I didn't know what to expect. An actor starting to write books? Well, I loved it. It's an enjoyable, entertaining and suspenseful book. The back and forth between past and present made it a little difficult to read but I just couldn't stop reading. A recommendation. I guess now I'm going to have to read the author's other book.
I received an advance review copy via NetGalley/Faber and Faber and I'm leaving a voluntary and honest review.

Wow what a fabulous well written thriller this was!
We had
Beautifully developed characters
Dual timelines
Well executed topics such as bullying, racism & homophobia
This story kept you on track and intrigued throughout I couldn’t put it down!
Richard arbitrage is definitely an auto buy author now after smashing another book out the park

I don't know why it is that we readers think that just because someone is famous, they must be able to write a novel. I'm as guilty of it as anyone - I see a famous name, someone I like and consider talented in their chosen field, and curiosity as much as anything prompts me to read. But being good at acting does not automatically qualify someone to write a decent novel, and that's true of Richard Armitage. If he were an unknown person submitting this manuscript, it wouldn't have been published.

It's a strange, confused and dark thriller that is incredibly implausible. The action switches between 1993, when teenage bullying in a nondescript Midlands village ended in tragedy, and 2023/4, when a film crew arrives at the same village to recreate the events. Ben Knot was a friend of the murdered child, and since has become a successful architect. His two children are cast in the film, and he becomes more and more concerned about the motives of the film makers and their uncanny knowledge of the events of that year. It's clear early on that many secrets remain about what really happened on the night in question, and someone is determined to get to the truth.

It's one of those dark, grubby books where most of the characters are horrible, and there's an unrelenting grimness about it. It's depressing without being moving. The writing is description heavy and it feels slow even though it's supposed to be a thriller. None of it has the ring of truth either - neither the historic story nor the more modern one. The casual set up around the film seems utterly unbelievable - I'm no actor but surely film crews don't sign up a child online, proceed to start filming without permission from (presumably) the only person with parental responsibility, and also use said child star's house as a base for all their equipment, again without permission upfront from the homeowner. The more you think about how events came about, the more ludicrous it is. So many elements just don't make sense. Far too much was left to chance by those behind the film, and so many key things were never explained.

I can't really find a lot good to say about it - it is fairly compelling at the end, as you would expect from a thriller, but there are literally hundreds of thrillers out there that are also well written, with good characters and at least a level of plausibility. I don't recommend wasting time on 'The Cut' when you can read one of those instead. Richard Armitage would be better off sticking to what he's good at and leave writing novels o people who are good at that.

Just finished ‘The Cut’ by Richard Armitage. This book is set to be released on the 28th of August 2025. It’s categorized as a Thriller / mystery novel.

I have to be really honest; I had a real hard time getting through this book. It felt like the storyline was all over the place. This story has a storyline set in the past and one in the present. There isn’t really a main point of view, it’s a bit scattered around which makes the story hard to follow. Also, the chapters that are set in the past seem to flow over to the present without warning. It really is confusing.

BUT I did finish it, I just can’t give it a high rating.

So, this story is about uncovering something that happened in 1994, we get about a year worth of storyline prior to the faithful day; to get a feel about the characters. It’s a group of teenagers we’re following; The Davis Twins, both are complete bullies. Ben; a teenage boy with a really short fuse and also a bully. Annie; Ben’s girlfriend. Dave; The peeping tom with his camera desperate to fit in with this group and has a secret crush on Annie. Cat; Annie’s sister and Mark AKA Marcello; The one that gets bullied.

Every little thing, every scuffle, every fight. Everything leads up to a faithful day where a girl gets killed and it’s all caught on film. But this film goes missing, the one eye witness can’t handle talking about what happened but still an arrest is made so surely justice is served.

Fast forward to the present day.

Ben has a failing business and there is a fraud investigation on the way. With all the stress from his job and trying to figure out what went wrong. He is happily married to Dani and has two kids with his ex-wife; a daughter called Lily and a son called Nate.

(Struggling to write this review, sorry)

Cutting the story short; Nate and Lily get cast to play a role in a movie called ‘The Cut’. A lot of their time goes in to this, without Ben knowing the extent of this movie and the amount of school the kids are missing. It takes Ben a long time to figure out what the movie is about and what happens in the end. When the penny drops, Ben shifts in full gear and does everything he can to make sure his kids are safe. But, at what cost? What did actually happen back in 1994?

Sorry, only 1.5 stars from me.

With a celebrity author, it's hard to read the story without thinking about them. 

I remember first watching Richard Armitage play Lucas North in Spooks on the BBC. Then I saw him in The Hobbit films. More recently, he's starred in a number of Harlan Coben adaptations, including Fool Me Once.

The characters I've seen him play are dark, intense and brooding. It's fitting that this book is in the suspenseful thriller category. You can easily imagine the author playing a leading role in the story.

