The First Cut

Nan Vining Mysteries #1

by Dianne Emley

For two minutes she was dead.

The assailant was vicious, the attack brutal—and it left her lifeless . . . until her pulse fluttered and she jolted awake. Now, a year later, detective Nan Vining is still questioning her strength, her safety, even her sanity: Can she ever again be the cop—and mother—she was before? And will her attacker someday return to finish the job, before she can track him down herself?

Shaky but determined, Vining rejoins the Pasadena PD, only to confront a murder case that strikes close to home: A slain policewoman has been discovered beneath the Colorado Street Bridge, her body bruised, her throat slit. Even as Vining struggles to recover her standing within the department, she can’t help but feel profoundly drawn to the murdered officer, Frankie Lynde—and she is deeply troubled by the baffling otherworldly visions that haunt her waking hours. Are these mere fever dreams? Or could they be, as Vining’s daughter insists, messages from beyond the grave?

Digging deeper into Lynde’s past, Vining discovers clues that set her on the twisted trail of a killer as ruthless as he is depraved—a predator whose methods and madness recall those of her own attacker. Amid a rising tide of danger, she pushes herself to bold new limits, desperate to avenge the murder of a fellow police officer . . . and to reclaim the life she lost a year ago.

Packed with suspense and action, this pulse-pounding novel will hold you breathless from the first cut to the last.

Praise for The First Cut
 
“The First Cut should immediately establish Dianne Emley in the front ranks of thriller writers. . . . A great read.”—Michael Connelly
 
“Gritty, intense, and hard-edged, The First Cut is first-rate.”—Tess Gerritsen
 
“Action-packed, with plenty of suspense and enough twists and turns to keep the reader guessing long into the night.”—Lisa Jackson
 
“An edge-of-your-seat plot . . . nicely developed characters and genuine suspense elevate this impressive crime debut.”—Kirkus Reviews

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Crime, Ebooks, Suspense

352 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Los Angeles Times bestselling author Dianne Emley is a Los Angeles native, growing up in the multicultural Northeast side, where she attended public schools. She earned a B.A. in Philosophy and an MBA, both from UCLA, and has held a variety of day jobs, mostly in business middle management. For years during the early morning before she headed to the office, she wrote fiction. Her first book, Cold Call, a mystery about Iris Thorne, a sexy, single L.A. investment counselor in the "greed is good" late 1980s, was sold at auction to Pocket Books/Simon and Schuster and published in 1993. It was followed by four more in that series.

Dianne was inspired to take her writing in a new direction and began writing about Nan Vining—a haunted and driven homicide detective and single mom. The first in the series, The First Cut (2006), was a Los Angeles Times bestseller and hit #1 on Amazon. Currently, there are six books in the Nan Vining series.

The Night Visitor, a standalone paranormal mystery, was published in 2014.

Critics around the world have praised Dianne's books, which have been published in 20 countries and translated into six languages: "A gripping page-turner..." (Library Journal); "Expertly plotted... redolent with suspense and action..." (Florida Sun-Sentinel); "A superior piece of storytelling..." (Los Angeles Times); "Relentless suspense..." (Booklist).

Dianne lives in the Central California wine country with her husband where she writes full time and is a pretty good cook, an amateur oenophile, and a terrible golfer.

Reviews

[Petrea Burchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

Do not read a Dianne Emley mystery alone at night. This one scared the heck out of me, especially because I know the locations of which she speaks. Yikes!

Petrea Burchard
Camelot & Vine

[Kerry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Loved it. Loved it.

[T.M. Carper · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best debut novels I've read in a while. I picked it because of the blurbs on the cover from several authors I read and whose work I love (such as Lisa Gardner, whose blurb is on the front cover) and I thought I'd give it a shot.



From the beginning scene with Frankie, through meeting Nany Vining, a cop who was officially dead for two minutes after an on-duty attack by a man named "T.B. Mann" (or "The Bad Man") by Nan and her 14 yr old daughter, Emily, and seeing the crimes play out through the eyes of the witness the police call "Lolitia", this thriller is a non-stop ride from start to finish. Even though it's 400 pages, the pages of this book fly by and leaving you wanting more of Emley's work since the mystery of who T.B. Mann is and why he went after Nan is left unsolved in this novel.



Instead, this novel focuses on Nan returning to work and dealing with the panic attacks and occasional messages from the dead. On her first day back, she gets caught up in the murder investigation of an LAPD vice cop whose body was found weeks after her disappearance. Nan's investigation brings her up against a powerful, rich man with dark tastes when it comes to sex and a newly awakened thrist for murder, similar to "American Psycho".



