The Cut

by 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.

Genres: Crime, Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Audiobook, Scotland, Book Club

416 pages, Hardcover

First published March 4, 2021

About the author

AKA Christopher Brookmyre

Reviews

[Paromjit · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chris Brookmyre's latest standalone crime thriller is a dark, tense and exciting affair, about an unlikely relationship that blossoms between the two narrators, 72 year old Millicent 'Millie' Sparks, once a gifted film special effects make up artist within the horror genre, now a depressed woman planning her exit from a world that feels alien and threatening, and troubled young petty criminal, film buff and student, Jerome,'Jerry', feeling out of place on his course, self sabotaging his future, unwilling to perform to the best of his ability. At the age of 45 in 1994, Millie was convicted of the murder of her lover, Markus Laird, in her bed after a drugs and drink fuelled night. She had no memory of what happened and all efforts to proclaim her innocence fall on deaf ears and result in her spending almost 25 years in prison.

After unexpectedly coming across an old photograph that makes her question what happened in the past at the Roman Fort Hotel, Millie becomes consumed with the desire to find out the truth. Jerry comes from a background of social deprivation, brought up by his grandmother who ran a video store that ignited his obsession with the horror genre. This triggered his interest and curiosity about a horror film that was never released, Mancipium, directed by acclaimed giallo Italian director, Alessandro Salerno, one of the most horrific movies ever made, of such evil, a movie that generated outlandish rumours and gossip in the absence of barely any facts, such as many apparently involved in its production and those who saw it dying. After shocking events that have Millie once again in inescapable and grave danger, Jerry and Millie travel to Paris and Italy, to discover the truth of what really happened in her past, as they trade lines with each other from famous movies.

Brookmyre expertly weaves between the past and present in this superb and riveting thriller packed with suspense and tension, and in the flawed Millie and Jerry, he creates complex, compulsive and charismatic characters that I became totally invested in. The two of them meet at a point in their lives that they have hit rock bottom, and the desperate circumstances they find themselves in push them together and begin to see possibilities that just might make life worth living once again, although Jerry harbours a secret that is likely to blow their strong friendship apart. Once again, Brookmyre has written a entertaining and engaging thriller, full of twists and turns, that kept me turning the pages as fast as possible. As I was reading this, I felt faint echoes of Denise Mina's Conviction, a novel that I loved. Fans of the author will adore this, and so will many who have yet to discover his writing. Highly recommended! Many thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not many people can pull off a comedy thriller but Chris Brookmyre is one of them. Peppered with his trademark Scottish vernacular and witty repartee, this stand alone story is golden. Millie (Millicent) Spark is planning to kill herself very soon. She has been out for a year after serving a 24 year sentence for killing her boyfriend in 1994 although she never admitted to the crime. She certainly can’t remember doing it. But now at 72 years of age, and with her only remaining family member, her beloved brother Alistair, dead, she feels there is not much left to live for.

Until she meets Jerome (Jerry). Millicent lives with Vivien and Carla, also elderly ladies, and they have advertised a room for rent in their very nice house. Enter Jerry, a student of film and politics at Glasgow Uni. The women can’t work out why Jerry would want to live with them but Jerry is desperate to get out of the halls of residence. He feels really out of place among the posh students and anyway, he was raised by his dear departed granny. But Millicent and Jerry have something in common - Jerry loves the old horror movies and metal music. And Millie was a special effects make-up artist for a lot of those old horror movies and she lived ‘the life’ until her incarceration.

A chance sighting of a photo on the wall of a refurbished hotel saves Millicent’s life, well that and Jerome’s intervention. She is about to leave the others and go home to do the deed when she sees a photo of a group, including the deceased boyfriend, dated AFTER his death. And so begins the adventure. She defers her date with death to work out what happened, who Markus really was and maybe even who killed him. She learns a lot more than she bargained for. Soon after, Jerry saves her life (again) but they have go on the run. Their adventures takes us from the sleazy back lots of schlock horror movies to the glittering parties of the rich and famous and many places in between. Along the way Millicent learns to live again and Jerry realises he has something to offer the world. Their unlikely alliance was a thing of beauty - nothing saccharin about it, little old Millicent gave as good as she got. The movie references were cleverly woven the narrative and I got most but not all of them. Now if only they could escape the hit men chasing them and get away with their lives.

This was another bonkers book, funny, heartwarming in a black humour sort of way, thrilling, convoluted and just really enjoyable. Age is no barrier to having fun and being useful - both for the old and the young. One thing I would mention - you need to be alert while reading, there are many little clues that are not so obvious, very cleverly done! Highly recommended to thriller lovers especially if you have enjoyed Brookmyre’s books before. If you haven’t read any of them - polish your funny bone and jump in. Thanks to Netgalley, Little, Brown Book Group UK and Chris Brookmyre for my review copy. My opinions are my own.

[Ceecee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millicent Sparks was a special effects make up artist for movies especially containing violence. One fateful morning she woke up to find her boyfriend Markus Laird had been murdered as she lay asleep beside him. She denied killing him but served twenty four years in prison for murder. She now lives in Glasgow with loyal friend Vivian and when an advertisement for a room to rent in her house brings student Jerry Kelly, a film buff, into her orbit. They develop a rapport and after a chance discovery they set off on a dangerous journey to prove Millicent is innocent.

I think the thing I like most about the book is the characters of Jerry and Millicent. When they first meet it’s a highly entertaining game of verbal tennis with Millicent’s hapless jobsworth social worker rushing to get the lobs. There is much good dark humour between them. It takes a while to get into the story but after the chance discovery the mystery deepens and becomes more intriguing and you have many questions about where it all starts to go wrong for Millicent. It appears to link to the making of an unreleased and violent film called ‘Mancipium’ in 1993. The story of the making of the film is very dark and unsavoury, think Weinstein and you get the picture. There are some interesting reflections on the impact of video nasties on key court cases at this time which is thought provoking. There are some good sections where there is fear, some jaw dropping discoveries and it gets twisty and twistier with some excitement such as that which Hollywood may produce. The end is clever and unexpected as we’ve been led up some blind alleys.

However, much as there are some really good elements it cuts from one time frame to another which makes the cutting choppy. There is so much going on it’s convoluted and there are so many characters and threads my head spins with the effort of keeping up. There are sections especially in the making of Mancipium that are longwinded and don’t especially interest me. There are way too many film references between Jerry and Millicent which someone more au fait with movies may enjoy more than I do.

Overall, it’s good though I think it’s overloaded. There are lots of dark undertones such as racism, plenty of obvious overtones like control, blackmail, secrecy, faceless enemies and lack of morality in movie making at points in time but at its busy core is an interesting story of murder, coverups and corruption.

With thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group for the arc for an honest review.

[Andrew Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review first published on mysteryandsuspense.com

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 question of how we get there? Perhaps, but beware - this is a book that will require you to keep your wits about you, to be observant, and to read between the lines. Even then I’ll be surprised if you’re able to predict how this one will play out.

We’re introduced to two people, both misfits, in their own way. Jerry is a young man studying for a Film and Television degree at Glasgow University. He was brought up by his late grandmother in a village some thirty miles south of the city, his feckless mother having abandoned him early on. Having been lured into petty crime by a local hard case, he decided to leave that world behind following a burglary that went badly wrong. But though he enjoys his course, he’s struggling to adapt to living alongside students from more affluent backgrounds. Millicent is a seventy two year old former special effects make-up artist who has worked on numerous low-budget horror films. She’s lost all of her confidence following a forced period of confinement, and these days, just the thought of popping into a café to buy a cup of coffee is likely to induce panic.

Jerry is keen to escape from his halls of residence, and when a house sharing opportunity arises, he finds himself thrown together with Millicent and two other elderly ladies. A shared love of films quickly cements a loose alliance between Jerry and Millicent. It’s now that the skeletons in their respective closets start to rattle: the reasons for Millicent’s prior confinement is a lurking timebomb whilst Jerry’s lawbreaking past might be about to catch up with him. From this point on, the story goes into overdrive as events force the pair to take drastic action. Woven into the story is the search for a copy of a legendary horror film, apparently it’s so scary that it was banned from release and is surrounded by more rumours and supposed curses than Tutankhamun’s tomb. What a tangled web this is.

I was really drawn to the relationship between this young man and his much older sidekick. I found myself feeling sympathetic to the plight of both of them, and the dialogue between them is sharp and funny too. And the action comes thick and fast in the second half of this story, with the slight downside that more and more characters are introduced (thus forcing me to resort to note taking in an attempt to keep up). But the flow, though complex and requiring the reader to swallow a couple of improbable coincidences, follows a logical enough path, and ultimately, the tale’s clever dénouement successfully ties off most loose ends.

Chris Brookmyre is fine writer, his successful series featuring investigative journalist Jack Parlabane is testament to his longevity and his standalone novel Fallen Angel is perhaps the best mystery I've read in the last couple of years. Here, he provides a gripping storyline replete with expertly drawn characters, a good helping of dark humour, and a plotline intricate enough to satisfy even the most avid armchair sleuth.

My thanks to Little, Brown Book Group UK and NetGalley for supplying a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Javier · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review published in: https://diagnosisbookaholic.blogspot....

I had never heard about Chris Brookmyre until I saw the ARC for "The Cut" on NetGalley a few months back. The synopsis sounded so interesting I had to request it even though I didn't have any references about the author or his previous work.

The story take off with a bang when we discover that someone is dead, then going backwards a few days to find out how that murder came to happen.

There are two very distinctive parts in this novel. First half is more of a character driven story and, imo, it could have been shortened a little bit as pace was a bit slow and nothing much happened plot wise. I think this may be a deterrent to some readers that might think about DNFing it then. The second half really picks up the pace and it turns into a cat and mouse chase around Europe with Millicent and Jerry trying to find out what happened 25 years ago when Millie was sent to prison for killing his boyfriend.

Millicent and Jerry were two great leads. Although their relationship was a bit weird at first (a 72 yo and a 18 yo running together around Europe trying to solve a 25 yo murder?), crazy as it sounded it really worked and both of them grew up on me as the story progressed. Their dialogue was full of wit and banter and with some doses of black humor that made it even more enjoyable. All the movie references went a little bit over my head, but I'm sure all movie buffs will appreciate them.

The flashbacks to the 90s, around the time of the murder, were a bit harder to follow especially because of the large number of characters (I should have taken notes). The resolution was a bit convoluted but once all the puzzle pieces started to fall into place I realized I had missed some clues that were there. There were a couple of coincidences that may require suspension of disbelief.

The epilogue made a reference to the pandemic but seeing as it did not add anything to the story (I don't remember we're told when the story is taking place exactly) it felt a little bit forced.

Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown Book Group UK for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Nigel · Rating 4 out of 5]

In brief - Close to classic Brookmyre - very enjoyable.

In full
The Cut is set around films and horror ones particularly. It has two narrators. Jerry, young, and a rather light fingered student of film. Millicent, far older, and was a make-up artist on 80s horror films; she was accused of murdering her boyfriend and served a long sentence for the crime. As I write this I'm thinking that this does not sound like my sort of book. I'm not a "film" person and dislike horror particularly. However these rather off the wall ingredients made for a decent read in my mind.

The chapters follow Jerry and Millicent's stories. Some are in current time and some relate to earlier periods in their lives. In the case of Millicent she tends to be known as Millie in her pre prison life. However when we meet Jerry he is a new student who is not really getting on with his fellow students. He used to be something of a burglar and is still light fingered. Millicent is living with two other older ladies and is clearly rather agoraphobic. She is considering suicide. This is not really giving anything much away as this is all revealed within the first 3/4 chapters.

I've been a fan of Brookmyre's books for some years now. Up until this some of the more recent ones have not grabbed me in the way that his early work did. For me parts of this hark back some of the first books I read which I found highly entertaining. Indeed some aspects of this - particularly the interactions between Jerry and Millicent - are really very funny. They are an unlikely "couple" however they are well written and I found them perfectly convincing. They are actually rather edgy characters too.

There is often a very dark dry wit present here and it makes for an entertaining read in the main. I did find parts, particularly of the historical side of Millie's story, a little slow/convoluted at times. Other parts were pacey, edgy and amusing. Long term fans of Brookmyre should enjoy this and it is perfectly accessible to those new to the author.

Note - I received an advance digital copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair review

[Sofia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stage magic where what you see is not what you get. A great play of mirrors.

My first Brookmyre, so very eagerly read, not because I know Brookmyre because I don't. It was the story, totally the story.

A very aptly named story, so fitting on so many levels. Lots of cuts, physical, mental, editing cuts. Just open up the cut and let it's meanings pour out and then build up a story. Yep a great story with interesting protagonists who draw me into their story, their hopes, their fears and left me engaged and unwilling to leave even when the popcorn finished.

Off on a tangent. This year I've read three crime thrillers with old people as major protagonists, this one, Exit and Death in Her Hands I do not know if this is because I've just opened my eyes to older people and so am ready to read these books or if they have just become a fashion and authors are really writing more stories with old ones.

An ARC gently given by the author/publisher via Netgalley

[Algernon · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you wake up covered in blood, a knife on the floor, your head full of pills and vodka, lying in bed alongside the body of your boyfriend who’s been stabbed to death, in a fifthfloor flat that’s locked from the inside, it’s kind of hard to say: ‘It’s not what it looks like.’

Millicent Spark, make-up artist and murderer, has been set free after twenty-four years spent in the gaol for a crime she still considers herself innocent of. From an active, successful, creative professional woman of early middle age she has become a frail, agoraphobic, self-doubting old granny that seems unable to deal with the outside world after half a lifetime of prison. Millie decides not to be a burden on the two old ladies who have taken her in after her last relative died. After all, she has been practically dead to the world since 1994, since that morning when she woke up covered in the blood of her boyfriend. It’s better to accept her fate and exit the scene on her own terms.

When you have not known it for so long, freedom can be a terrifying thing.

Millie’s suicidal plans are interrupted by the new lodger her two friends have invited to share their apartment. Jerry is another type of loner, entering the picture from the opposite direction: an eighteen year old orphan who came to Glasgow to escape from a dangerous criminal career in breaking and entering and to study film at the local university, as he promised his late grandmother.

Milie and Jerry are as yet unaware that they share a common passion for ‘video nasties’, as the horror movies from the late 70s to early 80s have been labelled by an easily offended press. Then Millie finds an old photograph from 1994, and the events that led to her imprisonment are sharply brought back into focus.
That atrocious murder is still making waves after all these years, when Millie’s innocent questions about the photograph stir up a nest of vipers, bent on resuming their killer spree.

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I’ve been a longtime fan of Christopher Brookmyre, both of his Parlabane series and of his stand-alone novels. Even so, ‘The Cut’ feels a cut above his usual fare : better plotted, more restrained in the social commentary, a bit more serious than his usual tongue-in-cheek delivery but in this way also more effective in the use of black humour and snarky dialogue.
I was a bit unsure in the beginning about the extensive use of flashbacks to the time of the original murder, but I was easily carried forward in the story by the excellent interaction between two circumspect loners. Millie and Jerry have a lot more in common that the ages stamped on their passport would warrant and the opening quote from Oscar Wilde is well chosen:

The tragedy of old age is not that one is old, but that one is young.

When push comes to shove, Millie finds the fires of her spirit were only dimmed, not extinguished, and Jerry has had to grow up fast among the street gangs of his childhood. The two amateur sleuths set out to find out why somebody is still ready to kill rather than answer questions about the 1994 case. Most of the clues point in the direction of the last movie Millicent Spark worked on as a special effects artist, in the days before CGI offered easy (and fake) solutions.

That horror movie, ‘Mancipium’ , was never officially released, and on the internet grapevine it has the reputation of being cursed: almost everybody linked to the movie has died or disappeared shortly after production finished and the original reels were stolen.

‘Arguably the first ever special effect used on film was decapitation,’ Millie told her. ‘Thomas Edison’s The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots in 1895.’

The novel scored major geek points with me for the evocation of the horror scene of my VCR watching youth: from the exploitation movies of the seventies to the Italian productions of Cinecitta, from lavish parties in Cannes to discussions of gore make-up and realistic blood spills. Millie and Jerry easily score points off each other in conversations meant to establish who has the best trove of trivia about the movie industry.

... well, actually, you have to ask yourself what kind of sick mind derives gratification from seeing people being butchered.

Brookmyre manages to include in the discussion the controversies surrounding this genre, including the fake outrage pushed by the scandal sheets, the dubious financing and Mob connections of the producers, the forced prostitution and the backdoor deals that secured distribution, the use of drugs and bribery, the attraction some men in power felt for the lavish lifestyle of the movie people.

‘You ask me, that’s the real reason Freddy is drawing out his interest in this movie. He can get his rocks off far from the prying eyes of the same reporters and paparazzi his daddy would be training on anyone else.’

Another plus for the story, even compared with other books written by Brookmyre, is the clever way he points the reader in the right direction, without showing all the cards he holds in his hand. One of the chapters is titled ‘Plain Sight’ , an oblique reference to a series of carefully placed stage props: a hammer, a newly bought make-up kit, a wheelchair, the poster from that unreleased horror movie. Like ‘Checkov’s gun’ these items are there for a purpose. It may not be the role you expect, but the clue is there to draw your attention.

What else can I say without giving away major spoilers? The author’s early training in investigative journalism is still serving him well in doing a thorough research and in making the power-play connections between crime and corporate interests. ( ‘You really need to catch up with modern politics, Millicent.’ ) . Between the lines, or in plain textual reference, you can catch digs at the current British Prime-Minister and the post-truth era in politics, the role of the press in promoting conspiracy theories.

‘The reason people don’t value facts is because they belong to everyone. Myths and rumours feel like secret knowledge, and so people prize them more’

His Glaswegian jargon remains as charming as ever, once the reader gets re-acquainted with it. The dead-pan delivery of black humour may be toned down, less slapstick and more situational (think a darker ‘Weekend at Bernie’s’ as one example), but the present novel will remain memorable to me for its cinema theme and for the life-affirming conversion of Millicent Spark

Something I’ve learned over the past couple of days is that I have money in the bank. And by that, I mean life is money in the bank. Just because I was in the huff with the world didn’t change the fact that it’s been sitting there, waiting to be spent if I decided to.’

[Bruce Hatton · Rating 5 out of 5]

You don’t have to read far into this novel to realise you’re in the hands of a craftsman at the art of thriller writing. Mind you, the name on the front cover should have been a dead giveaway. In between co-penning the excellent Ambrose Parry series with his wife, Chris Brookmyre has found time to produce this brilliant standalone.
72 year old Millicent Spark, a former make-up artist on horror films, has just been released from prison, after serving a 25 year sentence for allegedly murdering her boyfriend; a crime for which she maintains her innocence. Unable to exonerate herself and finding her new “freedom” less than appealing, Millicent is contemplating suicide until she forms an unusual alliance her new flatmate, Jerry Kelly, a talented but disaffected film student. Together, they discover information that could prove Millicent’s innocence, but also puts them both in mortal danger.
The novel contains all the classic Brookmyre ingredients: a tightly-knit plot, outrageously memorable characters, acute social observations, all overlaid with his deliciously wicked sense of humour. Plus, there are some informative insights into film-making and special effects.
The tension builds up to almost unbearable levels by the time Jerry has to reveal a deadly secret he’s been keeping from Millicent.
Yet another classic offering from Mr. Brookmyre. My “best read of the year” list has just gained a strong contender.

[K.J. Charles]

Brookmyre back on the old form, which is epic. A terrific mystery/thriller with an old woman (ex con make-up artist) and young man (film student from the wrong side of Scotland) teaming up to find out who framed her for murder. Hugely enjoyable and involving, great lines, highly satisfying. When he's on point there's very little competition.

[Adrian Dooley · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Chris Brookmyre read and it was enjoyable enough, once you suspended disbelief for long enough.

It is the story of Millie Spark, a special effects make up artist specializing in video nasties back in the 80s. When she wakes up beside her murdered boyfriend with no memory of the night before, she is convicted of the murder and serves 25 years in prison.

Fast forward to today and Millie now in her 70s, is house sharing with women of a similar age, and a year out of jail. She finds it hard to adjust and has nothing and no one left in her life. She has planned her own suicide and the date is fast approaching.

When a new house share guest - Jerry arrives, while initially not interested, she soon finds him interesting and one of the few people not asking about her past.
Young Jerry is in college and not getting along with anyone there, hence his house share with older women. He is also a huge fan of horror movies and knows many of the films that Millie has been involved in.

Although still maintaining her innocence, Millie has long given up on finding out what really happened and is going full steam ahead with her suicide plans.
When the house group are out for a meal at a hotel, Millie goes missing and Jerry goes to look for her. He finds her wandering the corridors of the hotel and there they stumble across a clue that may lead to her finally proving her innocence all these years later. As the two find themselves in immediate danger they are forced to flee the country and travel around Europe to both look into Millies past and also avoid becoming victims themselves of whatever crime is being covered up.

Phew! This is a fun read to a point. I found the opening chapters hugely enjoyable and the depressed Millie a very interesting character and was looking forward to how it all played out.
As the book went on however it lost its impact somewhat as her character seems to miraculously change as she strives to find out what really happened.

The story is told both in the present and in flashback when Millie was still making movies. It can become quite confusing at times and the red herrings and final conclusion did feel very convoluted. The book also felt a little long for what it was and also struggled with its identity. Starting out as one thing and then changing somewhat midway through.

Its a decent if unremarkable read that tries a little to hard to impress and wrap everything up in a bow for the reader at the end.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Little Brown Book Group for the ARC.

[8stitches 9lives · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Cut is the latest standalone thriller from one of the most exciting crime writers working today and this time the dark, enthralling story revolves around an unlikely and unconventional sleuthing duo who make an effective team as they venture throughout Europe in order to prove Milllie’s innocence once and for all. 72-year-old Millicent ”Millie” Spark, a former make-up and SFX expert was once immersed in the glitzy, but seedy world of low budget horror films, where she used her talents to create realistic scenes of bloody violence. She was renowned for creating magic onset, impressing everyone with gruesome deaths. That is until she lived through the horrors of a gruesome death herself. One morning Millie woke up to a blood-soaked scene to rival those she created on film. Her lover, Markus Laird, was dead in her bed after they'd enjoyed an intimate drug and alcohol-fuelled evening together. In 1994, at the age of 45, Millie was convicted of the killing despite having no memory of it happening. The Video Nasty Killer' proclaimed the tabloids, stoking public outrage about horror films and their influence. She had protested her innocence since the very beginning but no-one was interested and she served nearly a quarter of a century in prison. We catch up with Millie-now-Millicent a year after her release and it's clear she doesn't know how to live in the modern world now she's finally out. A shell of her former self, fearful anxious and agoraphobic, yet sharp even brutal with her tongue but nevertheless she feels out of place, depressed and off-kilter. She wonders what there is to live for and is considering how to pull off an early exit when she meets Jerry. Jerome ”Jerry” Kelly is a troubled petty criminal with a penchant for pilfering, a film student and fresher at Glasgow University and a death metal fan, who just like Millicent, feels alienated among his peers.

