Cut, the new book from Marc Raabe, starts with Gabriel, an eleven year old boy, discovering a secretive and disturbing crime that happened in the family home, before both his parents are killed. Then the story moves forward 29 years later and we learn where Gabriel is now, what happened to his little brother and just how what happened that night has followed him, and why after so many years someone is pursuing him with messages telling that they know what Gabriel had seen and what he’d done that night.
The prologue sucked me in and I poured into the book wanting to know what happened that night, as you will too. Each chapter unfolds like a layer of pringle chips. The chapters are quick and the answers get closer and closer. The novel is perfect for book enthusiasts who can’t put a book down at the end of each chapter. It wasn’t long before I was half way through, taken on a journey that felt dark and overcast where not much joy was divulged.
After trying to deal with his sordid past, Gabriel’s girlfriend, Liz, is kidnapped by a serial killer. Gabriel has no idea why, but that it has to do with his past. So he must dig into his past and reconnect with his brother to help find the answers. But how can he find answers when the past has been archived so deep into the recesses of his brain? Years of therapy couldn’t bring the answers out so how will he find them before it’s too late to save Liz?
The main character, Gabriel, is like a Bond character, or a Transporter action hero. He’s also a man who argues with the voice in his head, called Luke. But he’s a man who in the end triumphs against the evil he witnessed and who ultimately pulled it together to find the answers.
Well written, Cut was a huge best seller in Europe back in 2012 and has now been translated into English for our enjoyment. Marc Raabe owns and runs a television production company and Cut is his first thriller novel.
I have to say I’m not a fan of the scenes in which animals being killed (there are two scenes in the book), personally I find it unnecessary and disturbing in any format. But there aren’t too many gory scenes and the book does end briefly. In saying this, I do recommend the book and if you’re a fan of Stieg Larsson, Val McDermid, Karin Slaughter or James Patterson, you’ll be taken along on an thriller that is too ghastly to contemplate.
Cut is available now through Allen & Unwin
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