniera ineccepibile, l’autore non sembra del tutto a proprio agio con gli stilemi del giallo/poliziesco: in primo luogo appare controproducente e fin troppo sfruttata la scelta di intervallare alla narrazione capitoli in cui uno degli efferati killer ripercorre in prima persona vicende ed antefatti. Così si svelano prematuramente gli aspetti più misteriosi delle azioni criminali, del loro movente e degli immancabili rituali connessi con gli omicidi seriali.
Suscita inoltre un certo fastidio o quanto meno un distacco di partecipazione (ma forse è solo una mia personale idiosincrasia…) il fatto che il nocciolo dell’intera trama poliziesca sia costruito sul tema dei crimini sessuali più disumani, la violenza sui minori e la redenzione affidata a una vendetta perseguita per anni e messa in atto con una ferocia non inferiore a quella dei criminali primari.
Paradossalmente le cose sembrano funzionare meglio negli intervalli dell’indagine: sono momenti introspettivi, in cui Lennox è costretto a fare i conti con i fantasmi del proprio passato e le proprie debolezze, ad interagire con colleghi devastati quanto lui, spesso davanti a pinte di birra o ad additivi più energici, direttamente mirati allo stordimento della coscienza e alle disillusioni nei confronti di qualunque parvenza di legalità. Come in molte opere contemporanee anche questo romanzo pare suggerire e teorizzare che oggi l’unica via verso una forma plausibile di giustizia a favore e a parziale risarcimento delle vittime e dei reietti, non possa prescindere dall’assoluta inosservanza delle regole procedurali.
Dopo un promettente revival con gli ultimi due romanzi (L’artista del coltello[2016] e Morto che Cammina [2018]), Welsh mette ancora da parte, speriamo provvisoriamente, i personaggi che gli hanno conferito successo, fama e fans appassionati, cioè la banda di Trainspotting, seguiti e dintorni…
Sceglie invece di recuperare (a modo suo) il genere poliziesco attraverso la figura del detective Ray Lennox, già incontrato in passato soprattutto come protagonista di Crime[2008], episodio poco memorabile ambientato in Florida. Trasferendo l’azione investigativa di Lennox dall’America a Edimburgo, Welsh sembra proporsi di abbinare il filone thriller al mondo scozzese, più aderente alle sue corde e soprattutto alla sua profonda conoscenza dell’ ambiente edimburghese, dei pub e degli strip bar nei quartieri più sordidi della città.
A mio parere l’operazione gli riesce solo in parte, perché se l’atmosfera edimburghese è come sempre rappresentata in maniera ineccepibile, l’autore non sembra del tutto a proprio agio con gli stilemi del giallo/poliziesco: in primo luogo appare controproducente e fin troppo sfruttata la scelta di intervallare alla narrazione capitoli in cui uno degli efferati killer ripercorre in prima persona vicende ed antefatti. Così si svelano prematuramente gli aspetti più misteriosi delle azioni criminali, del loro movente e degli immancabili rituali connessi con gli omicidi seriali.
Suscita inoltre un certo fastidio o quanto meno un distacco di partecipazione (ma forse è solo una mia personale idiosincrasia…) il fatto che il nocciolo dell’intera trama poliziesca sia costruito sul tema dei crimini sessuali più disumani, la violenza sui minori e la redenzione affidata a una vendetta perseguita per anni e messa in atto con una ferocia non inferiore a quella dei criminali primari.
Paradossalmente le cose sembrano funzionare meglio negli intervalli dell’indagine: sono momenti introspettivi, in cui Lennox è costretto a fare i conti con i fantasmi del proprio passato e le proprie debolezze, ad interagire con colleghi devastati quanto lui, spesso davanti a pinte di birra o ad additivi più energici, direttamente mirati allo stordimento della coscienza e alle disillusioni nei confronti di qualunque parvenza di legalità. Come in molte opere contemporanee anche questo romanzo pare suggerire e teorizzare che oggi l’unica via verso una forma plausibile di giustizia a favore e a parziale risarcimento delle vittime e dei reietti, non possa prescindere dall’assoluta inosservanza delle regole procedurali.
March 25, 2023
How I wanted to love this book. I think the biggest issue is that it all feels so half baked, especially if compared to its predecessor and preequel-ish novel, Filth. This book had so much potential but between the too-on the nose Freudian murders that centre on castrating men and the pro (?) trans-rights while not really getting trans identities, it all just feels muddled.