He despises living in halls but can't afford digs all of his own so he answers the advert of three elderly women - Vivian, Carla and, of course, Millicent - looking for a flatmate. When Millicent and Jerry meet they form a peculiar friendship based on their shared love of the horror movie genre. This ends up changing the trajectory of both of their lives forever. Later, a chance encounter with a dated photograph hanging on the wall of the Roman Fort Hotel makes Millicent question everything she thought she knew and realises she must chase this lead wherever it takes her to find out the truth and clear her name. All paths lead back to the last film she worked on before she was incarcerated, a gory horror movie - Mancipium. Many believe it to be cursed due to the incidents that happened to those involved in its creation and as a result, it was never released. Jerry and Millicent set off on a dramatic and dangerous adventure spanning the European continent in a bid to set the truth free. This is a riveting, compulsive and tension-filled thriller with a really wholesome and life-affirming friendship and message at its heart and the drama and suspense running throughout immerses you in Millie and Jerry’s world with consummate ease. They are both fully-rounded and complex characters who are fiercely relatable and endearingly flawed. It is a brilliant, exhilarating and tautly plotted novel that deftly weaves past and present together with masterly precision and is packed with wicked twists and heart-pounding moments. Clever and liberally sprinkled with sardonic wit, I found myself unable to put this rollicking, rip-roaringly pacy book down. This is an entertaining and scintillating page-turner and a must-read for crime connoisseurs. Highly recommended.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a stand-alone novel by Chris Brookmyre. It features Millicent ‘Millie’ Sparks, a seventy two year old former make-up artist, recently removed from prison after serving twenty five years for the murder of her former lover and student Jerome ‘Jerry’ who is a film buff and petty criminal. Neither of our main characters feel comfortable with the world. Millie, whose life changed forever when she woke up to find Markus Laird dead in bed, next to her, is at a loss with the modern world she now inhabits. She feels her innocence means nothing, as she deals with parole officers and having to function as a private citizen, when she still feels as though she is judged. Meanwhile, Jerry is uncomfortable with university life; feeling he doesn’t belong and is looked at with suspicion by his fellow students.

When Millie’s house mates, Vivian and Carla advertise for a student to share their living space, Jerry jumps at the chance to escape his halls of residence. Yet, both Jerry and Millie find it harder to escape their path than they hoped and, when Millie happens upon a photograph which changes her vision of the events which put her behind bars, the unlikely pair join up to discover what really happened all those years ago.

By far the thing I enjoyed most about this novel were the characters. They were an unlikely pair of conspirators, but they worked really well together and there was a lot of humour in their interaction. A large part of the book revolved around the horror movies which Millie used to work on and there were a number of flashbacks, looking back on that time and of the notorious movie that Millie was working on at the time.

Overall, this is an interesting mystery. Brookmyre links all the parts of the storyline and characters well; although sometimes the coincidences seem a little unlikely. Still, this is fiction after all and I did care about the characters, which made me want to discover what happened. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

[Sid Nuncius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I like Chris Brookmyre’s later Jack Parlabane books very much, but don’t get on at all with the Ambrose Parry books. The Cut lies somewhere in between – quite a decent if overblown plot but with some significant flaws. (There are some mild spoilers for the early chapters in what follows, but no more than is given away in the publishers’ blurb.)

The story revolves around two characters: Jerry, a young student who is interested in horror movies including the “video nasties” of the 80s, and Millicent who was a brilliant make-up effects artist who worked on them. Millicent, now in her 70s has recently finished a long sentence for a murder during a film shoot of which she has no recollection, when Jerry comes to share the house in which she lives. Between them, they begin to suspect that Millie was framed and a twisty plot emerges in which sordid goings-on emerge, involving government ministers, rich media tycoons, mafia gangsters and so on – plus the inevitable Lost Tape.

It’s quite well done - Brookmyre is a good storyteller (although I found the cutting between timeframes and the slow, slightly confusing emerging real story slightly irritating) and it’s well written so I did want to know what happened. However, there is a lot of trading of movie references which began to smack of authorial showing off, Millicent’s remarkable character transformation (along with quite a lot of the psychology) didn’t really ring true to me, there is some pretty clunky modern-day “realisation” about the exploitation of young women back in the 80s, there are quite a few outrageous coincidences and so on. All this detracted from my enjoyment and made it more like one of the run-of-the-mill thrillers which appear by the ton each year.

Overall, I’d say that it’s not bad, but it’s not great; it’s a decent brain-off read, especially if you’re a big movie fan.

(My thanks to Little, Brown for an ARC via NetGalley.)

[Anni · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been a longtime admirer of Chris Brookmyre’s entertaining crime novels - and never encountered a dud. This one has his trademark signature of comedy noir and intricate plots so cleverly constructed you cannot spot the joins. There is also refreshingy unlikely couple, reminiscent of Buchan’s ‘The 39 Steps’, on the run from the villains. I loved the banter between these two with the running gag of the younger protagonist gaining points with every cinematic allusion he can outwit the older one.
Brookmyre fans will not be disappointed.

