The First Cut

 

by Ali Knight

Ali Knight’s books create a great sense for the reader of not knowing quite what’s happening or where the narrative is going. When I reviewed her last novel, ‘Wink Murder’, I commented that it had kept me guessing all the way through. 

The same is true of ‘The First Cut’ although the way the story is told is very different. In ‘Wink Murder’ we had a first person narrative, whereas in this latest book we have a third person narrative from more than one perspective. So the tension and the disconcerting sense of not being sure what is real and what isn’t is created in a different, but equally effective way.

The book opens with main character Nicky discovering the murdered body of her best friend Grace. This life-changing event spirals a sequence of events that lead Nicky into deeper and deeper danger.

Nicky consequently marries Grace’s husband Greg, a decision that she may live to regret, and then gets tangled up with the young and good-looking Adam. But can she trust either of them? And who is it who’s really out to get her?

Fast-paced and genuinely scary in places, the plot will keep you guessing as AIi Knight teases out more and more strands of a complex story which takes in the colourful character’s of both Greg’s and Adam’s families and some dark events from the past that won’t let go of the present.

With this book you’ll feel the fear and almost believe you can feel the pain as Nicky undergoes both mental, emotional and physical trials, all of which are vividly portrayed.

A very enjoyable read.

Many thanks to the publisher for a review copy of this book.