A story that’s told with dual timelines. Both are interesting. There’s a little bit of a mystery to solve and a new romance. The jewelry design descriptions sounded beautiful. I liked Ruby and her desire to help.
Definitely recommend

The Cut of the Moon is a mesmerizing dual-timeline mystery that immediately drew me in. Ellingsen masterfully balances past and present, weaving together Lindsey’s search for truth with Ruby’s heartbreaking choices in 1925. The diary connection between the two women creates a seamless bridge between the timelines. Lindsey’s curiosity and determination made her a character I loved following. Ruby’s story was full of tension, sacrifice, and emotional depth that kept me turning the pages. The Wind Thorne estate was described with such vivid detail that it felt like a character itself, hiding secrets in every corner. Each twist and revelation landed with both suspense and heart. The emotional layers of family, loyalty, and love gave the story incredible richness. I also appreciated how the romance was subtle yet meaningful, adding warmth to the darker themes. This is a haunting, beautifully written novel that will stay with me long after reading.

Vivid, enchanting, and immersive!⁣
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𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 is a spellbinding, mysterious tale set in both 1920s New York and the present day, which takes you into the lives of two unforgettable women. Lindsey, a young jewelry designer who, after discovering the existence of an old diary, endeavours to delve deep into the shadows of her family’s complicated history, and Ruby, a spirited young woman who, after stealing her sister’s engagement ring and fleeing her ancestral home, sets off an unfortunate chain of events that ultimately leads to tragedy.⁣
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The prose is rich and smooth. The characters are layered, daring, and unyielding. And the plot is a captivating tale full of suspicious figures, perilous pursuits, hidden truths, deception, murder, and the glittering allure of gemology.⁣
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Overall, 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐂𝐔𝐓 𝐎𝐅 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐌𝐎𝐎𝐍 is another mesmerizing, atmospheric, beautifully crafted novel by Ellingsen that is entertaining, nostalgic, and deeply intriguing.

This is among one of my favourite types of stories - a dual time line! Not to mention the gorgeous cover that first attracted me!

The first timeline is set in the 1920's. Ruby Thornhill lives with her well-to-do farming family on an estate called Wind Thorne in up-state New York. The family also dabbles in bootlegging. A young Ruby steals her sister's engagement ring in hopes that she won't marry and leave her. On that same night a servant falls to her death down the stairs and Ruby sees the dead body. She runs away from her family with her neighbour Chester who is looking for his older brother in New York City. They both begin to work as servants for a wealthy family but the stock market crashes in 1929 and they are forced to return home to their families. Shortly upon Ruby's return the whole family is killed.

In the present day Lindsey McKenna is a jewellery designer and the Great-Grandaughter of the former owners of Wind Thorne. Her Aunt is now the sole-owner and is restoring the estate with Lindsey's help. While hosting a special event there Lindsey is approached by a lady who says her mother used to work at the mansion. She has an old diary that once belonged to Ruby. Lindsey is intrigued to read it and piece together what happened so long ago. Could the diary hold answers to the still missing ring? Will she discover some old family secrets in the process?

This is a slow-building story that is told very well. The timelines blend seamlessly. If you enjoy a mystery, with a touch of romance and family drama you will enjoy it. Good twist at the end!

Published on September 16, 2025

I'd like to kindly thank NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for granting me access to this Advance Reader's Copy.

Thank you NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing for this eCopy to review.

I didn’t expect The Cut of the Moon to be so emotionally layered, but it completely swept me away. Cynthia Ellingsen has crafted a dual-timeline mystery that’s both haunting and heart warming, with themes of family, legacy, and the secrets we carry.

💍 Plot Summary
In the present day, jewellery designer Lindsey McKenna is working at an antique exhibit at the Wind Thorne estate, a place she’s long been obsessed with. When a visitor hands her an old diary, Lindsey is pulled into a century-old mystery that begins in 1925, when Ruby Thornhill steals her sister’s engagement ring in a desperate attempt to stop a wedding she fears will tear them apart.

What follows is a beautifully interwoven story of two women, separated by time but united by love, loss, and a shared determination to uncover the truth. As Lindsey teams up with a charming gemologist, she begins to unravel not only Wind Thorne’s dark history, but her own.

🕰️ What Stood Out
- Atmosphere: Wind Thorne estate is practically a character in itself, elegant, eerie, and full of secrets.
- Dual Timeline: The transitions between Ruby’s 1920s world and Lindsey’s modern-day investigation are seamless and compelling.
- Emotional Depth: The relationships, especially between Ruby and Chester, and Lindsey and Otis are believable, with real stakes and heartbreak.

📔 Final Thoughts
The Cut of the Moon is a rich, evocative mystery that blends historical fiction with emotional storytelling. It’s perfect for fans of Kate Morton or anyone who loves uncovering secrets in old houses.

