When a woman haunted by a relentless presence seeks Annie Jackson’s help, Annie and her brother Lewis are drawn into an investigation that reaches deep into Scotland’s darkest history. The twisty, atmospheric, addictive Annie Jackson series continues…
The most dangerous voices are the ones that no one else can hear…
Evie Cartwright first speaks to the dead as a child. When she leaves home for university, her ability takes a terrifying turn after she witnesses a brutal murder. By morning, she is haunted by a dead serial killer who refuses to leave her alone, and marked by a cut across her neck that never heals.
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For the next ten years, Evie is driven from place to place, searching for a way to rid herself of the voice that torments her day and night. When desperation leaves her with nowhere else to turn, she arrives at the remote Highland home of Annie Jackson, hoping she will finally find answers.
As Annie and her brother Lewis begin to investigate, helped by an old friend with specialist knowledge of the occult, they are drawn into a dark and dangerous search that reaches deep into Scotland’s history.
And some ghosts are not content to remain in the shadows…
A Gothic thriller with a spellbinding mystery at its heart, The Cutting is the fourth instalment in Michael J. Malone’s acclaimed Annie Jackson series, and this time, danger may be impossible to outrun.
My Review
In the first book, The Murmurs, in the Annie Jackson series, we had flashbacks to the time when witches were strangled and their bodies thrown on a blazing pyre. In book four Annie is still plagued by the ‘murmurs’, the ability to see how and when people will die, but we are also introduced to Evie Cartwright, who is tormented by an evil spirit called Victor, whose mother and sister were drowned as witches in the 1600s. Evie witnessed a murder and that’s when Victor latched on to her and won’t let go. Evie has always been sensitive to the voices of the dead, but nothing compares to the ten years she has been haunted by Victor.
In the meantime, Annie’s twin brother Lewis is still on the trail of hit man Pierce, whose attack on Lewis’s wife Clare caused her to lose their baby. Lewis is determined to get his revenge, even if it puts his life at risk.
Evie seeks out Annie and befriends her in an attempt to rid herself of Victor, and together they visit various people like the elderly Ina, who knows all about the occult, and they believe can help either or both of them. But can Annie trust Evie or does she have her own agenda?
The book becomes a chase around Scotland for the two women, who discover more and more information which they hope will ultimately lead them to the truth. I have to admit though that Lewis’s story was at times a bit of a distraction and I just wanted to get back to the Evie and Annie part. I hope there will be more to come in the future as there are things left unanswered.
Many thanks to @annecater for inviting me to be part of #TheCutting #blogtour
About the Author
Michael Malone is a prize-winning poet and author who was born and brought up in the heart of Burns’ country. He has published over 200 poems in literary magazines throughout the UK, including New Writing Scotland, Poetry Scotland and Markings. Blood Tears, his bestselling debut novel won the Pitlochry Prize from the Scottish Association of Writers.
His dark psychological thriller, A Suitable Lie, was a number-one bestseller, and is currently in production for the screen, and five powerful standalone thrillers followed suit. The Murmurs and The Torments, first in the Annie Jackson Mysteries series, were published to critical acclaim in 2023. A former Regional Sales Manager (Faber) he has also worked as an IFA and a bookseller. Michael lives in Ayr, where he also works as a hypnotherapist.
About Orenda Books
Orenda Books is a small independent publishing company specialising in literary fiction with a heavy emphasis on crime/thrillers, and approximately half the list in translation. They’ve been twice shortlisted for the Nick Robinson Best Newcomer Award at the IPG awards, and publisher and owner Karen Sullivan was a Bookseller Rising Star in 2016. In 2018, they were awarded a prestigious Creative Europe grant for their translated books programme. Three authors, including Agnes Ravatn, Matt Wesolowski and Amanda Jennings have been WHSmith Fresh Talent picks, and Ravatn’s The Bird Tribunal was shortlisted for the Dublin Literary Award, won an English PEN Translation Award, and adapted for BBC Radio Four ’s Book at Bedtime. Six titles have been short- or long-listed for the CWA Daggers. Launched in 2014 with a mission to bring more international literature to the UK market, Orenda Books publishes a host of debuts, many of which have gone on to sell millions worldwide, and looks for fresh, exciting new voices that push the genre in new directions. Bestselling authors include Ragnar Jonasson, Antti Tuomainen, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael J. Malone, Kjell Ola Dahl, Louise Beech, Johana Gustawsson, Lilja Sigurðardóttir and Sarah Stovell.
