>>REVIEW
THE BULLET TRICK
Louise Welsh
HarperCollins, 320 pp.
I’m generally not into the fiction genres labelled "crime" or "thriller," and that is why I was surprised when Edinburgh-native Louis Welsh’s latest novel The Bullet Trick threw me for a loop, capturing me in its sensuously plotted web of intrigue, deceit and seduction.
In The Bullet Trick, there is no hoax when it comes to Welsh’s writing. She possesses an apparent knack for developing an odd combination of characters with a gritty intensity that simply isn’t found in many modern crime novels. Flush with dark imagery of the streets of Glasgow, alleyways of Berlin and seedy clubs of London, it’s hard not to be entranced by the author’s noir-esque dialogue and vividly portrayed urban cityscapes.
Set in both the present and past, the storyline follows conjurer William Wilson through a cavalcade of secrets and lies that span from Glasgow to Berlin. The gothic tale essentially begins in London, with a frustrated Wilson looking for work. Regrettably, the job he ends up with gives him much more than he has bargained for. In an attempt to escape his impending demise, Wilson finds himself fleeing London to work his act at a kinky cabaret in Berlin.
The pace of the story can be downright frantic, and once you get started, it’s difficult to put this one down. With every twist and turn in Wilson’s misanthropic adventure, the protagonist encounters a dazzling and desolate cast of misfits, including a scumbag detective and his less-than-wholesome assistant, Sylvie. Eventually the circumstances and events that envelop him leave Wilson questioning his own sense of self – quite the juxtaposition for the conjurer – not knowing what is a fact or what is an illusion within his own reality.
Capping off The Bullet Trick is a surprising twist that will delight Welsh’s audience. Leaving nothing hidden, her conclusion definitely satisfies an appetite for all things revealed – just like a magician exposing his secrets.
On October 14 at 2:30 p.m. Welsh, along with author Mark Billingham and Eden Robinson, will be conducting readings and entertaining questions at the Vertigo Theatre (Tower Centre) in a session coined Scene of the Crime. If you’re an aspiring crime writer or simply a fan, you might want to throw on your tan trench-coat and fedora and have a listen to what these writers have to say. Undoubtedly, the award-winning Welsh can teach you a thing or two about the direction of crime fiction in the 21st century. |
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