I was pleasantly thrilled that an immersive reading technique (listening to the Audiobook and reading from my Kindle at the same time) worked for this book! It really helped to distinguish the tone between the two existing timelines happening in the book.

My first impression of this book is that it was page turning! I couldn’t put my headphones and kindle down. It felt a bit slow at first, but I was hooked! I’ve always loved family secrets as a huge theme for ANY mystery book.

The characters were impeccably created for the plot point and very well balanced. I enjoyed getting to know Ruby and Chester from the 1920s as well as Lindsay and Otis in present day.

This book is a solid 4/5 stars for me. Looking forward to the author’s next book!

This was fantastic! I love a dual timeline historical fiction story. Lindsay is invited to work an antique exhibit at the Wind Thorne estate, an estate that has always been shrouded in mystery after an unsolved murder in the early 1930s. In 1925 Ruby lived at the estate and was preparing for her sisters wedding. Witnessing a tragedy has her running from the secrets that lurk within the walls.

I really enjoyed following Lindsay and Ruby and they discovered their places in their world around them, as they longed to make things right. I adore Ruby and her story, the way she saw right from wrong and wasn't afraid to follow through. I felt for Lindsay and her fractured relationships after the loss of her mother. The mystery of what happened that fateful day in 1931 was compelling, and I enjoyed the way the timelines converged. Both women grapple with who to trust, and even if they can trust themselves at points. There is also a romance subplot for each FMC that I found sweet. Overall, this was fantastic and great for any lover of historical fiction!

Atmospheric, emotional, and twisty with a few pacing issues
Really enjoyed this one! The Cut of the Moon blends mystery, grief, and family drama in a beautifully written, emotionally layered story. Greer is a strong and relatable lead, and the setting Mackinac Island adds a dreamy, almost gothic tone to the story. Loved the slow unraveling of family secrets and the haunting feel throughout.
That said, the middle lagged a bit for me. Some scenes felt repetitive, and a few side characters could’ve used more development. But overall, the story kept me hooked, and the payoff was satisfying.
If you're into moody mysteries with emotional depth (think Tana French lite or Megan Miranda), this one’s worth picking up.

This historical novel follows the familiar format of dual timeline, dual POV. In this case, the reader gets a glimpse into the story of Ruby, a wealthy American in the late 1920s, via Lindsey in the present day, whose great-grandmother was part of Ruby’s family’s estate.

Through a series of diary entries made by Ruby, Lindsey and her gem-dealer love interest, Otis, discover that there was more to Ruby and her family than first meets the eye. The reader follows Ruby’s journey through her adolescence and young adulthood as she runs away to New York City after witnessing a traumatic event at home and fearing for her own safety due to the nefarious actions of her Uncle Peter. Together with her friend Chester, she assumes a new identity in the city until both the Great Depression and the influenza epidemic drive her back to where she had hoped she would never have to go…

The characters in Ruby’s timeline engaged me far more than those in the present day. Ruby and Chester were intensely likeable and well-developed characters, whereas Lindsey and Otis had nothing about them that made them stand out or appear memorable. A secondary narrative strand about a lost ring and Lindsey’s mother’s career as a jeweller served as a strong driver for the modern-day story but this plotline eventually lost steam in the 1920s/30s narrative, in favour of a much stronger storyline about immigration that I felt could have had more time devoted to it in the novel.

I enjoyed this novel but mostly the historical element. I also learned a lot about the Great Depression and how it affected wealthy Americans as well as the working classes. The character of Ruby will stay with me long after reading this novel.

Lindsey McKenna is happy to be helping her Aunt Petra with an opening of the newly restored local landmark Wind Thorne in upstate New York and it’s now a museum. Crowds of people line up to look and explore the estate, Petra has various tables set up and Lindsey is in charge of antique jewellery and next to a gemmologist Otis Allen.

A lady approaches Lindsey, she claims her mother worked as a maid at Wind Thorne and she feels uneasy about her reasons for coming forward.

The dual timeline story is set in present time and starts in the 1920’s and is easy to follow and a century apart.

Wind Thorne was once a thriving cattle ranch, they grew barley and corn and made whisky, until three things happened, an expensive diamond ring went missing, the Great Depression and tragedy struck.

Ruby with her neighbour Chester Mensley start snooping around the property, and they uncover an illegal and dangerous side to her family and this is when things start to spiral out of control.

I received a copy of The Cut of the Moon by Cynthia Ellingsen from NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing in exchange for an unbiased review. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this narrative, at first I dismissed Ruby’s character as immature, especially when she moved to Manhattan, but the more I read and it drew me in and I was hooked.

