The Book Diva's Reads

3.5 stars

A missing person's case is enough to put any community on edge. A missing person's case that ends with the discovery of the mutilated body is unimaginable. Detective Mike McCabe has relocated from New York to Portland, Maine with the hopes that this smaller town will be the idyllic setting to raise his thirteen-year-old daughter Casey. McCabe and his daughter have settled into Portland quite nicely. McCabe has a love interest, enjoys his new job, and his daughter has gotten used to being without her mother. Unfortunately McCabe hopes for quiet town are dashed when the mutilated body of a missing high-school female is found. If that wasn't bad enough, he and his partner Maggie Savage and literally racing against the clock to find another missing women before it's too late.

The Cutting is the first book in the McCabe and Savage series. I've read and previously reviewed Mr. Hayman's novel Darkness First , also a McCabe and Savage novel, so I was delighted at the opportunity to read the first in this series. I found The Cutting to be a fast-paced read and enjoyed learning more about McCabe and Savage. Mr. Hayman did a remarkable job portraying the horror and terror that grips a city when there's the possibility of a serial killer on the loose. The Cutting provides just the right amount of mystery and suspense, along with the introduction of the personal drama in McCabe's life. McCabe is in a serious relationship with a local artist - Kyra Erikson, has had sole custody of his teenage daughter for more than three years, and now his ex-wife has decided she wants to become reacquainted with their daughter. It is precisely this combination of drama, mystery, and suspense that makes The Cutting such a wonderful book. The characters are all realistically flawed and the action is quite believable. If you've read Darkness First and haven't read The Cutting you'll definitely want to read it. If you haven't read either book and enjoy great mystery-suspense-thrillers then add both books to your TBR list. I'm eagerly looking forward to reading more McCabe and Savage stories in the future.

Read the first chapter of The Cutting here: http://www.jameshaymanthrillers.com/books/chapter-1/