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Rhona MacLeod #6
Final Cut
Where the hell had the kid found a human skull? McNab heard an intake of breath behind him as someone else made out the shape in the torchlight. A metre away now, McNab crouched on a level with the child. 'Where did you find that, Emma?' he said softly. She stared at him. 'I was lost. I heard them calling me.'
When Claire regains consciousness after a stranger causes her car to crash in a snowstorm, she is frantic to discover her nine-year-old daughter Emma missing from the back seat. Then Emma is found in the woods nearby, unharmed but cradling a child's skull. She claims it 'called to her' - and she can hear another voice nearby...
Meanwhile, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is trying to discover the identity of a corpse found badly burned in a skip. The body is wearing a soldier's ID tag, but DNA tests show it's not him. When DS Michael McNab asks for her help identifying the remains Emma found, they discover the two cases are linked in ways they could never have imagined...
Lin Anderson, author of DRIFTNET and EASY KILL, has written her most powerful novel to date.
When Claire regains consciousness after a stranger causes her car to crash in a snowstorm, she is frantic to discover her nine-year-old daughter Emma missing from the back seat. Then Emma is found in the woods nearby, unharmed but cradling a child's skull. She claims it 'called to her' - and she can hear another voice nearby...
Meanwhile, forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is trying to discover the identity of a corpse found badly burned in a skip. The body is wearing a soldier's ID tag, but DNA tests show it's not him. When DS Michael McNab asks for her help identifying the remains Emma found, they discover the two cases are linked in ways they could never have imagined...
Lin Anderson, author of DRIFTNET and EASY KILL, has written her most powerful novel to date.
262 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2009
98 people are currently reading
297 people want to read
About the author
Lin Anderson
72 books381 followersLin Anderson was born in Greenock of Scottish and Irish parents. A graduate of both Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities, she has lived in many different parts of Scotland and also spent five years working in the African bush. A teacher of Mathematics and Computing, she began her writing career four years ago. Her first film, Small Love, which was broadcast on STV, was nominated for TAPS writer of the year award 2001. Her African short stories have been published in the 10th Anniversary Macallan collection and broadcast on BBC Radio Four.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews
July 25, 2022
This book is the 6th episode of the "Rhona MacLeod" thriller series.
Storytelling is excellent, all characters are very believable and lifelike, and the technical details concerning forensic science as well as the wintry surroundings in and around Glasgow are wonderfully described and pictured within this great story.
This thriller is once again situated in and around Glasgow, with Dr Rhona MacLeod, her assistant, the heavily pregnant Chrissy, and DS Michael McNab in the heat of the action in this tale of murder and violence, especially from the Russian mafia when this story was published in 2009 and which looks much the same as what Vladimir Putin and his associates are doing right now with their oppressive policy.
At first it seems a simple case when Claire has a car accident and her daughter Emma becomes missing, but soon enough with DS Michael McNab help, they will be able to trace Emma while she's holding a child's skull in her hands.
Meanwhile forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is trying to establish the identity of a murdered burned man, that is found in a skip.
More and more they will discover that the two cases are somehow linked with each other, with on the one hand the killings of young children and on the other the Russian mafia at its ugliest and most lethal.
What is to follow is a fast-paced magnificent story with all the ups and downs that these cases will bring to make this a complete and suspenseful thriller, and on Goodreads I've read that someone doesn't know what the title is referring to, but I think that this title refers to the various ties between Dr Rhona MacLeod and DS Michael McNab that will be finally cut at the end of this gripping tale.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes a tremendous thriller, and because I've enjoyed this episode so very much, I would like to call it: "The Best Rhona MacLeod Outing Yet"!
Storytelling is excellent, all characters are very believable and lifelike, and the technical details concerning forensic science as well as the wintry surroundings in and around Glasgow are wonderfully described and pictured within this great story.
This thriller is once again situated in and around Glasgow, with Dr Rhona MacLeod, her assistant, the heavily pregnant Chrissy, and DS Michael McNab in the heat of the action in this tale of murder and violence, especially from the Russian mafia when this story was published in 2009 and which looks much the same as what Vladimir Putin and his associates are doing right now with their oppressive policy.