I think its fine for Welsh to craft a character out of touch and sort-of indifferent to trans peoples, but if the whole novel is going to centre on the topic it shouldn't feel so....forced. He literally had Lennox recount the difference between gender and sex which made me stare out the bus window for a solid 30 seconds and contemplate where Welsh's mastery of prose had dipped off to.
I think its fine for Welsh to craft a character out of touch and sort-of indifferent to trans peoples, but if the whole novel is going to centre on the topic it shouldn't feel so....forced. He literally had Lennox recount the difference between gender and sex which made me stare out the bus window for a solid 30 seconds and contemplate where Welsh's mastery of prose had dipped off to.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 7, 2022
Bro was going through something, tbe swearing and language made me laugh a lot but pretty good easy read
January 28, 2023
Premessa: con questo libro io e Irvine Welsh abbiamo festeggiato 30 anni di grande e smisurata amicizia. Correva infatti l'anno '93 quando ci conoscemmo grazie a Trainspotting. Questo solo per dire che ogni mio giudizio può essere influenzato da fattori quali l'affetto verso quel mondo e la conoscenza dei suoi personaggi e delle sue storie.
Ma, a prescindere da ogni considerazione, I lunghi coltelli è un romanzo che mette in discussione ogni valore morale e che punta a squarciarti la pancia (e non solo...) a causa dei tuoi errori e delle tue debolezze. Irvine Welsh travalica i confini del bene e del male per raccontare - a modo suo - una storia fatta di dolore, rabbia e ingiustizia, dove i buoni diventano cattivi perché tutti sono andati troppo oltre e non si torna più indietro.
In questo romanzo piove sempre, così come uno si immagina Edimburgo, e non c'è mai luce: è come trovarsi in un tunnel d'odio in cui la storia si dipana violentemente crimine dopo crimine, lasciando il nostro buon Ray Lennox alle prese con i suoi fantasmi (tutti gli amanti di Welsh sanno di cosa sto parlando) e con serial killer molto meno immaginari.
Ma, a prescindere da ogni considerazione, I lunghi coltelli è un romanzo che mette in discussione ogni valore morale e che punta a squarciarti la pancia (e non solo...) a causa dei tuoi errori e delle tue debolezze. Irvine Welsh travalica i confini del bene e del male per raccontare - a modo suo - una storia fatta di dolore, rabbia e ingiustizia, dove i buoni diventano cattivi perché tutti sono andati troppo oltre e non si torna più indietro.
In questo romanzo piove sempre, così come uno si immagina Edimburgo, e non c'è mai luce: è come trovarsi in un tunnel d'odio in cui la storia si dipana violentemente crimine dopo crimine, lasciando il nostro buon Ray Lennox alle prese con i suoi fantasmi (tutti gli amanti di Welsh sanno di cosa sto parlando) e con serial killer molto meno immaginari.
November 17, 2022
Una riflessione sul potere alla maniera di Irvine Welsh
Cosa succede quando un esponente politico conservatore piuttosto noto viene brutalmente assassinato attraverso l'evirazione? E quando qualche tempo prima un altro pezzo grosso stava per subire la stessa sorte? Qualcuno tende a mettere i bastoni tra le ruote a chi indaga per non scoprire altri altarini sordidi. Ha senso andare avanti? Alla fine chi ha il coltello dalla parte del manico sembra farla sempre franca, a meno che non incontri qualcuno che ha parecchio da vendicare.
In mezzo a tutto questo troviamo Ray Lennox, che abbiamo già visto nell'indimenticabile Il Lercio come comprimario e poi come protagonista di Crime. Lo sbirro, in odore di promozione, si troverà coinvolto in un'indagine difficilissima perché in fondo quella punizione tremenda pensa che quella gente se la sia meritata.
In un momento in cui sembra andare tutto bene con l'eterna fidanzata Trudi e lontano da alcol e droga, Ray dovrà affrontare forse una volta per tutte i demoni del passato riflettendo anche sul perché ha deciso di fare il poliziotto. Come ne uscirà? Non lo dico per non spoilerare, ma Lennox è un personaggio che mi piace molto per la consapevolezza delle sue debolezze, per come cede in reazione a situazioni che si rende conto di non affrontare come vorrebbe.
