Fiction

The Long Knives

The Long Knives

  • Downloads：3971
  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-10-25 06:52:42
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Irvine Welsh
  • ISBN：1787333965
  • Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary

*A 2022 Book to Look Forward To in the Evening Standard*

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？

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Reviews

Steven ，

Definitely not as good as many of Welsh's previous works。 It doesn't really stand up as a crime novel and the author's own personal political and world views are thrown in your face far too often; however， the black humour we have come to know and love remains present and correct。 Definitely not as good as many of Welsh's previous works。 It doesn't really stand up as a crime novel and the author's own personal political and world views are thrown in your face far too often; however， the black humour we have come to know and love remains present and correct。 。。。more

Chris Kelly ，

A decidedly limp and lack lustre offering from one of my all time favourite authors。 Hugely disappointing。

Dan ，

I'm not much of a Welsh fan when he's in police-thriller mode。 This one's better than its predecessor， "Crime，" if only because it's set in Welsh's Edinburgh， which interests me more than Welsh's South Florida。 Cons: Big blocks of exposition， a highly unlikely conspiracy at the heart of the plot， the hero （I just don't find the tough-but-tormented Lennox as interesting as any number of other Welsh characters） and a speech toward the end that seems intended as a "Grapes of Wrath"-style signoff fo I'm not much of a Welsh fan when he's in police-thriller mode。 This one's better than its predecessor， "Crime，" if only because it's set in Welsh's Edinburgh， which interests me more than Welsh's South Florida。 Cons: Big blocks of exposition， a highly unlikely conspiracy at the heart of the plot， the hero （I just don't find the tough-but-tormented Lennox as interesting as any number of other Welsh characters） and a speech toward the end that seems intended as a "Grapes of Wrath"-style signoff for Lennox， and falls short。 On the plus side: Sick Boy's in it briefly， and there's new （to me） rhyming slang for hemorrhoids: "Harry Styles。" Undecided: a joke about a government official named Archie Mazzlo， who insists that the police crack down on certain kinds of "youthful delinquent crimes，" thus inspiring the catch phrase "Mazzlo's hierarchy of neds。" Points for effort， but Welsh may be spending too much time on Twitter。The plot does move at a good clip， and it held my attention （if not deep interest） to the end。 。。。more

Nigeyb ，

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 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 but there's still plenty to enjoy and appreciate for his fans。4/5Ritchie 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？ 。。。more

Sam ，

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 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。 。。。more

Marcus Bosano ，

Probably a 3 star book but I’ve given 4 simply because I’m a fan。 This felt too contrived to be realistic。 Lennox is a good character and this could have been so much more - a shame really

Mark ，

After existing on a bland diet of Marple lite comfortable murder mysteries recently， I relished gorging on this meaty and sweary banquet。 In the process， I learned what ‘Harry Styles’ is Cockney rhyming slang for。 So it was educational as well as grimly funny。 What’s not to like？

Adam ，

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）， 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 their 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。 。。。more

Cam Strachan ，

Yet another fantastic novel by the maestro， Irvine Welsh。 The Long Knives has the characteristic dark plot， cutting wit and timely social commentary。 The character Mark Hollis， a troubled Met Detective， is particularly brilliant。 He shares many similarities with Ray Lennox， in terms of their recreational activities and hatred of 'nonces'。 Both are anti-establishment warriors shackled by a justice system that protects those at the top。 The language and dialogue is typical Welsh， expertly and auth Yet another fantastic novel by the maestro， Irvine Welsh。 The Long Knives has the characteristic dark plot， cutting wit and timely social commentary。 The character Mark Hollis， a troubled Met Detective， is particularly brilliant。 He shares many similarities with Ray Lennox， in terms of their recreational activities and hatred of 'nonces'。 Both are anti-establishment warriors shackled by a justice system that protects those at the top。 The language and dialogue is typical Welsh， expertly and authentically delivered。 The plot develops in a variety of cities including Edinburgh， Tehran and London。 The opening in Leith is gruesome and explicit。 Castration and murder interspersed with the double act humour of Erskine and Gillman。 The chapter set in Tehran is particularly vivid and insightful， providing the backstory for the disturbing events that follow。Welsh introduces transgender characters into the plot and raises some important issues surrounding the challenges that they face in society。 In terms of the political and societal climate this is undoubtedly a modern work of fiction。The plot becomes a little confusing regarding the motivation of the culprit（s）。 However the twist was well orchestrated and satisfying。 I hope we don't have to wait too long for the next Irvine Welsh novel。 The main drawback is that I tend to read them too quickly！ 。。。more

Eliza ，

Bro was going through something， tbe swearing and language made me laugh a lot but pretty good easy read

Tom Boniface-Webb ，

Irvine Welsh channeling Ian Rankin。 And Sick Boy makes a cameo appearance。 What’s not to like？

Chris Orme ，

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 Filt 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。 。。。more

David Peat ，

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 wri 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。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Long Knives

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Long Knives&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Long Knives&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0