570 ratings | 12 reviews | avg rating:3.69

#31 most followed
#71 best reviewers

Neil’s Year In Books

Neil’s 2025 Year in Books

Take a look at Neil’s Year in Books, including some fun facts about their reading.

Go to Neil’s 2025 Year in Books

Neil Cocker’s Followers (23)

Neil’s Bookshelves

to-read (1)
currently-reading (2)
read (571)
did-not-finish (0)

Neil’s Friends (64)

Arezou

420 books | 9 friends

Helena Ruiz fabra

754 books | 244 friends

Kirsten

354 books | 88 friends

Sheila Seiler

1,095 books | 123 friends

Oana Marangoci

223 books | 70 friends

Charlie Gracie

57 books | 95 friends

Donna Billingham

13 books | 78 friends

Christopher Duke

94 books | 13 friends

More friends…

Neil Cocker

Goodreads Author

Twitter

Neil Cocker @neilcocker101

Member Since

May 2008

edit data

Neil Cocker was born in Scotland in 1972. After graduating from Aberdeen University he ventured overseas, and has since lived and worked in Lithuania, Australia, Amsterdam, Singapore, and Luxembourg. He likes to write about emigrants and expats, displaced Scots and cultural dislocation, and how the shadow of the past darkens the present. Amsterdam Rampant was inspired by his experience of trying to live a quiet life in Amsterdam but failing spectacularly due to the regular visits of pleasure seekers, rascals, and rapscallions from the old country. His short stories have won prizes (Canongate 2001), been shortlisted for prizes (Bridport 2010), published in print (New Writing Scotland 21 & 23), and been taught on a Scottish Literature course ...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask Neil Cocker questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
Neil Cocker’s books

Average rating: 3.96 · 754 ratings · 64 reviews · 3 distinct works • Similar authors

	Amsterdam Rampant 3.88 avg rating — 603 ratings — published 2014 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Devil's Chamber 4.26 avg rating — 144 ratings — 3 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Dundee International Book Prize 2012 Shortlist by Jacob M. Appel (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Stephanie Siciarz (Goodreads Author) (Contributor), Pippa Goldschmidt (Goodreads Author) (Contributor) 4.14 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2012	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

25 posts
Neil Cocker's Blog

Ten Things I’ve Learned in Ten Years of Self-Publishing

Pokémon and Kangaroo inspect a delivery

Ten years ago, I took the decision to self-publish my novel Amsterdam Rampant.

I’d come close to getting a publishing deal twice, but both times fell short at the final hurdle. The publishers were full of praise, but there was always a but: your novel isn’t commercial enough; it doesn’t fit neatly into a genre; it’s a man’s book and men don’t buy books.

The

Neil is Currently Reading

Neil is currently reading

Novelist as a Vocation

by Haruki Murakami

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 07, 2023 02:40AM

Neil is currently reading

Amsterdam Rampant

by Neil Cocker (Goodreads Author)

bookshelves: currently-reading

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Nov 18, 2017 03:37AM

rss
Neil’s Recent Updates

Neil rated a book liked it Only Here, Only Now by Tom Newlands	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 30, 2026 11:38PM · like
Neil is now following John Gerard Fagan Author of Fish Town
May 19, 2026 09:18AM · like
Neil liked Monaliza's review of Call of the Isles: "Call of the Isles is an anthology from Tantallon where several authors share their stories in this short but sweet Scottish book! It’s been such a joy so read and some of the Scottish phrases were challenging, but it shows how much people love Scotla" Read more of this review »
May 19, 2026 09:17AM · see review
Neil rated a book really liked it London Falling: A Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family's Search for Truth by Patrick Radden Keefe	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 17, 2026 01:11AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil rated a book it was amazing Call of the Isles by John Gerard Fagan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 17, 2026 01:11AM · like
Neil rated a book liked it So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 17, 2026 01:10AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — So Long, See You Tomorrow by William Maxwell <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
Neil rated a book really liked it Drayton and Mackenzie by Alexander Starritt	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 01, 2026 04:00AM · like
Neil rated a book really liked it The God of Small Things by Arundhati Roy (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
May 01, 2026 04:00AM · like
Neil started reading Call of the Isles by John Gerard Fagan (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Apr 29, 2026 01:06AM · like
Neil liked Lesleyanne Thomson's review of Amsterdam Rampant: "something different for me and it certainly paid off I was looking for something a little different to my usual crime thriller books and stumbled accross this, liking the synopsis I thought I’d jump in. Seeing places like Stirling (where I live) and " Read more of this review »
Apr 22, 2026 03:58AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of Amsterdam Rampant by Neil Cocker. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — Amsterdam Rampant by Neil Cocker <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">