Ho azzeccato con un certo anticipo la parte legata all'indagine, ma non credo fosse negli intenti di Welsh sorprendere il lettore da quel punto di vista. Adoro la sua scrittura anche se alla lunga ormai l'uso di droga (in questo caso la cocaina) risulta un po' scontato, ma visto che la cocaina permea la nostra società in modo ormai evidente a tutti i livelli è probabilmente più realistico di quanto pensi. Alcuni nuovi personaggi si esprimono con uno standard linguistico che forse li rende un po' troppo uguali ad altri già visti, ma a Welsh io perdono tutto per il suo stile e il ritmo che adoro. Per esempio .
Il romanzo è anche permeato di riflessioni sull'identità di genere su cui non mi addentro, ma che sono molto presenti.
Apprezzatissimo il cameo di un personaggio presente nel suo capolavoro.
Cosa succede quando un esponente politico conservatore piuttosto noto viene brutalmente assassinato attraverso l'evirazione? E quando qualche tempo prima un altro pezzo grosso stava per subire la stessa sorte? Qualcuno tende a mettere i bastoni tra le ruote a chi indaga per non scoprire altri altarini sordidi. Ha senso andare avanti? Alla fine chi ha il coltello dalla parte del manico sembra farla sempre franca, a meno che non incontri qualcuno che ha parecchio da vendicare.
In mezzo a tutto questo troviamo Ray Lennox, che abbiamo già visto nell'indimenticabile Il Lercio come comprimario e poi come protagonista di Crime. Lo sbirro, in odore di promozione, si troverà coinvolto in un'indagine difficilissima perché in fondo quella punizione tremenda pensa che quella gente se la sia meritata.
In un momento in cui sembra andare tutto bene con l'eterna fidanzata Trudi e lontano da alcol e droga, Ray dovrà affrontare forse una volta per tutte i demoni del passato riflettendo anche sul perché ha deciso di fare il poliziotto. Come ne uscirà? Non lo dico per non spoilerare, ma Lennox è un personaggio che mi piace molto per la consapevolezza delle sue debolezze, per come cede in reazione a situazioni che si rende conto di non affrontare come vorrebbe.
Ho azzeccato con un certo anticipo la parte legata all'indagine, ma non credo fosse negli intenti di Welsh sorprendere il lettore da quel punto di vista. Adoro la sua scrittura anche se alla lunga ormai l'uso di droga (in questo caso la cocaina) risulta un po' scontato, ma visto che la cocaina permea la nostra società in modo ormai evidente a tutti i livelli è probabilmente più realistico di quanto pensi. Alcuni nuovi personaggi si esprimono con uno standard linguistico che forse li rende un po' troppo uguali ad altri già visti, ma a Welsh io perdono tutto per il suo stile e il ritmo che adoro. Per esempio .
Il romanzo è anche permeato di riflessioni sull'identità di genere su cui non mi addentro, ma che sono molto presenti.
Apprezzatissimo il cameo di un personaggio presente nel suo capolavoro.
December 19, 2022
Possibly his second worst book, missing the bite, charm and dark compassion of his earlier work; both tediously by-the-numbers and needlessly labyrinthine airport pulp shite. I award this book two stars and may God have mercy on those who waited years for this dreary pile.
October 13, 2022
A decidedly limp and lack lustre offering from one of my all time favourite authors. Hugely disappointing.
July 30, 2024
So thoroughly embedded in the dreary world of Edinburgh policing and politics, this convoluted opera of revenge, mistruth, and personal violence is breathtaking.
Lennox is a brilliant, broken character, and one who I will be sticking with. Welsh’s Edinburgh is brutal and addictive.
Lennox is a brilliant, broken character, and one who I will be sticking with. Welsh’s Edinburgh is brutal and addictive.
July 5, 2024
I will say I definitely enjoyed this more than Crime. This felt like more of a crime mystery that I’m used to which is what I enjoy reading.
I liked being able to engage with all the characters that we hear about in the first book and see what they’re really like.
I wasn’t a massive fan of the killers pov, sometimes they were a little longwinded and could have been shortened down.
I liked being able to engage with all the characters that we hear about in the first book and see what they’re really like.
I wasn’t a massive fan of the killers pov, sometimes they were a little longwinded and could have been shortened down.
December 4, 2022
Struggled through this as I liked the plot. By the end wished I hadn’t bothered.
Never knew who was talking and for how long due to lack of speech marks.
Too many characters to keep track of, which cropped up sporadically or were discussed so briefly and fleeting, had no idea who they were when they were mentioned 10 chapters later.
Glad it’s over.
November 11, 2022
This story about a police detective tracking down someone that has carried out a particularly nasty murder has Irvine Welsh's usual unpleasantness but it lacks the fun and charm that his novels usually have. It's very serious and at times a drag to read, where typically his books are filled with larger-than-life characters that keep the momentum of the story going. The subject matter of the story also made it gruelling at times, touching on themes of abuse and psychological pain that reverberates from childhood into adult life. There were also some trans issues raised but the topic felt to be handled a bit ham-fistedly at times and also possibly a bit tacked on just so a current social issue could be included in the story. There's not a lot technically wrong with this book but I found it hard to enjoy anyway, which is a shame as I've loved most of Welsh's previous work.
June 29, 2025
Questo secondo episodio della serie è, a mio avviso, superiore al primo. Innanzitutto siamo a Edimburgo, e già il clima freddo, buio e deprimente è sicuramente più nelle mie corde rispetto alla soleggiata, anonima e noiosa Miami. Finalmente, poi, Trudi si fa da parte (un personaggio che non ho mai sopportato) e Ray scava sempre di più dentro di sé, portando in superficie le contraddizioni che caratterizzano la sua vita.
Punti dolenti: per quanto generalmente io ami il punto di vista dell’assassino, in questo caso purtroppo non ha suscitato in me né ribrezzo, né empatia. Ho trovato il personaggio abbastanza vuoto, finto. Anche il finale mi ha leggermente deluso, poiché la conclusione mi è sembrata un po’ troppo affrettata.
Nel complesso è una lettura che consiglio, sebbene (come anche per il libro precedente) la traduzione non sia il massimo.
Punti dolenti: per quanto generalmente io ami il punto di vista dell’assassino, in questo caso purtroppo non ha suscitato in me né ribrezzo, né empatia. Ho trovato il personaggio abbastanza vuoto, finto. Anche il finale mi ha leggermente deluso, poiché la conclusione mi è sembrata un po’ troppo affrettata.
Nel complesso è una lettura che consiglio, sebbene (come anche per il libro precedente) la traduzione non sia il massimo.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 21, 2022
I hate to rate an Irvine Welsh book so low but this is poor from one of my favourite authors. It feels like it was written in one-take and generally is a blur of characters and events that lurch wildly along without any cohesion. The cliched “character thinking” passages in italics were cringey, as were the capitalised sections of shouting. Trans issues seem inserted as a token gesture to contemporary issues and are treated with neither sensitivity or insight. Overall I couldn’t really say what this story was about. It’s sadly just a bit of a mess.
January 9, 2023
A clash between the haves and the have nots. This novel written from the perspective of a police detective demonstrates the battle between the split in the justice system. One set of rules for the average person, and an entirely different set of rules for the rich, the famous, the powerful, and the politicians. This dichotomy still exists and appears to just become more and more entrenched as time goes by. Average effort for a Welsh novel.
June 2, 2025
mi tipo de mierda
November 7, 2022
‘The Long Knives’ is the second novel in which DI Ray Lennox is the main protagonist, the first being the novel ‘Crime’ and he also featured in the novel ‘Filth’ too. I had read Filth but hadn’t read ‘Crime’ prior to reading this novel, as it can be read as as a stand alone but I actually went and watched the television series, ‘Crime’ which was based on that novel and it gave me a bit of a flavour of what had went on prior to the events in this outing.
Ray Lennox, is attending N.A. meetings and seeing a psychiatrist and is apparently off the drink and the drugs and back working in the Lothian Police, Serious Crime Squad. He finds himself investigating a murder in which a local MP, with whom he had previous dealings, has been castrated and left to bleed out. This crime has links to a similar crime in London where another high profile victim was attacked in a similar manner but survived. Lennox finds himself embroiled in a complicated enquiry which is further compounded by the disintegrating relationship with his fiancée, the disappearance of his nephew, his impending promotion interview, while also fighting his demons of abuse from his own past. As he seeks solace again in alcohol and cocaine, will he be able to hold it all together or will he eventually burn himself out.
