The Cutting by Michael J. Malone #BookReview #BlogTour

Michael J. Malone’s excellent Annie Jackson series has become my favourite way to celebrate spooky season and The Cutting might just be the best to date. I would recommend reading the previous three books to fully understand Annie’s history and all she has endured but The Cutting can also be enjoyed as a standalone. 

This time, a new character is introduced who proves to be a fascinating addition to an already sterling cast of characters. We briefly see Evie Cartwright as a child and learn of her ability to speak with the dead; from a young age, her great-grandmother – Geegee Barb – has been her constant companion but she isn’t the only spirit she can communicate with. It’s obvious from the start that in spite of Evie’s abrasive demeanour, she is actually a terribly vulnerable figure. She has been taken advantage of but blames herself, and sees university as a fresh start. However, things quickly take a much darker turn after she witnesses a brutal street murder and then finds herself tormented by the presence of a sadistic dead serial killer. Vincent is a terrifyingly malevolent shade who is able to make himself felt both emotionally and physically.

Annie is trying to return to some sort of normality in the quiet Scottish village she has made her home after the horrendous ordeal she and her brother, Lewis suffered in The Howling. However, when her friend and boss, Sandra mentions she is going to see a medium, the spiteful Murmurs that are her curse, start up a sinister chant, accompanied by a menacing laugh. Meanwhile, Lewis is haunted by his own guilt and the rage he feels towards the man who brought such violence and loss into his and his wife, Clare’s lives recently. As the three narratives are drawn together, Michael J. Malone cultivates a creeping sense of foreboding that escalates inexorably as the storyline progresses. 

Evie’s story skips forward ten years and after attempting to escape her vindictive, baleful companion through drink as well as by constantly moving from place to place, she has gained quite a reputation as a medium. When she is booked to perform near Annie’s remote Highland home, she desperately hopes the other woman may be able to help. Annie is understandably reluctant to trust Evie, particularly as her home is the only place she has some respite from her curse. She is a naturally empathetic person though and so it’s not surprising that she should be moved by the other woman’s plight. Having spent years being poisoned by Vincent’s vitriol, Evie is also quite mistrustful at first and the believable, gradual development of the relationship between the two is paced perfectly. 

The Cutting is also a chilling portrait of revenge and it’s not just Annie and Evie who are in peril. Lewis is in danger too but as his need for vengeance threatens to engulf him, is he threatened more by a violent adversary or his own emotions? As the narrative switches between the characters, it never loses pace or focus and the tension builds to almost unbearable levels. The exploration of Scotland’s folklore and its history – particularly the treatment of the women who were accused of being witches – has also been a highlight of this series and the awful, enduring tragedy of the past is perhaps felt more acutely here than ever before. While most of the novel is set in the present day, there are also ominously heartbreaking chapters which reveal how Vincent came to lose his humanity. This is a novel that perceptively and honestly examines some harrowing subjects but the writing throughout is as beautifully evocative as I’ve come to expect from Michael J. Malone. 

With its richly atmospheric sense of place, The Cutting is a dark, suspenseful gothic thriller that gripped me from the start and never let go until the breathlessly nerve-racking climax. Not everything is solved here which is great news because it means there’s more to come from this hauntingly compulsive series. I can’t wait! Very highly recommended.