Cut and Run

Title and Link: Cut and Run
Author: Madeleine Urban & Abigail Roux
Publisher URL: http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com
Genre: Contemporary GLBT (M/M)
Length: novel (380 pages)
Rating: 4.75 stars out of 5

THE BLURB

A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He’s cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he’s paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it’s hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliché: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again – this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer’s knife.

THE REVIEW

It has taken me a while to read and review this book because I am not fond of reading ebooks over 300 pages and this one was almost 400 pages– so many books so little time — I’m sorry to say that Cut and Run has languished in my TBR pile for a few months and I regret that it took me so long to get to it, but when I did I couldn’t put it down. This was one of the most enjoyable stories I have read in a while because it actually had a plot, with complex characters, although at times Special Agents Ty Grady and Zane Garrett got on my last nerve because they were so exasperating! Initially it was tough to get to know Ty and Zane. For the first 30 or so pages they were constantly trying to set boundaries and prove why they hated each other’s type, and the fighting and backbiting got to be a bit wearing, but eventually the perspective in the book shifted when they had to work together as partners to find the serial killer who was terrifying the City of New York. There is nothing like being a target to bring two people together.

As expected in this type of story, the murders are gory and and gruesome, and you need a very strong stomach to read about some of them. Obviously this is not a light and fluffy story but there is a good deal of humour to lighten the dark theme even though the action hardly lets up, as more and more bodies are strewn in the path of the unwary reader until you wonder whether anyone would be left standing at the end of the story. Identifying the killer at the end was done well although I guessed the identity fairly early in the story because the authors gave me enough clues. However, that didn’t spoil the story for me since I wanted to see how Urban and Roux would handle the case and provide enough content to keep the tension high throughout, while a romantic relationship played out in the background between our protags. To complicate the romance, the men are bisexual not gay, but even though Ty and and Zane had sex with women they were usually one night stands and it was all offside and did not interfere with the chemistry between them. However, both characters had major personal issues which impacted their relationship as neither one could be considered prime material as a love interest — too much baggage!

There is not a whole lot of sex in the book but when the guys get together it’s sizzling, emotional and fun, and the sexual and emotional tension is off the scale. What also came across later in the story was how much they cared for each other and the fact that they couldn’t bear to be apart. Living on the edge of a precipice with constant and intense danger as a companion only enhanced their feelings for each other and they were at their best when in full ‘investigative’ mode.

This book would have easily been 5 stars for me but the authors have a problem with staying in one POV per chapter, and the constant POV switches from paragraph to paragraph made it difficult to remember whose head I was in. That aside, this is an extremely well written story with fully developed three dimensional characters who are so flawed that as a reader I wondered if they would ever get their act together and their professional and personal relationships resolved. The supporting characters were just as well done, especially Assistant Director Burns and some of the other Special Agents who were working on the murder investigation. There is no question about the abilities of this writing partnership and it was such a pleasure to read a book that was not formulaic, nor did the story suffer from the ‘Big Misunderstanding’ syndrome like many M/M romances on the market today. What I also liked was the balance between the romance and the murder investigations so that one did not overwhelm the other, in my opinion.

If an author manages to keep me entertained and on the edge of my seat until the very end of a book, which was the case in Cut and Run, that to me is the sign of a story that passes the test of ‘keeper’. The emotional rollercoaster of the investigation and the number of bodies, together with the personal issues around love and togetherness made this a really enjoyable, tension filled read for me. I have read a number of stories about serial killers and this is one of the best; there is constant and intense action with the two protags as moving targets. At one point I wondered if the authors had something against Ty and Zane because I can’t remember when was the last time that both protags in a story had been so seriously injured so many times. This is not a story for the fainthearted because of its content, but if you love murder mysteries and find pleasure in working your way through a maze of clues placed strategically in a book, I think you will have a lot of fun getting into the two protags’ heads. The pace of the story was just right and I thought the final reveal was very well done. This story gives your brain a workout.

For me the single sign that a book really resonates is if I would like to read about the characters again and I would give a resounding ‘yes’ to that. Great job ladies – now if only you can stay in one character’s head for an entire chapter that would be wonderful.:) I love, love this book and highly recommend it! Definitely two thumbs up.:)