The Long Knives cover art

The Long Knives

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

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?

© Irvine Welsh 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022

 Crime Fiction Mystery Police Procedural World Literature Fiction Crime Scary

Critic reviews

An ingeniously plotted and propulsive thriller... bristling with risky satire and moral disgust.
If you like your crime dramas Scottish and sweary, this one's for you. (Jessie Thompson)
A triumph... A great, redemptive book... It leaves you wanting more, much more
Powerful, passionate writing... Welsh gets it just right
Powerful... A bracing and engaging read
Sharp, fearless, passionate, and brilliant.
Intelligent, propulsive, passionate
All stars
Most relevant
Really enjoyed the story. Typical Irvine Welsh but I really struggled with the unpleasant speed of Tam Dean Burn’s voice during the actual reading. I’ve listened to him previously and never found this a problem. If I hadn’t been able to adjust the speed very slightly I wasn’t going to continue with listening. Apart from that, Irvine Welsh has delivered the goods, exactly as expected.

Thank goodness you can adjust the speed of the narration

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Both funny and intriguing. Another classic, dark and disorderly leading character Lenox unravels a gruesome case highlighting the class barriers faced in British society to a tee

Amazing

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Loved this book, another classic from Irvine Welsh with the amazing narration by Tam Dean Burn.

Looking forward to the next book.

Superb

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great story, glad its set in Edinburgh. You can't beat a Irvine Welsh and Tam Dean Burn duo. hope for more in the future.

Love a new Welsh and Burn combo

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
This was a decent book, probably not as good as Crime but I still thoroughly enjoyed it. The narrator is absolutely perfect as always. He absolutely brings this to life

A decent continuation of series

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews