Blog Review | Cut

5:30 AM

Title // Cut
Author // Marc Raabe
Publication Month // November 2016
Publisher // Manilla (Bonnier) via Allen & Unwin
Australian RRP // $29.99 AUD
Genre // Crime, Thriller

synopsis.

Fast and furious - a stunning thriller debut for fans of Stieg Larsson.
A boy is witness to a horrible crime. Decades later, his girlfriend is kidnapped by an insane serial killer. To save her, he must return to the events of the past. But how can he remember when forgetting was the only way to survive?

Gabriel's job as security guard takes him to a derelict mansion in Berlin late at night. The obscure scene there reminds him of the most terrible night of his life - the night his parents died. Soon after, he receives a desperate call. His pregnant girlfriend Liz is being attacked and cries for help. Gabriel alerts the police but they arrive too late. Liz has disappeared without a trace. The hunt for her turns into a frantic chase against time. The terrifying man from the past has returned and will not stop until Gabriel is completely destroyed.


review.

It’s been a while since I sat down and read a proper crime/thriller novel and Cut by Marc Raabe was a really interesting one to pick up and dive into. It has been translated from the original German - and I didn’t realise it at first, which is testament to the translation.

As a child, Gabriel witnesses the death of his parents and the trauma has left an obvious mark on him; he spent much of his early life in psychiatric care. Now, nearly thirty years later, his girlfriend is attacked and kidnapped. Gabriel becomes the suspect in another murder in the same area, and the race is on for him to find and rescue Liz and clear his name. 

Gabriel was an intriguing character to read about; often times his sections of Cut are interspersed with internal conversations, a hold-over from his earlier diagnosis of schizophrenia - although even that isn’t as clear cut as one would expect from such a thriller novel. Throughout the story, it’s apparent he’s lacking in the skills required to socialise and communicate with others, and his predicament finds him needing to reconnect with his estranged brother to aid him in his search for Liz.

While I found it difficult to get into the start of the book as the story and main plot was established, once the pace picked up, and the stakes were raised for all the characters, it was full of so many great twists and turns that I really enjoyed turning each and every page to try and unravel the mystery.

Overall I gave Cut 3.5 out of 5 stars.



(Thank you to Allen & Unwin for sending me a copy of this book for a fair and honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.)

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