The Bullet Trick

New York: Canongate. New in New dust jacket. 2006. First American Edition. Hardcover. Full number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. . 384 pages. Crime Writers Association award winner Louise Welsh follows up her hit artworld noir <I>The Cutting Room</I> with a slick literary suspense thriller set among the decadent domains of contemporary Berlin, Glasgow, and London. Meet William Wilson, a foundering so-called mentalist, conjurer, and above all — despite frequently being the opening act for strippers — a master performer. When his agent books him for a string of cabaret gigs in Berlin, he's hoping his luck's on the turn. Among the showgirls and grifters of Berlin's scandalous underground, Wilson can forget his lonely heart, his muddled head, and, more important, his past. But secrets have a habit of catching up with William and as he gets in over his head with a certain brand of lucrative after-hours work, the line between what's an act and what's real starts to blur. Bringing the seedy glamour of the burlesque scene magnificently to life, Louise Welsh's deft contemporary tale is her richest and most macabre yet. A thundering thriller of Glasgow drinking dens, Soho clubs, and dark Berlin backstreets, <I>The Bullet Trick</I> is also an adults-only suspense, guaranteed to keep you guessing until its final explosive flourish. .