This is a relatively ‘straight’ thriller novel from Irvine Welsh and though it contains elements of a sexual nature, alcohol and drug abuse it’s fairly tame in comparison to some of his other publications. Lennox is a fairly complicated protagonist and is driven in his pursuit of offenders following an incident from his past, where as a child he was the victim of an incident of sexual abuse. He tries to do the right thing by others and is also quick to identify faults in his colleagues but he seems to easily succumb to his own vices to get him through. The novel contains a fair bit of dark Scottish humour which I enjoyed but not sure if this humour may be too parochial for a worldwide audience. There is also a great cast of characters, some new and others we’ve met before and surprisingly there’s a wee cameo from an old ‘Trainspotting’ regular too. The novel touches on several different issues and the one which is quite a hot topic in Scotland at the moment is the transgender debate, as there is currently new legislation going through the Scottish Parliament which is causing quite a heated debate.
Although a more conventional Welsh novel, I still enjoyed it and possibly the reason for its conventionality as it’s the basis for the second TV series of ‘Crime’ ?
Ray Lennox, is attending N.A. meetings and seeing a psychiatrist and is apparently off the drink and the drugs and back working in the Lothian Police, Serious Crime Squad. He finds himself investigating a murder in which a local MP, with whom he had previous dealings, has been castrated and left to bleed out. This crime has links to a similar crime in London where another high profile victim was attacked in a similar manner but survived. Lennox finds himself embroiled in a complicated enquiry which is further compounded by the disintegrating relationship with his fiancée, the disappearance of his nephew, his impending promotion interview, while also fighting his demons of abuse from his own past. As he seeks solace again in alcohol and cocaine, will he be able to hold it all together or will he eventually burn himself out.
This is a relatively ‘straight’ thriller novel from Irvine Welsh and though it contains elements of a sexual nature, alcohol and drug abuse it’s fairly tame in comparison to some of his other publications. Lennox is a fairly complicated protagonist and is driven in his pursuit of offenders following an incident from his past, where as a child he was the victim of an incident of sexual abuse. He tries to do the right thing by others and is also quick to identify faults in his colleagues but he seems to easily succumb to his own vices to get him through. The novel contains a fair bit of dark Scottish humour which I enjoyed but not sure if this humour may be too parochial for a worldwide audience. There is also a great cast of characters, some new and others we’ve met before and surprisingly there’s a wee cameo from an old ‘Trainspotting’ regular too. The novel touches on several different issues and the one which is quite a hot topic in Scotland at the moment is the transgender debate, as there is currently new legislation going through the Scottish Parliament which is causing quite a heated debate.
Although a more conventional Welsh novel, I still enjoyed it and possibly the reason for its conventionality as it’s the basis for the second TV series of ‘Crime’ ?
August 24, 2025
Es la primera novela que leo del autor de Trainspotting y, para mi pesar, la experiencia ha resultado decepcionante.
Se trata de una stand-alone novel ambientada en Edimburgo, lo cual ya de entrada resulta atractivo por la fuerza icónica de la ciudad. Los personajes están bien construidos, pero el tratamiento de la transexualidad me ha resultado forzado, casi como una escenificación destinada a cumplir con un cupo de equality rights para contrarrestar el grotesco sello de Welsh que tanto han celebrado sus fans en las últimas décadas.
El autor no ha perdido del todo el gore, la violencia ni las palabrotas, pero sí se percibe una capa de corrección política que deja un poso extraño. Además, el protagonista rezuma una misoginia exasperante, que refuerza esta sensación incómoda con el trasfondo del texto.
TL;DR: Una obra bien escrita, con ritmo y cadencia correctas, aunque en la traducción seguramente se pierda parte de la fuerza del original. Sin embargo, el tema central me ha parecido insulso, superficial, casi de pega.
Me ha dejado más indiferencia que impacto, algo que nunca esperaría de Welsh.
Se trata de una stand-alone novel ambientada en Edimburgo, lo cual ya de entrada resulta atractivo por la fuerza icónica de la ciudad. Los personajes están bien construidos, pero el tratamiento de la transexualidad me ha resultado forzado, casi como una escenificación destinada a cumplir con un cupo de equality rights para contrarrestar el grotesco sello de Welsh que tanto han celebrado sus fans en las últimas décadas.
El autor no ha perdido del todo el gore, la violencia ni las palabrotas, pero sí se percibe una capa de corrección política que deja un poso extraño. Además, el protagonista rezuma una misoginia exasperante, que refuerza esta sensación incómoda con el trasfondo del texto.
