Wonderful! I love this author and will read anything he writes. And this book! Wow! Twisted and fast paced! An amazing, jaw dropping read.

This one did not do it for me. I wasn’t as intrigued as I was in book one. The story is okay for me. I will probably still read more from the series but this particular story was not my favorite.

When a distillery owner’s body is discovered on top of a remote Scottish mountain, forensics confirm that he died of natural causes. DI Corstophine’s concerns are raised, however when the dead man’s eccentric sister receives a message, apparently from beyond the grave.
The police are dismissive until it appears the devil himself is intent on attacking other family members. Why is his daughter kept locked and sedated in her room in the baronial mansion? Who or what is stalking his son as he scatters his father’s ashes on lonely summits? And what insanity is behind the horrific attacks in their small Highland town?
DI Corstophine and his team don’t know what they’re really facing until it’s too late.
The Devil’s Cut is an exploration of what constitutes sanity and how delicate that state really is; how such a perfect emotion as love can completely destroy a man.
This is the 2nd book in the series and I enjoyed it very much. The characters were well drawn and kept me engrossed and I look forward to the next book in the series. Highly recommended!

Minor spoilers!!!!!

I enjoyed the first mystery more than the second - that is, the father's death was more interesting to me than the attack on Patricia (and then it turned out they weren't even committed by the same person). I also found the depiction of a mentally ill woman fraught with stereotypes and it was a bit unpleasant to read her perspective. I know it's revealed that her behaviors were because of a misdiagnosis but I felt it could've been handled a bit better. Illnesses like bipolar and DID are so demonized in media and it's just not fun to see that trope continually played out, especially when you know someone being treated for one of them. The final reveal was good though. It was just the mental illness depiction that brought down the rating for me. Otherwise it was a nice mystery!

Complex and taut mystery, a great follow on to The Bone Clock! Same team, great fleshing out of characters, solid and complex mystery with twists and red herrings everywhere - you will not guess everything going on. And the ultimate lesson, greed is indeed bad.

Number 2 in this series. Also good, but pacing at times too slow. The crimes here are also intricate and twisty. I did more or less guess the main twist in the plot this time. The main team are still as thorough and there are a couple of references to the previous book. Told from different points of view, which adds to the interest, I did think that some of the storylines were left hanging a little. The location in the highlands and small town life is described beautifully .
I do enjoy this author's books and this one is certainly not bad, but I didn't think it was his best either. Look forward to reading more from him.
Thanks to Net Galley for the ARC

The Devil's Cut by Andrew James Greig is the second book in the Detective Corstorphine and what an excellent book this was. I really enjoyed reading it especially as it had me sitting on the edge of my seat and I could not turn the pages quick enough to find out what happened next, which made it a great intense read.

I am looking forward reading more in this season. I love the Detective Corstorphine character.

Big Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for providing me with an ARC .

The death of a local business man deem as a heart attack but is sister claims it was murder and speak to DI Corstorphine, he starts to look into it. This is an excellent book with plenty of twists and family secrets and well plotted. The author does a good job with the setting that you'd think that you're there. Looking forward to book three. Thanks to Storm publishing and Netgalley for this review ARC.

The Devils Cut is the second book in the Detective Inspector James Corstophine series by Andrew James Greig. I think i found this one even better than the first. It's a police procedural book combined as a thriller. I loved the way four seemingly unrelated deaths unravelled throughout the book and DI Corstophine and his team connected the pieces. It kept me guessing throughout. Another brilliant storyline with new characters and old. A fantastic read from start to finish. I look forward to the next one in the series.

Thank you to Netgalley and Storm publishers for an ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

This is the second in the DI Corstorphine series, and it did NOT disappoint!!! I may even like this one better! It is a police procedural but reads like a thriller.

Once again, the setting plays a supporting character. I swear I could feel the wind and chill of Scotland as I was reading! This fit the story and the characters very well! I am all about using the setting as a key element in the story! I feel it brings it to life.

The mystery is as well crafted as the first in the series. As the case unfolded- four separate incidents that seem unrelated- I had so many questions, and was very invested in trying to figure out what happened and where this was going. There were twists and secrets, yet it was so well written with everything tying together to a satisfying and surprising conclusion. I did not see the killer coming- in a good way! Once revealed, THIS is where Greig's mastery is revealed. It made sense in hindsight, and really, there could have been no other resolution!!.

