Cut To The Bone walks the reader along a razor's edge
Cut To The Bone
Alex Caan
Mystery & Thrillers
Skyhorse Publishing
Pub Date : 7 March 2017
Review
Cut To The Bone does just what it claims - it grabs the reader and holds them fast, proving just how vulnerable they are. Alex Caan’s debut thriller/police procedural tackles a number of modern issues, particularly the dangers of living a life online, both physical and psychological. Social media has a profound impact, and online celebrities are on the rise, but are people who they portray themselves to be online.
Ruby Day is a hot commodity, a vlogger with over two million subscribers and numerous fans. When she goes missing, the case is fast-tracked to Kate Riley and her team. It is unusual for a missing person’s case to be escalated so quickly, but a video is soon put online of Ruby running through the woods and pleading for her life. Ruby’s life looks perfect on the surface. Only her current boyfriend, also a vlogger, has form and has demonstrated both a violent temper and a pathological possessiveness. But appearances can deceive, and her boyfriend isn’t the only one who may profit from Ruby’s death.
Cut To The Bone is a powerful novel. I was captivated from the very beginning. Kate Riley, Zain Harris and the other members of the investigative team are well developed with their own backstories. Bit by bit we get to know more of Kate and Zain as they search for Ruby’s abductor. I think the best compliment you can pay Alex Caan is to say that Cut To The Bone is REAL. There is so much detail that the reader believes and genuinely feels as the tale progresses. This definitely is one of the best police procedurals I have read.
5 / 5
I received a copy of Cut To The Bone from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
-- Crittermom
Description
For fans of the TV show The Fall, this debut thriller is a fresh spin on a classic police procedural that explores the psychological implications of a life lived online.
For fans of the TV show The Fall, this debut thriller is a fresh spin on a classic police procedural that explores the psychological implications of a life lived online.
Ruby Day is a young vlogger, a rising star of YouTube, and a wholesome role-model to millions of teenage girls. And she is missing. Detective Inspector Kate Riley, the head of a new high-powered team of detectives, and Detective Superintendent Zain Harris, the newest member of the team and a poster boy for multiracial policing, are brought in for what they expect to be a routine runaway. Then a video of a wild-eyed Ruby running through the woods and begging for her life is posted online. Amid mounting hysteria and heightened media coverage calling for Ruby’s safe return, Riley and Harris must decode the dark secrets of this seemingly squeaky-clean internet darling. Their hunt leads them to a smug ex-boyfriend who hungers for online fame of his own, a culture of online cyber bullying by anonymous thugs, and a corporation of ruthless advertisers who exploit online celebrities for their network of eager consumers. It becomes increasingly clear that the case is more complicated and nightmarish than Riley and Harris could have imagined. And the videos keep coming . . .
This debut novel is a slick, contemporary police procedural that explores the dichotomy of public life and one lived online. For fans of Megan Abbot and Kimberly McCreight, Cut to the Bone provides a harrowing glimpse into the friendships, ambitions, and secrets of the internet generation.
