Released 22nd August 2024 by Audible Originals.
Narrated by Richard Armitage and Jacob Dudman.
From the cover:
You can’t escape your past. The cut always reopens.In the sleepy village of Barton Mallet, the old ruins of Blackstone Mill watch over the residents as they go about their quiet lives. Ben Knot and his friends are looking forward to a summer of fun and freedom once their last year of school is over. The class of 1994 have been through a lot together, good and bad, but teasing turns to bullying when the Knot gang target younger boy Mark Cherry. As tensions rise and violence escalates, the group fractures and tragedy strikes. Before the summer is over, one of them will be killed. Murdered by someone they called a friend.
Thirty years on, Ben is an award-winning architect who has moved his family back to the village where he grew up. His girlfriend Dani is a hands-on step mum to his kids, budding actor Nate and star footballer Lily, but even though the family seem happy, Ben has never been able to forget the tragedy of the past. And it’s a past that is coming back to haunt him with the murderer’s imminent release from prison. Ben’s glittering career is also starting tarnish as some shady business deals have put him on the path to bankruptcy. With the killer’s parole date approaching and the banks calling in their loans, Ben struggles to keep a grip on the perfect life he has built.
When Nate lands the leading role in a new horror movie, Dani jumps at the chance to propel him towards stardom, despite Ben’s concerns that it will complicate their lives. Ben is persuaded to support his son’s dreams, but when the film crew descend on the village to start shooting, the dream starts to turn into a nightmare. The film is not quite what it seems. His kids are being pushed to the limit and Ben’s paranoia makes him question the film makers’ motives. Ben is desperate for answers and will stop at nothing to keep his family safe.
If the first cut is the deepest, then the last cut is going to end it all.
***********
Thirty years later, Ben's glittering architectural career has allowed him to return to live in style in Barton Mallet with his girlfriend Dani, and his two children, Nate and Lily. But their comfortable existence is about to be threatened. Ben's shady business dealings have led him to the brink of bankruptcy, something he is desperately keeping from his family. Under intense strain from his financial woes, he feels himself heading for breaking point when he hears that the person found guilty of the murder in 1994 is about to be released from prison.
Barely keeping it together, Ben is persuaded by Dani to back Nate's dream to be an actor, when he is cast in a central role in a horror movie being filmed in the village. Absorbed by his own problems, and the ghosts that haunt him, Ben only slowly becomes aware that there is something odd about the direction of this film project. He needs answers...
Having been wowed by Richard Armitage's debut, Geneva, in both its original audio book and subsequent physical book forms, I could not wait to get my ears around this follow-up thriller, The Cut. As before, this is first being released in audio format by Audible Originals, and is narrated impeccably by the man himself and Jacob Dudman, before then being published by Faber and Faber (coming in hardback and ebook August 2025).
The first thing that strikes me is how much of a different kind of beast this is to Geneva, both in terms of subject matter and structure, which gives an indication of quite how versatile Armitage's writing is. Although there is a hint of international conspiracy in this story, it almost exclusively takes place in a small English village, which has never quite recovered from a shocking murder in 1994. Thirty years later, troubled central character, Ben, who was closely tied to the tragedy, has returned to his childhood village, and Armitage uses this to spin a dual timeline thriller that really gets its claws into you.
I do not want to say too much about the plot itself, as so much of the charm of Armitage's books involves the way the twists and turns of the story gradually reveal themselves. However, suffice to say that as he weaves back and forth between the past and the present (cleverly narrated by Dudman's voice in the former, and his own in the latter), your perception of the events of 1994, and of Ben himself, changes quite spectacularly.