At first it seems a simple case when Claire has a car accident and her daughter Emma becomes missing, but soon enough with DS Michael McNab help, they will be able to trace Emma while she's holding a child's skull in her hands.
Meanwhile forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is trying to establish the identity of a murdered burned man, that is found in a skip.
More and more they will discover that the two cases are somehow linked with each other, with on the one hand the killings of young children and on the other the Russian mafia at its ugliest and most lethal.
What is to follow is a fast-paced magnificent story with all the ups and downs that these cases will bring to make this a complete and suspenseful thriller, and on Goodreads I've read that someone doesn't know what the title is referring to, but I think that this title refers to the various ties between Dr Rhona MacLeod and DS Michael McNab that will be finally cut at the end of this gripping tale.
Highly recommended to anyone who likes a tremendous thriller, and because I've enjoyed this episode so very much, I would like to call it: "The Best Rhona MacLeod Outing Yet"!
May 18, 2017
For reasons beyond my ken I read two or three early books in the Rhona McLeod series, then jumped to the later ones. I am now enjoyably playing catch-up with the middle ones, recognising that it is the development of relationships, the continuation of a cast of characters which really turn a series to something more addictive.
February 22, 2017
FINAL CUT (Rhona Macleod #6) by Lin Anderson.
Well-plotted, well-developed story line.
Complex characters with well-defined roles.
A fabulous sense of place - Glasgow is very nicely detailed - the good and bad parts.
The ending ‘knocked my socks off’. I had no clue.
I like this series. Each consecutive title gets better and better.
Well-plotted, well-developed story line.
Complex characters with well-defined roles.
A fabulous sense of place - Glasgow is very nicely detailed - the good and bad parts.
The ending ‘knocked my socks off’. I had no clue.
I like this series. Each consecutive title gets better and better.
April 9, 2021
Another strong entry in the series, that continues to go from strength to strength as it progresses. A slight reliance on coincidence in 2 disparite plots coming together can be overlooked by a powerful plot twist at the end. One side note: great book, but for the life of me I can't really figure out where the title comes from, it's like they decided just to give the book a generic thriller sounding title that has little to do with anything that happens in the book!
May 22, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up.
Next book in the Rhona McLeod series that I am keenly following, another solid story and well-narrated audiobook although I have to admit that I didn't like the theme of this one as much as I did some of the previous books. I didn't get along with the trope throughout the book, and although , I found it a bit frustrating at times. I did enjoy the scenes with the .
Next book in the Rhona McLeod series that I am keenly following, another solid story and well-narrated audiobook although I have to admit that I didn't like the theme of this one as much as I did some of the previous books. I didn't get along with the trope throughout the book, and although , I found it a bit frustrating at times. I did enjoy the scenes with the .
June 16, 2021
I accidently read this one before I should have so parts didn't make sense character wise and I wondered where magnus had suddenly sprung from.
Otherwise it was a solid novel and I enjoyed it. But oh the tragedy at the end, waaah!
Otherwise it was a solid novel and I enjoyed it. But oh the tragedy at the end, waaah!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 30, 2020
Even though The Final Cut is the sixth book in the Dr. Rhona MacLeod series, it’s the first of Lin Anderson’s thrillers I’ve read. It won’t be my last.
The story is filled with strong, but flawed characters, pretty much all of whom are highly relatable. I understand that Rhona and DS Michael McNab have a romantic history, and its demise here will mean more to readers who have read the previous novels in the series. But the remnants of a relationship that has run its course are clear to readers new to the books as well.
It’s easy to empathize with Rhona, Chrissy, and McNab. Not so easy to relate to the deranged killer, which is as it should be. Both Claire and her seemingly clairvoyant nine-year-old daughter, Emma, are more complex than they first appear, and in some ways, they create as many problems for Rhona and the rest of the investigating team as they do solutions. But in the end, Anderson’s characters are “real” with normal problems in life, who sometimes have the most trouble when they have to communicate with each other. You know, as normal people do.
