The Cutting - Hardcover

Hayman, James

4.04

4,680 ratings by Goodreads

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 031253129X ISBN 13: 9780312531294

Publisher: Minotaur Books, 2009

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From a formidable new voice in suspense fiction comes an edge-of-the-seat story of a homicide detective on the trail of a killer, who slays with exacting precision, and who harbors a terrifying motive

Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe moved from New York City to Portland, Maine, to escape a dark past: both the ex-wife who’d left him for an investment banker, and the tragic death of his brother, a hero cop gone bad. He sought to raise his young daughter away from the violence of the big city . . . so he’s unprepared for the horrific killer he discovers, whose bloody trail may lead to Portland’s social elite.

Early on a September evening, the mutilated body of a pretty teenaged girl, a high school soccer star, is found dumped in a scrap-metal yard. She had been viciously assaulted, but her heart had been cut out of her chest with surgical precision. The very same day a young businesswoman, also a blonde and an athlete, was abducted as she jogged through the streets of the city’s west end. McCabe suspects both crimes are the work of the same man---a killer who’s targeting the young---who is clearly well-versed in complex surgical procedures, and who may have struck before. Just as the investigation is beginning, McCabe’s ex-wife reemerges, suddenly determined to reclaim the daughter she heedlessly abandoned years earlier.

With the help of his straight-talking (and, at times, alluring) partner, Maggie Savage, McCabe begins a race against time to rescue the missing woman and unmask a sadistic killer---before more lives are lost.

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Review:

A stunning debut that gripped me from first page to last. A thriller of a thriller! (Tess Gerritsen )

An engrossing account of a deviously motivated psychopathic serial killer (Booklist )

Packs a terrific punch and comes complete with pace and panache . . . Hayman doesn't write for the faint-hearted . . . Taut, deft and with a delicate sense of place, this is supremely accomplished storytelling (Daily Mail 20110121)

From the Back Cover:

From a formidable new voice in suspense fiction comes an edge-of-the-seat story of a homicide detective on the trail of a sadistic killer, who slays with exacting precision—and who harbors a terrifying motive...

“A clever and suspenseful thriller.’’
––A Boston Globe Pick of the Week

After getting divorced, Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe decided it was high time to leave New York City. He’d wanted to raise his young daughter away from the violence of the city streets...so he’s unprepared for the horrific killer he discovers in the quiet enclave of Portland, Maine.

“A taut crime thriller that will blow your socks off and ruin a night’s sleep.”—Stephen Coonts

Early on a September evening, the mutilated body of a pretty teenager, a high school soccer star, is found dumped in a scrap-metal yard. She had been viciously assaulted, her heart cut out of her chest. The very same day a young businesswoman, also a blonde and an athlete, was abducted while jogging. McCabe suspects both crimes are the work of the same man who is clearly well-versed in complex surgical procedures—and who is likely to strike again....

“Rarely does a new novelist make a debut, in Maine or anywhere else, as polished, well-paced, and plotted as this one.”
––Portland Press-Herald

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