In a nutshell, if you enjoy gripping and dark thrillers, this is one for you. 

A murderer who killed one of Ben Knott's school friends is about to be released. Ben's life takes a dark turn when his son is cast in a film that brings back memories of Ben's own childhood.

The story is told through two timelines, which work well to slowly reveal what happened 30 years ago as well as what's happening now. Each chapter is clear about the date it takes place. The characters are also clearly drawn and mostly believable. You become invested in what happens to them and how the story will pan out. 

To add authenticity to the story, there are many cultural references. The only problem is that some of these are in the wrong era.  

In the mid-1990s, a teenage girl is shown as a fan of Duran Duran, but this group was mainly popular in the early 1980s. It's unlikely they'd be the go-to group for a 90s teenager. Also, in the same timeline, a teenage boy is said to have modelled his running style after Steve Ovett, a well-known athlete of the early 1980s. Again, it's hard to believe he was an idol to many 90s teenagers.

What's more, in the current day timeline (2024), a teenager refers to an Atari games console, a ZX Spectrum and Betamax videos. While the character is disparaging about these old technologies, it's hard to believe that today's teenagers would have even heard of them.

I'd read more from Richard Armitage because The Cut was well-paced, with an original story and engaging characters. But the outdated cultural references have pushed down my review score to four stars. 

Thanks to Faber and Faber and NetGalley for providing me with an ARC of the book. All opinions are my own.

Thank you to Faber & Faber Ltd and NetGalley for an advanced copy of The Cut, a twisty, psychological thriller from Richard Armitage. This was dark, ominous, captivating and not a single likeable character could be found.
Definitely one of the more unique ways to catch a killer and I can imagine the audiobook, narrated by Richard Armitage, would be brilliant too!

I absolutely couldn’t help but imagine Richard Armitage as the MC even thought the description did not match!

This was a sad, nostalgic, tense, well-paced read. At one point, I suspected everyone but I think it quickly becomes clear who was responsible. I found it an easy, entertaining read and kept wanting to pick this up to find out what happened next.

My only gripe was not seeing things from a certain POV at the end. I wanted to see how they felt about the outcome.

Ben Knott has tried his level best to put the tragic events of the past behind him, when a girl whom he knew was killed, nearly 3 decades ago. Now her killer is free once again, and is returning to their village. What will this mean for those who don't want old secrets dredged up?

To make matters worse, Ben's two children get jobs in a film that is being made in their area, and that turns out not to be straightforward either. Because Ben realises to his horror that the story line is all too familiar...

This is a gripping tale that features dual timelines. Unfortunately, that can at times be confusing, because it is not always clear what is going on. Nevertheless, this book is worth reading.

The plot grips you from the start as Armitage creates an atmosphere of fear and dread as a young film maker runs for his life in eerie surroundings.

The plot unfolds over two timelines and it was sometimes a challenge to know who was who.

Overall an adept and creative thriller from the author of the outstanding Geneva.

When I requested this on NetGalley, I fancied the sound of the plot and it didn’t click into place until later that it is THE Richard Armitage of ‘bad guy in thrillers on tv’ fame! So then I was really intrigued to see what this would be like!

The Cut is a really well-written, tense thriller set between two timelines - 1994 and 2024. Interestingly, the 94 timeline is in the present tense and 24 timeline in the past tense. I’m not sure why - maybe to signify how the past is still so vital to the main characters.

At times, I found the story a little over-complicated, as it sometimes switched between characters’ POVs mid-chapter! And there were a lot of characters’ POVs! Especially towards the end, as the switches between timelines got more furious!

But overall it was a good story! In the 90s, a group of teenagers are getting ready to finish school and go to college, excitement for the future mixing with the tensions of bullying, racism and homophobia. There’s some unpleasant characters in there! By the end of the summer, one of the kids is killed.

Now, 30 years later, the murderer is about to be released from prison and Ben Knot, now an architect struggling with some legal and financial problems, has never forgotten the events of that year. When his children, Nate and Lily, score parts in a horror movie, it soon becomes apparent to Ben that things are not what they seem with the timing and subject of the film.

I enjoyed how the two timelines started to converge at the end, with events taking place at the same school dance 30 years apart and the tension build up to a climax in both timelines!

This is a pacy and twisty read.

After a murder 30 years ago the murderer returns and what follows is a thriller that cover the trauma that the murder caused and how it can reappear years later.

Told in two timelines Ben Knotts schoolfriends are killed and years later his son is cast in a film that covers the bullying and the murder.

This is a brilliantly told read and one that some could find triggering.

It is a sensitive read but the actual events are told with some realism.

well worth the reading time

Following the runaway success of thriller Geneva, Armitage is back with another compelling story. Twisted, dark and viciously entertaining.

Dark and gripping with many twists and turns, I loved it. My only gripe was because the story is set across two timelines involving the same characters, I did find this a little confusing at times.