Synopsis
A BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick
Longlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2022
Longlisted for the McIlvanney Prize 2021
The entertaining, moving, and unpredictable new thriller from multi-award-winning bestseller Chris Brookmyre.
Millie Spark can kill anyone.
A special effects make-up artist, her talent is to create realistic scenes of bloody violence.
Then, one day, she wakes to find her lover dead in her bed.
Twenty-five years later, her sentence for murder served, Millicent is ready to give up on her broken life - until she meets troubled film student and reluctant petty thief Jerry.
Together, they begin to discover that all was not what it seemed on that fateful night... and someone doesn't want them to find out why.
Publisher information
- Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
- ISBN: 9780349143842
- Number of pages: 416
- Dimensions: 202 x 126 x 30 mm
- Weight: 287g
- Languages: English
Customer Reviews
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The Cut
Millie Spark went to jail for killing her lover. An event she has no memory of. Years later, sentence served, she is still pretty broken, sharing a house w... READ MORE
Vintage Brookmyre
A new Chris Brookmyre has been cause for celebration every year since Quite Ugly One Morning and The Cut is no exception - drama, that trademark underlying... READ MORE
Chris Brookmyre at his best
The Cut is the latest novel from the endlessly inventive and wonderful thriller writer Chris Brookmyre.
Chris often throws together vastly different char... READ MORE
Cracking read with strong female protagonist
Like a lot of people, I look forward to Chris Brookmyre's releases so was delighted to get an ARC from Little, Brown and Netgalley.
This is a standalon... READ MORE
Murder and mayhem at the movies
Millicent Sparks was a special effects make up artist for movies especially containing violence. One fateful morning she woke up to find her boyfriend Mark... READ MORE
Fast-paced vintage Brookmyre
'The great danger with any quest for answers is that you might find them.'
25 years ago Millie Spark, a make-up artist in the film industry, woke up one m... READ MORE
Excellent Standalone
Thank you NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for this ARC.
I thoroughly enjoyed this as I have previous books by Chris Brookmyre. It’s a standalone boo... READ MORE
Closets full of skeletons!
Brilliant title in so many ways. As soon as I started reading this I wanted to finish it, in a good way! Enjoyed the 'cutting' back and forth between dat... READ MORE
Fun and different
This is a refreshingly different crime fiction to the type I usually read (which tend to the cosy/procedural or more woman-running-from-twisted-killer type... READ MORE
A delicious read full of dry wit and observation
This is a terrific read. An excellent fast-paced crime novel with lots of personality, oodles of humour and some stand out, sheer brilliance. Part crime ca... READ MORE
Smooth Murder Mystery
Chris Brookmyre has been publishing novels for 25 years, in various series as well as stand alone. His latest, The Cut, is a stand alone – one might even ... READ MORE
Brilliant!...
Chris Brookmyre has once again written a brilliant stand alone thriller. Having read most of his previous books I knew I was in for a treat-and what a tre... READ MORE
A slow start quickly gives way to a fast-paced, gripping plot
Review copy via publisher Little, Brown and NetGalley UK in exchange for an honest review.
Millicent Spark is out of prison, but hasn’t found freedom in h... READ MORE
There are cuts aplenty in Chris Brookmyre’s latest entertaining and aptly named thriller.
There are cuts aplenty in Chris Brookmyre’s latest entertaining and aptly named thriller. ‘The Cut’ begins in Glasgow but the two unlikely protagonists, s... READ MORE
Dull and disappointing
I wanted to like this so much, but this was sinfully boring.
Did not finish, page 149.
This is incredibly slow, it felt like such a chore to read, and ... READ MORE
Well up to Brookmyre standard
It's not easy to review a Chris Brookmyre novel without giving away plot details and spoiling the effect of their reveal. Suffice it to say that the plot ... READ MORE
Rollicking fun
I love Brookmyre's irreverent noir style of mystery thrillers and this newest example is one of his best.
The two protagonists - septuagenarian convicte... READ MORE
Gripping Mystery
The book opens with the discovery of a murder scene and then quickly steps back in time. Have we just seen how the story will end and is it now just a ques... READ MORE
Great page turner
Oddly this is the second time in a month I've read a book which has a woman waking up next to a bloodied corpse at its centre, and not been responsible for... READ MORE
A must-read for crime and horror fans!
Chris Brookmyre has such a unique and distinct writing style, drawing on minute and almost imperceptible details from what makes us human. This renders his... READ MORE
Murder, mayhem....and fun!
It has been quite a while since I read a novel by Chris Brookmyre and when I discovered that his latest was available to review on NetGalley, I jumped at t... READ MORE
A thrill ride that makes you think
Since jolting readers with his first Jack Parlabane tale back in the mid-1990s, Chris Brookmyre has delivered plenty of fresh takes and distinctiveness. Fr... READ MORE
Expertly written and so entertaining!
Staring two misfits who form an unlikely alliance - 70 year old Millie was Jailed for the murder of her boyfriend, she spent 25 years in prison for a crim... READ MORE
Revenge and redemption
A little bit different to what I expected, but I really enjoyed this. This had the feel of one of Brookmyre's earlier novels with the dark humour and the S... READ MORE
Great writing, a satirical edge and truly ghoulish humour.
I'm grateful to the publisher for an advance e-copy of The Cut via NetGalley.
'Truth is, you never really get away with anything. You're always living wit... READ MORE
Enjoyable read
I enjoyed this book, it was interesting to see the unusual friendship between Jerry and Millie. The sarcasm used between the two of them was really good! T... READ MORE
Gripping
The cut by Chris Brookmyre is the first book that I have read from the author and I will be looking at his back catalogue after reading this.
Millicent Sp... READ MORE
Thriller with a difference!
This was a thriller with a difference which had some very interesting themes as part of the plot including old film references which probably went over my... READ MORE
The cut by Chris Brookmyre
It seem to take me a while to get into this story and then it just clicked and I really enjoyed reading this book. The Cut by Chris Brookmyre has a tremen... READ MORE
A Thriller set in film land
Christopher Brookmyre has done it again. This really is a masterly thriller. I read within 24 hours. You will want Millicent and Jerome to survive. ... READ MORE
Chris does it again!
What a simply brilliant book, I love Chris Brookmyre as an author but this book is, for me, his best yet.
I bonded with all the characters and really could... READ MORE
The Cut by Chris Brookmyre
It seem to take me a while to get into this story and then it just clicked and I really enjoyed reading this book. The Cut by Chris Brookmyre has a tremen... READ MORE
Calling All Horror Movie Fans.
If you are a movie fan, you will like this book. If you are a horror movie fan, you will love it.
Special effects make up artist Millie has just completed ... READ MORE