The Cut by Richard Armitage (Print Publication)

 

The Cut by Richard Armitage.

Publishing 28th August 2025 from Faber & Faber.

From the cover of the book:

You saw her die.

Thirty years ago, one of Ben Knott's schoolfriends was murdered. Another went to prison. The story ended. The village of Barton Mallett tried to move on.

Now her killer is back.

As the murderer's sentence ends, the village is chosen as the unlikely location for a feature film by a Hollywood producer, with Ben's son Nathan cast in the leading role.

Can you keep hiding the truth?

As the film takes shape, Ben begins to recognise the storyline - from his own past. As his son becomes immersed in a tale of bullying and retribution, things turn dangerous, and an uncomfortable truth begins to emerge. Ben must choose between the safety of his children and reopening the wounds of the past. How much is he willing to risk to protect his family - and himself?

***********

1994. For Ben Knott and his friends, in sleepy Barton Mallet, the end of their last year at school is a time for celebration. A final summer of freedom in the shadow of Backstone Mill beckons, but the fun turns to tragedy when long-held resentments result in murder.

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, the news that the person found guilty of the murder in 1994 is about to be released from prison sends him into freefall.

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...

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 absorb his follow-up thriller, The Cut. As before, this was first released in audio format by Audible Originals (narrated impeccably by the man himself and Jacob Dudman), and is now being published by Faber & Faber (in hardback and ebook formats).

This is a strikingly different kind of beast to Geneva, both in terms of subject matter and structure, which shows how versatile Armitage can be. With just a hint of international conspiracy, the story 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 has come home, 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 - suffice to say that as the story weaves between the past and the present, your perception of Ben and the events of 1994 change quite spectacularly.

Perhaps the ending lacks the exquisite moment of clarity that Geneva's does, but there are layers upon layers that are brutally stripped back to the bone in this gritty, affecting tale. My heart was lodged firmly in my mouth from slow-burn beginning to action packed ending, and the journey was deeply unsettling.

I tip my hat to Armitage for fully committing to a dual timeline story as intricately crafted as this one. Sitting nicely on the crossover between coming-of-age chiller and crime thriller, this thrums with echoed scenes and themes, and the way Armitage pivots around different shades of meaning behind the title is impressive.

This story is wonderfully cinematic, reflecting Armitage's visually-centred creative process, and it works just as well in print form as it does as an audio experience (I highly recommend taking in both for the ultimate Armitage experience). An absolute must if you like your thrillers sharp and visceral!

The Cut is available to buy in hardcover, ebook and audio formats.

Thank you to Faber & Faber for sending me a proof of this book in return for an honest review.

About the author:

Richard Armitage is a multi-award winning stage and screen actor. Armitage is best known for his role of Thorin Oakenshield in Peter Jackson’s trilogy of ‘The Hobbit’. On Film Armitage starred in ‘Into the Storm’ ‘Alice Through The Looking Glass’ ‘Captain America, the First Avenger’ ‘Oceans 8’. Independent features include ‘The Lodge’ ‘My Zoe’ ‘Brain on Fire’ and ‘Pilgrimage’. On TV, Guy of Gisborne in ‘Robin Hood’, Daniel Miller in Epix ‘Berlin Station’, ‘John Porter’ in Sky’s Strike Back, Francis Dolerhyde in NBC’s Hannibal, Lucas North in ‘Spooks’ and John Thornton in ‘North and South’ both for the BBC. He also voices Trevor Belmont in the Netflix series ‘Castlevania’, Devereaux in their upcoming animated ‘Tomb Raider’ and Logan in Marvel’s ‘Wolverine’ podcast.

Recent TV adaptations for Netflix include Ray Levine in ‘Stay Close' and Adam Price in ‘The Stranger’ both written by Harlan Coben. He recently played William Farrow in "Obsession" also for Netflix based on the novel 'Damage' by Josephine Hart.

The 'Jackman and Evans' crime series by Joy Ellis and 'The Taking of Annie Thorne' by CJ Tudor both available on Audible, are currently in development for TV adaptation from his production company White Boar Films alongside The Imaginarium and Sprout Productions/ Night Train.

In 2022 he penned his debut crime thriller 'Geneva'. It was an instant #1 bestseller for Audible and will be published by Faber & Faber (UK) and Pegasus (US).