Customer Reviews

The Cutting

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Although I seem to have stayed a little from my love of thrillers (this was mainly due to the fact that I wasn't finding many good ones) I have to say that I am happy, happy to have discovered The Cutting. This book is absolutely thrilling (yes, pun intended).

Our main character Mike McCabe was a NYPD cop - he has seen it all and frankly, he is tired of it, add to this the fact that his personal life is a mess considering his wife has just walked out on him and their daughter, he decides to needs to move to a quieter and more civilized place - he thinks he has found this in Portland, Maine (which always makes me think of Stephen King-land!!).

However, the horror seems to have found him again. A victim is found murdered, with their hearts surgically (and professionally done?) and now, a young woman is missing - McCabe knows that he is in a time crunch to find her - before this maniac removes her heart and leaves her for dead. Of course, as Murphy's Law would have it, this is also the time where McCabe's "former" wife re-enters his life and demands custody of their daughter.

There is alot going on in this novel and all of it is compulsively readable. I like that McCabe has lots of personal problems going on, while he is trying to deal with a maniac, it made him very down to earth and human to me - I hate it when I read a story about a detective that seems to walk on water somehow. This is a flawed man trying to find a maniac and the lines can get a little blurry at times - great stuff!

The descriptions of the murders and the details of the condition of the victims is just enough to make me engrossed in the storyline without being totally grossed out. The author is very good at pushing his story along at a good pace without rushing it too much or without slowing it down too much with useless details.

I loved the way the author mingles his main character's life as center stage AT THE SAME time as the murder story.

This book is one of those books that I had a hard time putting down and kept saying "one more page".

I loved it.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Cutting, and couldn't put it down till I had devoured every page. Towards the end, I was so spooked that after work I had to sit in the park and finish reading the book, because my boyfriend wasn't home and I was too scared to come home to an empty house! Now that's the mark of a good thriller! I can't wait for Hayman's next...

I really enjoyed this fast-paced mystery thriller and immediately sought out the next book - The Chill of Night (Det. Michael Mccabe Mysteries) - in what I hope will be a long series featuring Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe and his partner, Maggie Savage.

A young teen-aged girl is found dead and mutilated in a scrap-metal yard. Her heart has been cut out in a manner that could pass for surgical precision. Earlier that morning, a jogger -- another blonde and beautiful athlete -- was abducted by what McCabe fears is a serial killer targeting this type of victim. The suspense builds as he and Maggie race to try to find this kidnapped woman before she too succumbs to the mutilation. They discover a string of similar crimes stretching from Portland, Maine to Florida. Who is behind these murders and what are they doing with the hearts they steal?

Another thing I really liked, besides the well-developed plot, were the two main characters. I want to get to know them and read more about them. Mike McCabe is a single father raising a 13 year old girl with an ex-wife who has returned for a visitation after several years of absence from their lives. Maggie is a bit mysterious and might have some secrets. The partners work well together and there seems to be a bit of chemistry as well.

If you like a good thriller, ignore the fact that you may or may not find some of the book predictable, and open the cover!

Detective Sergeant Michael McCabe is trying to get settled with his new life in Portland, Maine with his daughter. Detective McCabe has barely been in town and already he is on a hot case. There is a serial killer on the loose. Two women have already gone missing. One has been found with her heart cut out. This is not just any serial killer. This killer kills with precision of a surgical hand.

It is up to Detective McCabe and his partner, Maggie Savage to bring down the killer before the body count gets too high.

The Cutting is author, James Hayman's first novel. The first few pages of this book really grabbed my attention. Detective McCabe seemed like a pretty straight arrow. It was nice to see that he was human and had to deal with family issues amongst trying to stop a serial killer. For me the wished the serial killer was more prominent in this story. When the story line would flash to the serial killer the parts were too short. I wanted more. Also, there were a few times in the middle where I would lose some interest but than the story line would pick up speed again and I would jump right back into this book. Overall, this book did leave me willing to check out his next novel.

Mike McCabe is a homicide detective and single father investigating the work of a brutal serial killer in Portland, Maine. The killer targets attractive young women, holds them hostage for a week, then murders them by removing their hearts while they are alive. When another young woman is found missing who fits the killer's profile, McCabe must race to discover the identity of the killer, while simultaneously dealing with small town politics, a female partner who may want to be more than partners at work, and an ex-wife who wants back in his daughter's life after three years.

The Cutting is an impressive thriller by debut author James Hayman. Though a bit predictable, Hayman's fine storytelling and interesting characters make this "a cut" (sorry, couldn't resist) above the rest.

Normally I don't venture into the realm of murder mysteries, but in this case I made an exception. I can only say that I'm delighted I did! I found Detective McCabe to be a very palpable and real character who like all of us, is not perfect. The suspense kept me going and this thrilling "who done it" kept me guessing until the end. Congratulations to Mr. Hayman for making an exceptional debut and I look forward to the continued adventures of Detective McCabe and his memorable partner!

A friend told me about this new book and It Is Terrific! Great fun to find a fresh new author in this genre I love so much. I was hooked on this thriller from the start, had to read it straight through! The cool supersmart hero McCabe is wonderful. A literate man's man who also seems to actually like (not just love) women. He has an exciting, also painful, past and then he did what lots of us dream about--chucked the big city chaotic life and moved to an amazing, beautiful place by the sea, Maine. Made me want to go there! This is a hot, urgent criminal chase with blood-curdling psychotic violence to be stopped. Really good story, really good writer (not all of them are.) Hope there is another James Hayman "McCabe" book to come!

From the moment Lucy began her jog around Western Promenade I was hooked. I stayed up all night reading this book, cheering on Detective McCabe, hoping against hope that there wouldn't be another victim. This book is a must read. It's gripping. It's smart. And you'll love the characters. It's a complex thriller with layers of crime and interpersonal relationships brilliantly intertwined. I highly recommend this book for your summer reading.

The Cutting is a great read from beginning to end. It kept me wanting to know what was going to happen on the next page so I had trouble putting it down. A great setting, wonderful characters, a compelling story and timeline. I hope this is the beginning of a long series of Sergeant Michael McCabe books. For those of us who love the genre, it is to be savored and shared.

Following his wife leaving him and their child for an investment banker and the death of his brother also a cop, homicide detective Michael McCabe left NYPD and the city for a job with the Portland, Maine force so he can raise his thirteen year old daughter in a safe haven. However, he finds out quickly murder can occur in small cities when someone rapes and kills a high-school soccer star. Soon afterward, another young blonde beauty disappears while jogging.

Chief of the city's Crimes Against People unit, Michael hides from the media the fact that the killer removed the heart of the first victim as if a surgeon performed the deed. He and Detective Maggie Savage focus on the medical field with an emphasis on heart transplant specialist Dr. Philip Spencer, whose alibi is a night at home with his wife Hattie. However, shockingly she states she was visiting her family in Blue Hill. While his former wife arrives demanding the return of her daughter whom she abandoned years ago, Michael knows the key is to saving the second victim before the killer removes an organ, but time is running out on McCabe and his team.

Although the theme of a serial killer has been used a zillion times recently along with a cop leaving the swamps of the big city for safer environs, fans will enjoy CUTTING. McCabe is a likable hero struggling with a horrific homicide and the potential of another as nasty as well as his piece of work former wife. Ironically, readers will solve the case before the hero does, but they won't care as watching his frantic efforts to save a victim make for a fine Maine police procedural.

Harriet Klausner