Fully of details, life-like characters, and an engagning voice and pace, this well-plotted suspense tale keeps the reader on the edge of their seat. I've already purchased Emley's other two novels and she's clearly an author to watch.

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

An outstanding police-procedural thriller by a writer who should be much better known. Pasadena police homicide detective Nan Vining returns to work one year after having barely survived a stabbing, only to confront a murder case uncomfortably like her own experience. We know who the killer is early on; the suspense is in whether Vining and her colleagues will identify and stop him before he kills more women. Well-portrayed characters, good prose, plenty of twists and turns.

[Jackie Baller · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Dianne Emley's I read. Well, that first book lead to the next one and so on. I love all of her books and have been waiting impatiently for the next Nan Vining book. Lucky for me I found Dianne Emley's Iris Thorn mysteries, and then was able to read her new book The Night Visitor. All of Dianne Emley's books are great and I enjoyed them all. I'm however back to waiting impatiently for her next Nan Vining book to be published. LOL

[Sheila · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nan has just returned to work as a detective for the Pasadena Police after recovering from being attacked. Her very first case is the investigation of the murder of a fellow policewoman. What Nan isn't telling her fellow officers is that she is still having panic attacks.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Nan Vining book I read was Killing Secrets, since I'm stickler for reading a series in order, I had to read The First Cut. And I was not disappointed! Diane Emely has quickly become a go to author for crime thrillers. If you're a Karin Slaughter fan, you'll love this series!

[Patty_pat · Rating 3 out of 5]

La detective Nan Vining rientra in servizio dopo un anno di congedo, a causa della aggressione subita in una casa che le ha lasciato due vistose cicatrici e una terribile paura, nonché un notevole cambio di prospettive di vita. Viene immediatamente buttata nella mischia visto l'omicidio di una poliziotta piuttosto brutale. Il colpevole viene immediatamente indicato al lettore e la nostra detective ha delle “illuminazioni” quasi paranormali che la aiutano nella sua indagine. Libro gradevole ma lontano anni luce da altri del settore. L'unico personaggio ben inquadrato e descritto è la protagonista, sugli altri niente da dire, perché non rimangono proprio impressi! Ho il seguito che leggerò sicuramente mentre gli altri non sono stati tradotti in italiano. Meglio, così non ho dubbi se farmi tentare dalla lettura o meno!

[Lynn Spencer]

This novel sounded like it could have been interesting. The series centers on a police detective who flatlined briefly after being attacked in a vacant home. After having time off to recover, Nan Vining is back to work, albeit with a new tendency to paranormal visions. The story had all the elements of a thrilling mystery but I just could not get into it. After putting this book down repeatedly, I just gave up.

[Pierre Prisset · Rating 3 out of 5]

Un bon thriller sans plus

[Elaine Nickolan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh boy, where do I begin? This was one of those books that caught my attention and I just wanted to keep reading, even getting so bleary eyed I couldn't see anymore. I got this book on ebay along with installment 2 and 4. In the middle of reading this I found #3 on ebay and bought it.
Nan Vining is a detective who is returning to work after a horrific attack that left her clinically dead for 2 minutes. She wants to get back to work, even though she is still dealing with the mental baggage from the attack. The very first case she is put on is one involving a female police officer killed in a way too close to Nans memories.
As Nan works the case she must deal with people that are wondering how effective she can be, an old flame, and the usual protective nature of her higher ups for people that may not deserve it.
I found this book fast paced and quick to read since I never wanted to put it down. I think I have found another good series to follow

[Elusive · Rating 2 out of 5]

In ‘The First Cut’, officer Frankie Lynde is found brutally murdered underneath the Colorado Street Bridge. Detective Nan Vining feels connected to Frankie mainly because she had once been a victim of a vicious shooting. As Nan and her colleagues do their best to hunt down the murderer, she is also plagued by unexplainable visions and sounds as well as lightheadedness.

Although the case certainly had the potential to be intriguing and suspenseful, the writing itself completely ruined that possibility. I found the writing style to be incredibly unappealing because it was quite dry, long-winded and directionless. The details regarding what had happened to Nan were gradually revealed but they were simply too drawn out for my liking. Plus, there were a couple of flashbacks involving her traumatizing experience and what Frankie had experienced prior to her death but those were poorly incorporated as the transition from the present to the past was choppy.