The characters are written so well. Corstorphine is a brilliant enigma who sees things a bit differently, comes at them in ways that often confuse, yet always gets results. The rest of the main and supporting characters developed just as well. We see their thoughts and come to understand their motivation and reasons for why they act in certain ways.

I cannot wait to read the next in this series. I highly recommend this, especially if you really enjoy atmospheric puzzles with well developed characters!

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the ARC. This is my honest and voluntary review.

Book two in the Detective Inspector Corstorphine series begins with the tragic death of a local businessman. When his sister contacts the police to say that his death was not from natural causes, the police are initially sceptical. Still, when events escalate, Detective Inspector Corstorphine realises he must dig deeper into the community and the family. It's a disturbing story with poignancy and an increasingly menacing atmosphere. I like the twists, the detailed investigation and the characterisation.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

When a flamboyantly dressed woman flounced into the police station in a small highland town, stating that her brother, wealthy distiller, Jack McCoach had not died of a heart attack as the post mortem stated but had been murdered, she had seen it in a séance, Sgt. Hamish McKee rolled his eyes as he directed her to DI James Corstophine, little did they know that their small town was about to be turned on it's head.
DI Corstphine and his tight knit team of DC Frankie McKenzie, keen and very supportive of her boss, PC Bill McAdam, long suffering partner of rookie PC Philip Lamb who was still making rookie mistakes and Desk Sgt. Hamish McKee who was well past his sell by date. were all to scratch their heads over this one.
As this story unfolds a further macabre attack, a suicide at the railway station, a death on the mountains, the death toll escalates.....these couldn't be coincidence, or could they ? was there a common denominator ? Corstophine needed help and that help came in the attractive shape of Forensic Psychologist Dr. Shamila Mallick. Why was Jack Mc Coach's daughter kept sedated and locked in her room ? Shamila explains what can happen to the human mind to a confused but mesmerised Corstophine, the author must really have done his research on this one.
This is a great whodunit that I couldn't put down, I was kept guessing until the very end, there are plenty of suspects, plenty of red herrings as the author cleverly draws this convoluted story to it's conclusion. Andrew James Greig's love of the beautiful Scottish Highlands shines through, having spent many happy holidays there his descriptions took me right back, I was living the story.
Thank you Storm Publishing and Net Gallery for this ARC, my review is voluntary.

Slightly underwhelming second book in the Detective Corstophine series. It missed the atmosphere of the first and indeed the story.

It starts out quite intriguing with a lot going on but soon settles into a slightly ponderous and unbelievable story. The book certainly read a lot longer for me than the page count it has. It dragged for huge parts not helped by bland characters that didn’t really hold my interest.

It’s not a bad book per se but it’s not that good either. A little like writing by numbers. Fine to a point but let down by a convoluted storyline that is hard to swallow and too many wafer thin characters.

I enjoyed the first in the series so much that maybe that adds to my disappointment in this follow up.

Many thanks to Storm Publishing for the ARC through Netgalley.

A local distiller dies of a heart attack on a hike, and his sister insists its murder. A young woman jumps into the way of a coming train for seemingly no reason, ending her life. Catalytic convertors are going missing around the small town at an alarming rate, and drug use is up, with no leads in sight. DI Corstophine has his work cut out for him as him and his team try to get to the bottom of what on earth is going on in his small town.

*****

This is my second book by the author, and it's convinced me to read the rest of his work. He seamlessly weaves together beautiful scenery, complex characters and twisted mysteries that kept me engaged throughout. The switching viewpoints could have been overwhelming, however it ended up giving so much depth to the story that I loved it - even if I did have to double check who's head we were in in some chapters. There were some slower points in the novel, and I found the pacing to pull back a bit, but it did eventually recover as we continued to unravel more of the mystery.

I absolutely love how the author is able to pull in so many different moving parts, that you don't have a chance of figuring out the conclusion to the mystery until the end chapters of the story. I spent the entire time puzzling out the "supernatural" lead to the story, and even though I was able to get the jump on part of it, it was completely in the dark until the last bit of the book, which isn't usually how mysteries go for me.

I also really enjoyed the novel being in current day. Talking about how the pandemic affected businesses in the small Scottish town, the effect social media has on policing, sensitivity training, and what Brexit did to information sharing between police agencies. It rooted the story in current day and added an unexpected realism to what was already a pretty gripping novel.

If you love police procedurals with some suspense, grief and twisted characters, this one is for you!