The tension builds quickly and never lets up. This is the very definition of a page-turner. Even though we hear from the evil killer himself a few times in the book, and we see Rhona and McNab move ever closer to figuring it all out, I was caught completely by surprise by the ending. I’m guessing you will be too.
The story is filled with strong, but flawed characters, pretty much all of whom are highly relatable. I understand that Rhona and DS Michael McNab have a romantic history, and its demise here will mean more to readers who have read the previous novels in the series. But the remnants of a relationship that has run its course are clear to readers new to the books as well.
It’s easy to empathize with Rhona, Chrissy, and McNab. Not so easy to relate to the deranged killer, which is as it should be. Both Claire and her seemingly clairvoyant nine-year-old daughter, Emma, are more complex than they first appear, and in some ways, they create as many problems for Rhona and the rest of the investigating team as they do solutions. But in the end, Anderson’s characters are “real” with normal problems in life, who sometimes have the most trouble when they have to communicate with each other. You know, as normal people do.
The tension builds quickly and never lets up. This is the very definition of a page-turner. Even though we hear from the evil killer himself a few times in the book, and we see Rhona and McNab move ever closer to figuring it all out, I was caught completely by surprise by the ending. I’m guessing you will be too.
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June 14, 2023I have read a number of the Rhona MacLeod series and generally enjoy the plots but the more of these novels I read the more predictable they are becoming. I find it extremely frustrating how Rhona MacLeod repeatedly enters into dangerous situations, having obviously learnt nothing from her previous close encounters with danger. I do not fully understand why the author has written her character as a forensic pathologist (in Scotland), as her involvement in crime investigation is always beyond that, which in reality, that role would encompass (and I suspect the police would not tolerate). Why was her character not simply a police officer? I find many of the current authors of crime/police procedural series use very similar plots where the main female characters seem to repeatedly enter into dangerous situations without support and ignoring procedure and common sense. Very annoying to the point where I want to yell at them to stop being so arrogant and stupid! I do enjoy the McNab character though, despite his many flaws.
Read
August 24, 2025This series gets better and better. The first couple I found a bit average - not bad at all, but nothing exciting. But since around the fifth book they’ve really jumped up in quality.
This one is probably my first or second favourite so far. It has two cases, which are slightly linked (a bit of a weird coincidence but nothing too crazy) really nicely revealed to the reader. There are a few times I was worried about our characters. And by the end I’m pretty sure McNab is gone, Bill has retired, and Chrissie is out of action with her baby. I’m hoping Sean doesn’t return l, but Rhonda and Pirie work together a bit more. I love the returning characters (but still really dislike him having the same surname as Val McDermid’s main character in a very similar setting)
This one is probably my first or second favourite so far. It has two cases, which are slightly linked (a bit of a weird coincidence but nothing too crazy) really nicely revealed to the reader. There are a few times I was worried about our characters. And by the end I’m pretty sure McNab is gone, Bill has retired, and Chrissie is out of action with her baby. I’m hoping Sean doesn’t return l, but Rhonda and Pirie work together a bit more. I love the returning characters (but still really dislike him having the same surname as Val McDermid’s main character in a very similar setting)
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 7, 2023
This book broke my heart, and I don't think it will be unbroken in later books.
In a snowstorm a woman and her daughter are driving home from the hospice where her mother has been staying. She catches sight of a man on the road and when she swerves to avoid him her car skids and rolls. Her daughter is missing from the car and when McNab finds her she is cradling a young child's skull.
The russian mob are trying to get in to the Glasgow underworld and are involved in gambling, prostitution and murder.
Chrissie has her baby boy and Sam is now safe to return to Glasgow.
In a snowstorm a woman and her daughter are driving home from the hospice where her mother has been staying. She catches sight of a man on the road and when she swerves to avoid him her car skids and rolls. Her daughter is missing from the car and when McNab finds her she is cradling a young child's skull.
The russian mob are trying to get in to the Glasgow underworld and are involved in gambling, prostitution and murder.
Chrissie has her baby boy and Sam is now safe to return to Glasgow.