Besides that, there were way too many characters working on one case and none of them were remotely interesting or distinguishable. It didn’t help that the author referred to each character by their respective surnames. Therefore, in the beginning I didn’t always remember whether some characters were male or female. What particularly grated me was the fact that Nan was referred to as Vining. She was already written in such a way that made her come across as boring and forgettable thus it was hard to relate to her or even care about her. At the very least, using her first name might have helped lessen the effect of feeling disconnected to her.

The main thing that truly bothered me was how Nan finally figured out the identity of the perpetrator and his wife. After chasing several possible leads and getting nowhere, she latched onto a guy for absolutely no reason except that she was unable to dismiss him as a suspect. Of course, it turned out that her hunch was right! For a crime story, such guesswork or intuition was extremely unacceptable. If she was anything but a detective, I might have been able to let that slip but in this case, I couldn’t. It was a disappointing way to solve a crime, not to mention lazy writing on the author’s part.

Overall, ‘The First Cut’ was a lengthy, dreary read due to the one-dimensional characters and uninspiring writing. Plus, the lack of logic and proper investigative techniques were aggravating. This book is definitely not worth the time.

[J. Else · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the concept of a female officer haunted, literally, by the murdered woman of a case she's working. I thought there were some very spooky and electrifying moments for the main character. The main character, Nan Vining, was nearly killed in the line of duty, and since then, has had an otherworldly connection. I found some good moments.

However, the main character is constantly working alone. There are few relationships to help reveal different sides of Officer Vining. The different characters in the Pasadena PD are not memorable, and I found it hard to keep them straight.

This book is also extremely serious. There is no kidding around or funny scenes. I think a few jokes are attempted, but they are dry.

The book follows both Officer Vining as well as the murderer, who is consistently sexually abusing women. Its not a fun thing to read. The two points of view did not work for me. I think Emley should have kept with Vining's point of view. It would have helped developed the other side characters.

The backstory reveals were disjointed dumps of info. The flow between past and present was not always clear. So sometimes I had to backtrack and re-read sections to figure out where I was within the timeline.

Overall I think this series will develop with character personalities filling out and relationships solidifying. There were hints at uncovering Officer Vining's attacker in between the murder investigation. I liked that the story was not so narrow a focus. However, at times the execution did not work for me. I also was not connected to the characters within the story.

I think the supernatural moments were not as strong a plot driver as they should have been. Because if Officer Vining is going to have this ability, make it useful. Otherwise, its just white noise.

[Debbie Oxier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nan Vining was a cop. She'd been on the job responding to a call when she was ambushed and stabbed in the neck. She flat lined for two minutes. Now she's trying to put her life back together, hiding her panic attacks, continuing to assure her daughter she's fine. Her first day back to work, she accompanies her superior to a crime scene. The dead body is a member of vice, Frankie Lynde. She'd gotten involved with the wrong people, crossed too many lines and had paid the price. Now it was up to Nan and her former lover, Jim Kissick to find the bad guys. A really entertaining read. The mystery was rock solid, the characters ones I look forward to reading about in the next book. The author does a good job of telling her story and tying up all the loose ends. There's also the spectre of Nan' s attacker lurking in the background since he's still running free. This is one book I would recommend.

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was very excited that the heroine of this book was a police officer and truly involved in the investigation on legitimate terms, but she is a very troubled police officer, and the murders were so gory, that I did not enjoy the book as much as I wanted to. This book reads a bit like an episode of Law and Order: Criminal Intent; you get to see things from both the murderer's point of view and the police detective's point of view, which is very cool. However, the featured bad guys were two brutal serial killers - one who liked to kill female police officers and another who sexually brutalized and degraded women for weeks before killing them - and at the end of the novel, only one of those serial killers has been captured. I did not put the book down at any point with warm fuzzies. Too gruesome for me; I don't think I'll be reading any of the sequels.