*****

Thank you to NetGalley and Storm Publishing for the digital ARC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

The Devil's Cut is book #2 of DI James Corstorphine and DC Frankie McKenzie. The story of the family McCoach is depicted after his death. Some other deaths that aren't natural but murders get into an intricate mystery involving drug distribution. Also, family mysteries are kept from the police as the investigation progresses. At the end, DI Corstphine and DC McKenzie solve the murders despite the dissimulations from family members.

"The Devil's Cut” by Andrew James Greig is a gripping 5-star read! This is the second book in the Detective Inspector Corstorphine series. DI Corstorphine is trying to solve several crimes in a Highland town when tragedy strikes a family he has personal ties to. Can he stop the killer before it’s too late?

If you enjoyed the first book in the series, you’ll definitely enjoy this one. The plot cleverly weaves together present-day events with tragic events from the past. While the author offers strong hints about the perpetrators, it doesn't take away from the suspense or storytelling. I truly hope there’s a book three on the way!

Thanks to Storm Publishing, Andrew James Greig, and NetGalley for providing me with the opportunity to read this ARC and share my honest review.

An excellent crime thriller. DI Corstorphine has his work cut out to prove a death of natural causes is more than it seems. He unravels a web of deceit as attacks and attempted murder follows. A great read and highly recommended

DI Corstorphine is facing less demanding cases but is intrigued as why the small robbery cases continue to increase even as the tourist season has not started when he is called to check on the death of the owner of a local distillery on top of a mountain. The death is ruled as of natural causes until his sister shows up claiming he was murdered. Things just escalate fast, the sister is badly injured in her own home, the man's son is targeted and almost killed when disposing of his father's ashes, his sister (who is considered mentally ill) is kidnapped and Corstorphine and his team are not even near to discover who killed the distillery owner and is threatening his family. The motive for the crimes and the culprit are only revealed at the end which is surprising in more than one way. The Devil's Cut is engaging, fast-paced, and entertaining, highly recommended!
I thank the author, his publisher, and NetGalley for this ARC.

The Devil's Cut
by Andrew James Greig
Pub Date: May 01 2025

The Devil's Cut is another gripping procedural thriller to the sequel to Whirligig. It was full of mystery and suspense, excellent character"s. An edge of your seat read! This is the second book in a series but can be read as a stand a lone.

Synopsis: When a distillery owner’s body is discovered on top of a remote Scottish mountain, forensics confirm that he died of natural causes. But the dead man’s sister claims he was murdered.

Thank you #TheDevilsCut #NetGalley and #StormPublishing for providing me with an E-ARC of this gripping thriller!

Andrew James Greig’s The Devil’s Cut is a taut, brooding mystery that blends classic detective fiction with gothic unease and psychological depth. Set against the rugged isolation of the Scottish Highlands, the novel follows Detective Inspector Corstorphine as he unravels a death that at first seems natural—but quickly unspools into a web of secrets, vengeance, and buried trauma.

The novel opens with a powerful image: a man dying alone on a remote mountain, a whiskey bottle slipping from his grasp, his thoughts heavy with regret. This man is the owner of a distillery, and while the cause of death appears to be natural, his sister is adamant it was murder. From there, Greig steadily builds a compelling mystery that never loses its emotional undercurrent.

Corstorphine is a strong central figure—methodical, intuitive, and haunted in his own right. As he probes into the family’s eerie dynamics, we encounter unsettling elements: a daughter sedated and locked away, a son stalked in the wilderness, and a painting defaced in a violent warning. Greig cleverly weaves in these gothic motifs without veering into melodrama, instead using them to deepen the novel’s psychological tension.

What elevates The Devil’s Cut beyond a procedural is its careful layering of past and present. When a seemingly unrelated suicide emerges as a crucial piece of the puzzle, the story shifts into something darker and more personal. At its core, this is a novel about the long tail of violence—how a single act in childhood can echo down decades, twisting lives in its path.

Greig’s prose is evocative and atmospheric, particularly when describing the Highland landscapes and the shadowed interiors of both physical and emotional spaces. He understands that place is character, and he uses it to reinforce the novel’s persistent feeling of isolation and latent danger.

Verdict:
The Devil’s Cut is a smart, slow-burning mystery that rewards careful reading. With richly drawn characters, eerie settings, and a plot that coils tighter with every chapter, Andrew James Greig delivers a memorable entry into the tradition of literary crime fiction.