I do not think the ending hits with that exquisite moment of clarity that Geneva's does, and there is a 'happy ending' of sorts that does not quite fit for me, given the the fact that ultimately more than one character here should be taking responsibility for their parts in the 1994 tragedy. However, this is certainly a gritty, and viscerally affecting tale that sits nicely on the crossover between thriller and crime story. I found myself listening with my heart in my mouth as it flips back and forth between the narrators. It is not a comfortable journey from slow-burn beginning to action packed ending by any stretch of the imagination (especially as a parent), but my goodness, it is captivating. I tip my hat to Armitage for stepping up and fully committing to a dual timeline story as intricately crafted as this one, with echoed scenes, and themes, and the way he pivots around different shades of meaning behind the title is impressive.
As someone who was very fortunate to be able to meet and chat with Richard Armitage at Faber Books a few weeks ago, it was a fascinating experience to listen to his work with an insider's view about his creative process. You can really feel his 'visually' centred brain at work here. This is every bit a cinematic experience, which is fitting given aspects of the story, as much as it is an auditory one - there are some lovely, atmospheric touches on the soundtrack too.
I will definitely be revisiting this one when the book hits next year, and I am very much looking forward to what comes next from Richard Armitage.
Richard Armitage is a multi-award winning stage, screen and voice actor best known for his roles in Peter Jackson's trilogy of The Hobbit, Captain America, Alice through the Looking Glass and Oceans 8.
Barely keeping it together, Ben is persuaded by Dani to back Nate's dream to be an actor, when he is cast in a central role in a horror movie being filmed in the village. Absorbed by his own problems, and the ghosts that haunt him, Ben only slowly becomes aware that there is something odd about the direction of this film project. He needs answers...
Having been wowed by Richard Armitage's debut, Geneva, in both its original audio book and subsequent physical book forms, I could not wait to get my ears around this follow-up thriller, The Cut. As before, this is first being released in audio format by Audible Originals, and is narrated impeccably by the man himself and Jacob Dudman, before then being published by Faber and Faber (coming in hardback and ebook August 2025).
The first thing that strikes me is how much of a different kind of beast this is to Geneva, both in terms of subject matter and structure, which gives an indication of quite how versatile Armitage's writing is. Although there is a hint of international conspiracy in this story, it almost exclusively takes place in a small English village, which has never quite recovered from a shocking murder in 1994. Thirty years later, troubled central character, Ben, who was closely tied to the tragedy, has returned to his childhood village, and Armitage uses this to spin a dual timeline thriller that really gets its claws into you.
I do not want to say too much about the plot itself, as so much of the charm of Armitage's books involves the way the twists and turns of the story gradually reveal themselves. However, suffice to say that as he weaves back and forth between the past and the present (cleverly narrated by Dudman's voice in the former, and his own in the latter), your perception of the events of 1994, and of Ben himself, changes quite spectacularly.
I do not think the ending hits with that exquisite moment of clarity that Geneva's does, and there is a 'happy ending' of sorts that does not quite fit for me, given the the fact that ultimately more than one character here should be taking responsibility for their parts in the 1994 tragedy. However, this is certainly a gritty, and viscerally affecting tale that sits nicely on the crossover between thriller and crime story. I found myself listening with my heart in my mouth as it flips back and forth between the narrators. It is not a comfortable journey from slow-burn beginning to action packed ending by any stretch of the imagination (especially as a parent), but my goodness, it is captivating. I tip my hat to Armitage for stepping up and fully committing to a dual timeline story as intricately crafted as this one, with echoed scenes, and themes, and the way he pivots around different shades of meaning behind the title is impressive.
As someone who was very fortunate to be able to meet and chat with Richard Armitage at Faber Books a few weeks ago, it was a fascinating experience to listen to his work with an insider's view about his creative process. You can really feel his 'visually' centred brain at work here. This is every bit a cinematic experience, which is fitting given aspects of the story, as much as it is an auditory one - there are some lovely, atmospheric touches on the soundtrack too.
I will definitely be revisiting this one when the book hits next year, and I am very much looking forward to what comes next from Richard Armitage.
The Cut is available now in audio format from Audible, and will be published in ebook and paperback by Faber Books in August 2025.
P
About the author:
The Cut is his second novel, following his debut, Geneva.
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