[Black Butterfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIS BOOK MADE ME THINK ABOUT ALL THE PROBLEMS WE HAVE TODAY WITH POLICE SHOOTINGS. I DON’T THINK IT WILL EVER BE SOLVED BUT WE DO NEED THEM. THE JOB THEY DO IS SOMETHING I COULDN’T IMAGINE DOING THAT DAILY, IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE MENTAL PROBLEMS TO BEGIN WITH THAT WOULD SURELY MAKE SOME. NAN I THINK IS BOARDERLINE CRACKING UP, SHE WAS SAD AND DEPRESSING. I REALLY DID NOT LIKE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS IT WAS SOMETHING OFF ABOUT ALL OF THEM, THEY WERE A SCARY BUNCH. THEY ALL REMINDED ME OF THE CHARACTER FISH IN THE OLD TV SHOW “BARNEY MILLER” A SAD SACK. THIS WAS A BIT TRAVEL LOGISH AT TIMES DRAGGED THE STORY FOR ME. ;]

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another serial killer novel. I liked this one. I also liked the main character Detective Nan Vining. (she's had a brush with death and her own serial killer. you get that part of the story mostly in 'flashbacks'...i'm interested in reading all about the search for T.B. Mann if Ms. Emley chooses to write that part of the story) This one got me hooked from the first chapter. Sex, drugs and very evil man. With enough twists and turns to keep my mind going. I would definitely read another book by this author.

[Kristy Trauzzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of mystery novels I've read have the cops just acting on a hunch. They just feel "it" and "it" becomes the culprit. Do cops really work like that? This was such a twisted novel. I find it so interesting to read about how one person has all the power, and he / she finds a partner that is so vulnerable that he/she is willing to do ANYTHING to stay with said person. i find it so interesting to try and figure out how they know exactly what to look for, and how to know exactly what to do to get someone to be their puppet. So neat.

[Bertha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intense, powerful and suspenseful are some of the words to describe Dianne Emley's book The First Cut. It's the first book in a series featuring Detective Nan Vining. The mystery in this book is not who the killer is but when and how the detectives figure it out. The reader is told who the murderer is about half way into the book and it's interesting to see how the police come up with the killer. The book had well define characters and a story that was well written and fast reading. I can't wait to read the rest of the books in the series.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

For some reason I decided to buy this book even though I hadn't heard of the author before (I tend to stick to authors I know and love). I'm so pleased I did, I was hooked from the start. I read books for entertainment and relaxation, I like to escape and not think about or worry about anything else. It was a book that I didn't really want to put down, I loved the story line and the twists.

That's what I love about novels, escaping and getting right in there with the story.

[Janet]

I'm only on page 13 and it decided to can this book. That's a real record for me. I usually continue on, sometimes even when the book isn't so good.
I can tell this isn't my cup of tea with it's ugly sex and evidently there's going to be some nasty violence coming.
I'm hardly a prude having enjoyed the the 70s and 80s as a single woman. That was when you could enjoy relationships without worrying about dying from AIDS.
But I was never interested in pure raunch.

[Jacqui · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this sitting on my bookshelf unread since at least 2007. I was tempted to donate it but I'm really glad I didn't cause it was a very surprising 5-star 🌟 read. The story was fast-paced but without losing any of the character development. I really liked all the central characters so I'm planning to at least read the next book in the series (if I can find it as they may no longer be in print).

Memorable Quotes

"... she dutifully saluted the uniform, not the man."

[Jennie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second book that I have read by this author. Nan Vining has just returned to work after being attacked while on duty by a serial killer. Even though I read the last book in the series first, this book was still wonderful. The characters are mostly the same and Nan is trying to solve another murder which involved another policewoman.

[Loretta K. Allen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read looking forward to reading more

As. Native Southern California San Gabriel Valley native and having worked in Pasadena for many years I enjoyed reading this first novel in the series it is fast paced a psychological thriller that really pulls you in
On to the second one in the series

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very exciting but at the same time kinda disturbing. FYI do not read this while alone at the laundry mat it will be very creepy....or maybe that's just me getting too involved in a book about a psycho serial killer.

[Joe O'Connor · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent; Continuing character: Nanette Vining (first in series); a detective recently back on duty after nearly being killed, deals with flashbacks and panic attacks while helping on the case of a raped and murdered policewoman by a sadistic, but connected, killer

[Emily Gerard · Rating 5 out of 5]

I looooove this book and it kicked off me having to find the rest in the series. Found this at a book sale and I was hooked from the beginning. Worth a read if you’re into crime thrillers. The Nan Vining series isn’t just worth a read, it’s worth a re-read.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

the genre is police v. horrific serial killer. it's particularly well-done with a woman Pasadena police officer heroine.

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nan Vining Police Detective Pasadena PD -- #1 -- almost killed -- pearl necklace

Police Woman Frankie Lynde murdered.

John Lesley & Pussycat

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pool read. Would definitely read the sequel "Cut to the Quick"