Cut to the Bone by Ellison Cooper
Actual Rating: 3.5
It’s been a while since I’ve enjoyed a crime/thriller novel but having just finished watching the American TV show Castle, I felt like I was in the perfect mood for something like this.
Cut to the Bone is the third of a series but it does work as a standalone mystery; I personally went into this one without reading any of the others yet — though I definitely will go back and read them now.
This book follows FBI agent Sayer Altair. When a full school bus suddenly goes missing and students start showing up dead in ritualistic murders, Sayer finds herself chasing after a serial killer. There’s also the mysterious Subject 037, the subject of a psychopathy study who is a little too invested in Sayer’s life. And to make matters worse, she runs straight into a government conspiracy that is way above her pay grade.
I sort of have mixed feelings about that last part; I love a good conspiracy thriller novel but I’m kind of torn between (1) liking that the book took the extra step to make its story more twisted and (2) thinking that it was just a little dramatic and over-the-top. Maybe it would’ve made more sense to me had I read the previous books and there had been hints, but as someone who went into this one blind, I found it difficult to suspend my disbelief there.
Other than that, I really liked the mystery itself, though I still didn’t necessarily find it mind-blowing. While I loved the Egyptian aspect and the plot itself, I still think that any mystery lover would be able to guess who the killer was once some suspect backstory was given.
The most intriguing part for me was undoubted Subject 037 and this would be the main reason I’d want to read the entire series. Nevertheless, I’d definitely recommend this book — but probably read in order.
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