First Rate First Novel (Cut Short - Leigh Russell)

Member Name: deehuff

Product:	Cut Short - Leigh Russell
Date:	26/08/09 (70 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: A really good read

Disadvantages: none

DI Geraldine Steel is a dedicated police officer working on a mobile murder investigation team. Feeling betrayed after the breakup of a 6 year relationship, she moves to a new flat near the small town of Woolsmarsh, where most of the action in the book takes place.

Trying to put her life back together isn't easy for Geraldine. As she struggles with the demands of her job, a small part of her yearns for what her sister has - marriage, kids and home, but without wishing to sacrifice her career at the altar of domestic bliss.

Woolsmarsh is terrorised by a serial killer who strangles and leaves the bodies of his victims in the park. Geraldine is trying to track down the Woolsmarsh Strangler, while closer to home a malicious vandal is attempting to victimise her. Are the two connected?

Right from the start the reader is taken into the head of the strangler. Bit by bit we are shown the workings of a sick and twisted mind and gradually learn who the killer is, as one by one he picks off his victims.

Several threads run through the story - sometimes crossing, sometimes touching and then drifting off in different directions, but always keeping the reader guessing. Leigh Russell skilfully weaves these threads together until Geraldine finally grasps all the relevant ones and solves the case. The author then puts the icing on the cake by collecting all the remaining threads and tying them up nicely.

I really enjoyed this book. It kept me turning the pages, and the different undercurrents captured my interest and retained it throughout its length. There were interactions between the different members of the team, the domestic and public goings-on of local celebrities, and a budding romance in Geraldine's life.

The tantalizing clues and hints that are dropped throughout the book make for an excellent crime thriller which carries the reader along to its final climax and revelation.

The book is sold with a money back guarantee, which I, for one, won't be claiming.

Summary: Excellent storyline, and a brand new fictional female detective's first appearance