Many thanks to the publisher for the ARC via NetGalley

[For The Love of books · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely great book. Millicent was a character you rooted for. I actually preferred the story of her life meeting Jerome and living with old ladies to the back story of Millicent’s youth which played second fiddle. I loved the Glaswegian accent that came through from Jerry not something you often see used in books. Definitely glad I picked this up

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 Spark was a special effect makeup artist for mainly horror movies. Way before CGI was introduced. When she wakes up one morning to find her boyfriend Markus Laird dead in the bed beside her. She was sentenced for his murder for 25 years, even though she always claimed her innocent and claimed she was framed for his murder. 25 years on, she has been released on parole and lives with her friend Vivian and Carla. In the house she lives in there is a room to rent. So, when 18-year-old Uni student Jerry turns up and a movie buff wants to rent the room.
The ladies are adamant at first, but Jerry says he is used to lived with the older generation. He lived with his grandmother until she died. So, when they agree for him to take the room. The unlikely friendship between Jerry and Millicent begins and with his help decides to find out the truth what happened to Markus all of them years ago and to prove her innocence. The pair go from Glasgow to all love Italy to find out what happened to Markus but, they are not alone in their quest and they realised they are being followed.
The Cut for me at first was hard to get into. I found the first half to be a bit slow. But as you delved further into the story with the unlikely duo, I really enjoyed this. Not my normal type of thriller but I am now excited to see what other books this author has. Four stars from me.

[Chrissie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millicent was a film special effects expert during the time of the likes of Hammer Horror and the like. Everything changed when she discovers her boyfriend dead in bed next to her the morning after an alcohol- and drug-fuelled night. She remembers nothing, but knows in her heart that she is not responsible for his death. Unfortunately, nobody believes her, and she spends 25 years in prison for murder.

After her release, Millicent shares a house with other older ladies -neither of whom have a criminal record. These ladies advertise for a young housemate, the idea being that the new person will have low rent, and they can enjoy intergenerational contact.

Enter...Jerome (Jerry) - student and petty criminal...and horror film aficionado!

Millicent and Jerry are inspired duo (the main characters in the story), as is the fight to prove Millicent innocent.

A great read.

[Craig Sisterson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since Chris Brookmyre jolted crime readers with his first Jack Parlabane tale back in the mid-1990s, the Scottish storyteller has delivered plenty of fresh takes and distinctiveness. Whether it was his quirky early tales that were a sweary Scots take on comic crime to the darker places some of his later books treaded, whether it's mysteries in Victorian Edinburgh co-written with Marisa Haetzman under the name Ambrose Parry or twisted space station whodunnits, Brookmyre always entertains.

So I was very curious about his new standalone, THE CUT.

Unsurprisingly, I came away impressed and delighted, after an engrossing few hours reading.

Brookmyre seasons the stew and delivers plenty of fresh flavour with an unusual tag-team of sleuths trying to work out what happened in the past while surviving the present (I guess making this a thriller with a murder mystery component too), and an intriguing dive into horror movie fandom and some behind-the-scenes wizardry and machinations of the European film world. Having said see ya to her sixties a couple of years back, Millicent Spark is shuffling through life and prepping to bring her own curtain down a little early. A quarter century ago Millicent was Millie, a renowned makeup artist on the horror movie scene. She created magic onset, impressing everyone with gruesome deaths.

Until she lived through the horrors of a gruesome death herself. One morning Millie woke up to a blood-soaked scene to rival those she created on film. Her lover dead, she went to prison.

'The Video Nasty Killer' screamed the tabloids, stoking public outrage about horror films and their influence. Proclaiming her innocence for years, Millie-now-Millicent served a very long sentence, and doesn't know how to live in the modern world now she's finally out. A shell of her former self, fearful and anxious, yet sharp even brutal with her tongue. Out of place and off-kilter.

Meanwhile Jerry is a film-loving fresher at a Glasgow University who's said goodbye to his days as a petty thief and burglar after the deaths of two elderly people forced a crisis of conscience. Somewhat. And not if his dangerous past associate has his say. Struggling with life in the halls, Jerry answers an ad to live with three old ladies, including the sharp-tongued Millicent. Two people split by more than five decades, but both harbouring secrets and guilt and feeling like they can't find their footing.

When Millicent is jolted by an old photo, the duo try to uncover a truth from long ago, kickstarting an unlikely adventure across Europe where film fan Jerry get an up-close experience with movie history, but may not live to write about it. THE CUT is a true delight, a fast-paced thriller with strong characterisation and a good sense of its world, that takes readers behind-the-scenes of an industry that can seem glamorous from afar but is full of grime (and far worse). Brookmyre also raises some interesting issues about depictions of violence onscreen and how that is seen, or used as a political football or scapegoat by politicians and others looking to distract from larger issues or embarrassments.

Well-drawn characters (beyond our Spring and Autumn heroes) create further tension and laughs - the cast is deep and good. Overall, THE CUT is a very good read from a very good storyteller. Thoroughly enjoyable, a thrill ride that also makes you think.

[Africandreamer · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a word, lame.

According to the Sunday Times, this is "extremely sophisticated crime". Really?

I am struggling to see how Brookmyre gets an average score on GR of 4.23 for this book - his earlier books are simply so much better...wacky and original fiction with plenty of twists and turns that managed to get away with not being contrived because the plots were simply bonkers...and very enjoyable for all that.

The Cut, on the other hand, has none of this. Yes, it "Kept me guessing" (Mariam Keyes, a writer friend no doubt, on the front cover), but that wouldn't be hard when none of the plot is sufficiently developed to make much sense. So, when you get to the grand reveal, I was left with a feeling of 'whatever'.

The plot: (now) old woman released from prison for murder hooks up with young non-white student male and starts to find evidence to substantiate her claim throughout that she is innocent. This isn't a plot spoiler! Cue a wildly improbable plot awash with conspiracy theories that relies upon daft coincidences to get to the denouement.

