The Cut

By: Richard Armitage

Narrated by: Richard Armitage, Jacob Dudman

Length: 10 hrs and 13 mins

Publisher's summary

An unmissable thriller written by Richard Armitage, author of #1 bestseller Geneva, narrated by the author and by Jacob Dudman.

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.

©2024 Richard Armitage (P)2024 Audible Ltd.

Critic reviews

"Armitage has done it again... THE CUT is a chilling, atmospheric thriller with characters you'll never forget." - Harlan Coben

Worth your time indeed

First, both performers were brilliant. The writing accommodated both actors’ talents; the two are equally effective in developing characters, their local dialects and accents—scouse, Scots, and all the others. I’ve listened to Mr. Armitage quite a bit in recent years, including his first book, which I enjoyed immensely. So, I am an admirer and am likely giving some latitude for my bias. That said, I’m equally as impressed with Mr. Dudman as he proved to be Armitage’s equal in narration and interpretation. More impressive is that he is such a young man.

Thematically, The Cut, well, cuts. Rather, for some, it can trigger (ala Carrie), so be forewarned, prepared, and in the right headspace. Sometimes for me, audiobooks are my bedtime stories. This book is NOT a D.I. Jackman and Marie adventure. It demands more attention and respect. It required extra focus and active listening. I stopped my first attempts at nighttime listening, and opted to devote a couple of days to give it its proper due.

What some have identified in the story as challenging and perhaps confusing, I also understand. The prose is dense, and likely some of the detail could have been tempered. For example, (really this isn’t meant to be about me, but …) I’ve a musical background. Much of the descriptive narrative about the cello, rosin, and horse hairs landed well and pictorialized scenes nicely. However, descriptions about musical composers and pieces, despite that I understand and "speak" the musical language, I found superfluous. The musical erudition did not add anything to the story. Similarly, much of the film industry jargon seemed to ramble on a bit.

I’ll try to avoid spoilers, but some of the story might have benefited from rearranging just a bit. For instance, I think I would have liked the Max reveal later—toward the climax closer to the rather than forecasted in earlier chapters. Contemporary references, e.g., social media and dropping name brands, well, made me wonder if some product placement deals might have been contracted. And, these types of references are soon dated in our constantly changing world, which can be corny or nostalgic depending on any given audience member's frame of mind at any given time.

What is also evident is that The Cut is Mr. Armitage’s personal journey and was a somewhat cathartic effort. For this reason, aforementioned latitude is warranted. Every artist should be allowed at least one work where s/he lets it all hang out. Finally, for those who intend to read The Cut, and I recommend you do, it’s not entirely a whodunnit (it’s pretty clear early on).

I hope Richard Armitage continues writing as I enjoy all his work across performance media and genres.

confusing story that delights in bullying

I dnf'd this book because it was confusing. chapters jump around in time and the characters are not likable. the stories spends a lot of time on the kids and bullying and it's really tedious to listen to so I just stopped. I'm going to go find something else.

Nice twist

It took a little while to get into this one, but once it took hold it was hard to stop listening. Great character build, and the end is well done. I feel like justice or at least the truth was found in the end.

An intriguing tail. Details are amazing.

Really really tough story to listen to. The voiceover was excellent. And the twist and turns were so real. Absolutely worth the time to listen to. Thank you for your talent.

Engaging story

I enjoyed the different points of view between characters & different points of view at different times.

Trigger Warning for Bullying

Definitely saw through the plot and knew the movie Ben’s kids were starring in wasn’t the run of the kill movie. Figured out who Max was pretty quickly. A little hard to keep track as the story bounced between different time periods. But it was ok. Trigger warning for bullying!!

What next!!!

Weird at first but all comes together. Leaves you wanting to know more!! Loved it!!

Entertaining but confusing at times

Amazing narrators and performance, but the back and forth time changes had me confused for most of the story. Too many characters and points of views didn't help either.

Great story. Great narration

Totally gripping. Loved the way the story wove the present and the past together. I couldn’t stop listening.

Improved towards the end

As many others noted, I had a hard time following the story because of all the time leaps. Also the narration had minimal changes between characters. Needed a better way to alert the reader that those changes were occurring.