November 15, 2023
Excellent book in the series, I'm so glad I heard about this author. It's before Xmas, Christy is very pregnant, a huge snow stormageddon is stangling travel...but a little girl who was in a car wreck and found a skull is bonding with Michael and he's torn because the gravedigger has accused Bill of kicking him during his interview....Rhona has 2 deaths to solve, a man found in a skiff and the skull identification. And Michael and Rhona are they heating up again...so much happens and the book is not that long.
August 22, 2025
Snow in Scotland in winter. Why is a mother driving with her child in that weather? Well, she does, slides off the road, and her little girl goes missing for a while. When she is found she has ferreted out a human skull. Investigation ensues. We continue to check in with mum and daughter and just who might be following them.
The remote area is also used by some shady people. For some reason the crime story then includes a crooked gambling club in the city, and Russians.
This is a reasonable tale, longer than the earlier books in the series.
The remote area is also used by some shady people. For some reason the crime story then includes a crooked gambling club in the city, and Russians.
This is a reasonable tale, longer than the earlier books in the series.
July 23, 2022
When Claire regains consciousness after a stranger causes her car to crash in a snowstorm, she is frantic to discover her nine-year-old daughter Emma missing from the back seat. Then Emma is found in the woods nearby, unharmed but cradling a child's skull.
This book was very interesting. It dealt mostly with the dead child that Emma has seen. The dead child is explained and now makes sense but the real issue is McNab. Is he gone or is he back? I guess we will find out in the next book.
This book was very interesting. It dealt mostly with the dead child that Emma has seen. The dead child is explained and now makes sense but the real issue is McNab. Is he gone or is he back? I guess we will find out in the next book.
March 24, 2024
Listened to this as an audiobook, having listened to one by Ann cleves
and another by Ellie Griffith just before this one. It becomes very apparent when listening to these unabridged books that the quality of her writing is of higher quality than either of the others - a conclusion I hadn’t expected. I tend to read mystery fiction for relaxation and had previously thought highly of Anderson’s books but wasn’t expecting to hear such an apparent difference.
and another by Ellie Griffith just before this one. It becomes very apparent when listening to these unabridged books that the quality of her writing is of higher quality than either of the others - a conclusion I hadn’t expected. I tend to read mystery fiction for relaxation and had previously thought highly of Anderson’s books but wasn’t expecting to hear such an apparent difference.
February 1, 2022
I always enjoy books in the Rhona Mcleod series and Final Cut was a real gem.
The death of an important character leaves the readers wondering how the next book in the series will pan out.
The first appearance of the Russian Mafia in the series was both unexpected and violent.
Looking forward to book 7 now.
The death of an important character leaves the readers wondering how the next book in the series will pan out.
The first appearance of the Russian Mafia in the series was both unexpected and violent.
Looking forward to book 7 now.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 19, 2022
Set in Glasgow, a forensic pathologist works on identifying a dead soldier in a skip. This was a fast-paced read involving Scottish crooks, Russian mobsters, the works, and a determined detective working with the pathologist. A quick, good read. I'd read more by this author.
January 16, 2024
Another outstanding Rhona MacLeod novel by a brilliant author. There are twists galore in this tale and an unexpectedly sad ending that I just did not see coming. Anderson writes well and maintains your interest throughout. I’m so glad I discovered her work.
August 19, 2017
A young girl finds a skull, and a body is found burned in a skip. Rhona is the forensic specialist investigating both scenes, in snowy weather, and solving the crimes.
September 29, 2017
Great read as always
June 19, 2019
Another excellent book in the rhone McLeod series
November 13, 2020
I can't recommend Lin Anderson's books highly enough. They are fast paced, well written and completely absorbing - Final Cut was no exception!
February 11, 2021
Fantastic!
October 5, 2022
Good book
December 3, 2022
3-1/2 stars.
January 10, 2023
Return to form after the previous book in the series. Good mystery to unravel. Only downside is the copy I read had the original cover with the creepy broken doll and not the nice paperback reissue.
July 2, 2023
Enjoyed this compulsive read.
July 23, 2023
Another fine Glesca thriller
August 9, 2023
A very tense thriller.
March 11, 2024
Good read
Displaying 1 - 30 of 51 reviews