I can't help thinking that Brookmyre simply ran out of ideas on this one. He always liked to show his command of foul language and, when well placed, it can be exquisite (Iain Banks' single use of c*** in Surface Detail is perfect)...but here, he's turned on the tap and it just feels like a relentless stream of bad language masquerading as a plot substitute (I've never met any Scots like the ones he portrays in the book...clearly, I mix with the wrong sort). He also used to have some subtlety in his political observations - well placed and funny - whereas this book just screams "f***ing Tories" and in a way that, again, feels like he has just run out of plot. Equally, I don't know why he bothers to change the names of the newspaper magnate (EVIL BEING!!)...frankly, he might as well just call them Rupert, James and Elizabeth and just be done with it (or maybe not - that would be libellous - but he could have the grace to add a rider along the lines of any similarities to real life people are entirely coincidental etc).

There is a certain irony in the fact that a key theme of the book is B-grade movies and, in the process, Brookmyre has managed to produce a distinctly B-grade book. Like movies that these days go straight to the internet (not even achieving the cachet of Prime or Netflix), bypassing cinematic release, this book seems to have bypassed hardback release (I can't find it on Amazon in hardback) and gone straight to paperback. I buy a lot in hardback. In this case, I would have been robbed.

A litmus test: I think any book that is rated as a 4 (which means the majority of reviewers must have given it a 5, given the smattering of 1 - 3 ratings) should be something that will survive the test of time; specifically, would this still be in your bookshelves in, say thirty years' time and, say, someone asked you for a book in this genre, you would recommend The Cut? Sorry, no. This is the sort of book that makes its way to airport book stores (impulse buy, trading on the author's track record), gets taken on holiday and is then left there to pad out the bookshelves of wherever you're staying...alongside the likes of Danielle Steele, Dean Koontz, Dan Brown, John Grisham and ghosted autobiographies.

There's just enough in the book to get to the end, but barely. Hence the overall 2 rating, but no more than this.

[Rebecca Alcazaze · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great fun this! The horror film production elements had me hooked as soon as Tetsuo was mentioned. I only wish there had been a bit more of the horror/giallo detail and a bit less of the chase narrative in this novel’s second half.

[Shannon M (Canada) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brookmyre has a winner in this one. It is more humorous than his latest books. By humorous, I don’t mean laugh-out-loud funny; it has a character-driven whimsical tone.

The main character, Mildred is 72-years-old and recently released from prison after serving 25 years for killing her lover. Her one stalwart supporter during those 25 years, her brother, has recently died. She has decided to kill herself. Doesn’t sound amusing, but she is. Whether musing to herself about the behaviours of her latest social worker/parole officer or losing her temper at a pushy man behind her in a queue, she shows a facetiousness that belies her depression. Her background, as told in flashbacks just prior to that crucial period leading up to the murder, shows that she was both an alcoholic and a workaholic — key parts of her personality. Alcoholic because she was (and still is) shy and afraid of many things, a workaholic because her work as a cinema special make-up effects artist was the one place she was in her prime, sure of herself and her skills. She specialized in horror films.

The other main character, Jerome, is a young, mixed race first-year university student, raised by a grandmother who has also recently died. Jerome is also shy in his own way, frightened of not fitting into any world. As a consequence, he has sometimes made bad decisions like joining a small-time robbery gang. After his grandmother’s death, he vowed to change his ways and enrolled in a university program — Film & TV, and Politics.

After Mildred discovers some important information, all thoughts of suicide evaporate. Then, Mildred and Jerome bond in their mutual love of horror films (and the fact that he saves her life). Much of the humour in this story comes from the banter between Mildred and Jerome as they jostle for points re their knowledge of films/TV dialogue. I must admit that though I knew about two-thirds of these films, I didn’t remember hearing any of the dialogue “points” that Mildred and Jerome acquired during this banter, but I did appreciate the contest.

This is a character-driven thriller and some thriller lovers may find the initial parts of the story a bit boring. I didn’t because I love character-driven stories. At any rate, Brookmyre fans can be assured that he starts delivering the thrills at about the 30% mark, while still maintaining the whimsical humour.

I especially loved this book for its portrayal of the senior generation. The secondary characters are not cookie-cutter stereotypes. Even the bad guys are past their retirement age. In terms of secondary characters. I particularly loved Violenta Divine, who plays a small but crucial role in solving the mystery. It’s her survival instinct that’s so attractive to me.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cut is an ingenious stand-alone thriller by one my all-time favourite Scottish authors. I could tell you it’s about an ex-con grudgingly teaming up with a young thief, but this turns that old trope upside down with two unique and fascinating characters.

Former special effects make-up artist Millicent Spark spent 25 years inside for a crime she thinks she didn’t commit and at 72, with no family and only one friend, she’s ready to end it all. Young biracial film student Jerry is obsessed with horror movies and heavy metal music, and struggles to fit in at University, so moves into a house with three old ladies for cheap rent and respite from his troubles. When a chance glimpse at an old photo sets them off on a quest for the truth about Millie’s past, their questions threaten powerful people who send a killer to silence her. Is the curse of a horror film reputed to be so evil it was never released about to strike again?

This was a clever mix of twisty mystery, snarky black comedy and movie-buff nostalgia-fest.
Both Millicent and Jerry are initially hard to like, but as we and they learn more about the losses and prejudice each has faced, their reluctant partnership of one-upping banter turns into an unlikely and surprisingly touching friendship. I wasn’t so keen on the flashback scenes to Millie’s debauched nineties lifestyle, which dragged a bit, making it longer than it needed to be. There was a large cast of past characters to keep track of, most with Italian names, which got confusing at times, and overuse of coincidence in the plot, but the present-time action rollicked along to a satisfying ending.

Brookmyre is not for everyone, but I’m glad that having strayed into writing more conventional thrillers with his last few Parlabane books, he’s back to the ranty political jibes and heavy sarcasm which was what I loved about his earlier work.
Thanks to NetGalley and Little, Brown for the ARC which allowed me to give an honest review, and apologies that it’s a few days late. The Cut is available now.