TL;DR: Una obra bien escrita, con ritmo y cadencia correctas, aunque en la traducción seguramente se pierda parte de la fuerza del original. Sin embargo, el tema central me ha parecido insulso, superficial, casi de pega.
Me ha dejado más indiferencia que impacto, algo que nunca esperaría de Welsh.
October 25, 2022
Irvine Welsh did not disappoint with ‘The Long Knives’. Fast paced and compelling, with the added bonus of some old “faces”. Ray Lennox sits up there, I think, with some other loved and now infamous Welsh characters. As always, he does a lovely job of describing Edinburgh. This is one of my favourite things about his writing. I would have happily read this in day if I didn’t have “life” to do! It is one of those ‘can’t put down’ reads.
Just make sure you read Crime first. Filth is also one worth reading beforehand, but Crime definitely gives you some details that will help The Long Knives (and Ray Lennox) make more sense.
For anyone new to Irvin Welsh: if you enjoy mystery, dark humour, characters who are going through some shit, and a lot of social commentary, you will enjoy this book.
Just make sure you read Crime first. Filth is also one worth reading beforehand, but Crime definitely gives you some details that will help The Long Knives (and Ray Lennox) make more sense.
For anyone new to Irvin Welsh: if you enjoy mystery, dark humour, characters who are going through some shit, and a lot of social commentary, you will enjoy this book.
November 30, 2022
4.5 Stars!
Although a follow up to "Crime" and "Filth" this can still be read and enjoyed on its own. Yet again Welsh is on fine form as he addresses some hot button topics such as gender and sexuality, as well as exploring the perils of what can happen when you spill far too much personal information to trusted outside forces.
This has all the hallmarks of a Welsh novel, with even a little cameo from Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson, but still manages to bring something fresh and entertaining. Welsh has written another smart novel spiked with his dark brand of humour, with a twist or three thrown into the mix to keep you on your toes right up to the end. This was a lot of fun.
Although a follow up to "Crime" and "Filth" this can still be read and enjoyed on its own. Yet again Welsh is on fine form as he addresses some hot button topics such as gender and sexuality, as well as exploring the perils of what can happen when you spill far too much personal information to trusted outside forces.
This has all the hallmarks of a Welsh novel, with even a little cameo from Simon "Sick Boy" Williamson, but still manages to bring something fresh and entertaining. Welsh has written another smart novel spiked with his dark brand of humour, with a twist or three thrown into the mix to keep you on your toes right up to the end. This was a lot of fun.
March 28, 2024
Ray Lennox is a grizzled old cop, tortured by demons from the past, and prepared to overlook the rules if it means a few more wrong uns are banged up where they belong. His job is all consuming and his personal life suffers.
Rich and powerful men are being murdered in sadistic ways, with bits chopped off and then they are left to bleed out - I will never look at bolt cutters in the same way again. Lennox is ambivalent about their fate, there are strong hints that they are sex offenders and Lennox hates nonces, with good reason.
A fairly standard cop thriller, with more drugs and castration than you would normally see - this is Welsh after all.
Rich and powerful men are being murdered in sadistic ways, with bits chopped off and then they are left to bleed out - I will never look at bolt cutters in the same way again. Lennox is ambivalent about their fate, there are strong hints that they are sex offenders and Lennox hates nonces, with good reason.
A fairly standard cop thriller, with more drugs and castration than you would normally see - this is Welsh after all.
July 22, 2025
4.7 - sporo błędów tłumaczeniowych plus trochę dziwna mieszanka języka używana przez autora, bohaterowie mówią raczej brudnym, obskurnym, zwykłym językiem a potem opisu narratora z słowami kwiecistego, archaicznego języka. Gryzło się to ze sobą momentami i psuło klimat książki. Ale fabuła, twist i budowanie bohaterów top
September 3, 2022
A new IW book is always a cause for celebration & enjoyed this one as much as I have enjoyed all of his work. But, it is even better when it’s a reoccurring character. Having reread Filth & then listened (read a couple of times but my first time with Audio) to Crime in preparation for this book. Knowing that this is 2nd in a Trilogy apparently makes me excited for book 3. If you liked Crime you should enjoy this. Though I would say read Filth & Crime first. Even if he is a side character in Filth it is still the introduction to Ray Lennox & the rest of the police force. Albeit viewed through a very different lens.
July 12, 2024
Watching the series first ruined it a lil, still a good read.
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