[Paula · Rating 2 out of 5]

So predictable

[Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rarely nowadays do I end up reading until two in the morning. I did with this book - I wanted so much to reach the end to find out what happened. This is a fast paced thriller canyoning around events past and present. It involves murder most foul, and the threat of more of the same.

The main character is a lady in her seventies, recently released from prison after serving twenty five years for a murder she is adamant she did not commit. She teams up with a late teens student and they go on a road trip through France and Italy trying to make sense of the past, and maybe understand why someone is trying to kill them.

Lots of twists and turns in the plot - you might like to wear a neck brace when reading to avoid whip lash. Some long shot coincidences but what the hell, this is entertainment.

The book is full of the usual snark and wit, with a few digs at the Tories - all fine by me. A thinly disguised Rupert Murdoch figure is one of the baddies, with the Home Office not far behind. Talk about having the establishment against you.

To top it all lots of references to films (the heroine worked in the industry and the student is studying film). As a cherry on the top my favourite Clash lyric features verbatim, almost as a throwaway. It's the one about nuns and churches

[Kate Vane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Millie Spark has been released after serving a quarter of a century in prison for the murder of her boyfriend. She still protests her innocence, at least to herself. She is in her seventies now, still physically fit but emotionally battered by her experience, struggling to undertake even minor errands. Her former life as a special effects make-up artist in low budget horror films is something she can’t even think about.

Then Jerry, a young student who is struggling with some issues of his own, answers an ad to move in with Millie and the two other older women she lives with. Vivian, the homeowner, wants to do one of those intergenerational shares, where he gets cheap rent in return for helping out with chores and engaging with his housemates. Jerry is studying Film and is obsessed with the last film Millie ever worked on, a film which is alleged to be cursed and which was never released.

A chance event gives Millie a new lead on the events that led to her conviction. When she begins to dig, she puts herself and Jerry in danger. They go on the run, on a journey that takes them across Europe, determined to protect themselves and to solve the mystery of what really happened.

The Cut bears a superficial resemblance to Denise Mina’s Conviction – a woman investigating her own past life among the super-rich, an odd couple on the road in glamorous foreign locations. Both books even have a yacht in them. The Cut, though, is less exuberant, given all that Millie has already lost. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that she and Jerry are both damaged in their way.

The story about Millie’s past takes in a political element, recalling the ‘video nasties’ moral panic of the 80s and 90s and featuring a Murdoch-type family, whose story is interwoven with Millie’s both on a cultural and a personal level. It is also chastening to learn that for Jerry, the Leveson Inquiry is a historical event, something he has only learnt about at university, rather than a recent memory!

The novel is steeped in cinematic references. It illustrates the powerful shared experience of fandom, particularly for those who feel isolated in ‘real’ life, and the way niche interests are sustained and shared in the online space, in contrast with the era of video.

The flashbacks to the filming of the lost classic didn’t quite come to life so well for me. The characters and events on the film set felt quite generic (coke, arrogant men, underage girls). The present-day incarnations of those who survived felt more nuanced, offering an insight into what becomes of the people who don’t quite make it, and are on the fringes of a fiercely competitive and profit-driven industry.

In The Cut, nothing is quite as it seems. Even those who create illusions for a living aren’t immune to the power of myth and deception. Millie and Jerry’s journey challenges them to unravel lies and find redemption. And have a few adventures along the way.
*
I received a copy of The Cut from the publisher via Netgalley.

[Maine Colonial · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brookmyre has loads of crime novels to his credit, but he’s not all that well-known in the US. His novels tend to be a little on the graphic side, but cut by off-kilter humor. In this novel, a standalone, his main characters are an unlikely duo of the 70-something Millicent and Jerry, a first-year university student from the wrong side of the tracks. All they have in common is an interest in horror movies—and soon, that they have become targets of would-be assassins.

On the run, the two try to find out exactly what happened a quarter century earlier, when Millicent, then called Millie, was a special effects whiz on an ill-fated indie horror flick, and one night of partying led to a murder pinned on her. Millicent wants to know what really happened that night, but her questions have provoked someone who wants to be sure the truth about that night is never revealed.

This is a bit of a slow starter, but the snarky tone keeps things going until the plot really gets in gear. Millicent and Jerry enjoy testing each other with obscure film references, and their deep movie knowledge comes in handy when they devise clever ruses to keep themselves alive and to finally uncover the truth.

This is a cleverly twisty thriller with a couple of unusual and appealing leads. The audiobook narration is very good.

I got my start reading Brookmyre decades ago when on a mid-1990s visit to Stratford, Ontario. At Callan Books (still there, it appears), I asked for guidance to crime novels that might be more readily available in Canada than the US. The shopkeeper led me straight to Brookmyre, particularly his first crime novel, Quite Ugly One Morning. He insisted I read the opening scene before buying the book. It sets forth a murder scene so gross that it would have been a huge turnoff had it not been described so hilariously. If you’re thinking Brookmyre might be to your taste, be sure to read that one ASAP.

[Jannelies (living between hope and fear) · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an intriguing story, set in a world where not all is glimmer and gold. The movie industry is a separate world from what most people experience every day. I've learned a lot while reading this story that spans more than thirty years and several countries.
I absolutely loved the way this story is being told from the viewpoint of two very different people who forge an unlikely friendship.
It's all rather complicated and sometimes felt a bit overdrawn but there was so much happening I finished it quite fast.
This was my first book by this author but I would love to read more of his books.

[myreadingescapism · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this a 4⭐️ rating purely because I got to leave with the forever yoga term of "downward dead"

It was also a fun thriller.

[Joan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unfortunately, not as good as I expected. Not anywhere near what I was expecting. This book bounced back and forth between timelines and normally I’m okay with that but this just did not work. Too many crazy unbelievable stories and characters.