A mystery about a family’s history, stolen jewellery, greed and lies, bootlegging and prohibition, murder and violation of human rights; with other aspects such as Lindsey’s mothers death and how she wanted to preserve her legacy, her distant relationship with her father and she felt he pushed her away when she needed him the most and favoured her brother and this causes her to have issues with trusting people.

Five stars from me, the perfect read for fans of dual timeline historical fiction with emphasis on old houses and estates and diary’s and paperwork and uncovering hidden secrets and how they unexpectedly link the past to the present.

This was such an entertaining that I finished in a few hours.
A well written story that kept me hooked from the very beginning.
The characters draw you in and keeps you flipping the pages.
They are realistic and very well developed.
I really enjoyed the writing style. I found myself hooked, turning the pages.

This book was great. A dual-timeline story with the perfect amount of mystery (and a little bit of romance).

The characters were well written and the storylines were easy to follow, but still surprising and enjoyable.

Thanks to NetGalley for the e-arc.

This book was pretty good. I kept wanting to know who killed Ruby's family and why. It was like a mystery with a historical element to it. Plus the end when Lindsey was trying to learn the truth about what was going on in present day. Overall, I liked this book and thought it was well written.

Dual time lines- the 1920s and the present-linked by a ring. Ruby stole her sister's engagement ring thinking (and no it doesn't make a lot of sense) that this might stop her sister's wedding but it instead opens up a generational problem and threat. Lindsay, in the present, finds a diary and decides to look for the ring and explore her family's past but this leaves her in peril. Good characters, nice atmospherics. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. This is one for fans of historical fiction who like a dash of romance thrown in..

3.5 Stars
One Liner: Starts with a bang but drags halfway through

1925
Young Ruby Thornhill’s life changes forever after her elder sister’s pre-wedding party. When she steals the diamond engagement ring, she doesn’t realize it will lead to so many consequences.
Present Day
Data analyst (and jewelry designer) Lindsey McKenna is in two minds about the antique exhibition at Wind Throne. The estate has a dark history – someone murdered the family living there in the 1920s. Today, it has become a museum, but the mysteries remain: who killed them, and where is the missing diamond ring?
The story comes in Ruby and Lindsey’s third-person POVs.

My Thoughts:
Though I don’t remember, I read one of the author’s books, The Choice I Made, and rated it well. Since I liked the premise of the current book, I decided to grab a copy.
The dual timeline comes in alternate chapters, and I was initially intrigued by both. The beginning is slow, but the story gradually picks up pace. It is by no means fast-paced, but it does gain momentum after a point.
However, the story began to drag in the second half. Though a lot was happening in the past timeline, it didn’t seem like there was enough progress. In fact, both main characters tended to go around in circles for different reasons.
The book deals with a range of themes – privilege, life from the mid-1920s and early 1930s in the US (bootleggers as well as the stock market crash, etc.), loss of a parent, dysfunctional families, father-daughter relationship, love, and more.
There are some parallels in both main characters and their journeys. This was interesting to an extent. However, some sudden developments (in the present timeline) didn’t feel seamless. They appeared more like a way to give the track a hopeful ending and diluted the impact. Also, certain actions by the characters were mostly for the plot to move forward in a specific manner (which affects character development).
In the past timeline, it was rather a surprise to learn that Ruby was fifteen when we first met her. I thought she was nine or eleven at the most! The extent of naivety is then and later often made me wonder how she managed to survive the way she did. No doubt, it was because of others who stepped in when she was so clueless!
The writing is enjoyable, though there were moments in the second half when I lost interest and just wanted the book to end. I feel the book would have been more entertaining if it was at least 30 pages shorter. Also, there is no epilogue!
To summarize, The Cut of the Moon is an intriguing drama in a dual time, dealing with some serious themes. While it has many good moments, I can’t say I liked it a lot. However, I do recommend the book if you are into this genre and don’t mind the slow pace.
Thank you, NetGalley and Lake Union Publishing, for the eARC. This review is voluntary and contains my honest opinion about the book.

During the 1920s, the Wind Thorne estate in upstate New York was a symbol of immense wealth and luxury, shrouded in many secrets. As Ruby Thornhill's elder sister prepares for her wedding, Ruby steals the engagement ring in an attempt to disrupt the union. After witnessing the death (and possible murder) of one of their servants, she sneaks away to Manhattan with her friend Chester, who lives in the house next door. In the present, Lindsay McKenna is still mourning the death of her mother, a renowned jewelry designer. She decides to visit her Aunt Petra, who inherited Wind Thorne and has restored it to its former splendor as a museum. At an antiques show being held at Wind Thorne, Lindsay meets Otis, a gemologist with whom she forms a connection. She enlists his help in uncovering Wind Thorne's hidden history, including the search for the stolen engagement ring that has been missing for a century.

The Cut of the Moon by Cynthia Ellingsen was very entertaining. The storylines from both the present and historical periods were equally captivating, involving the uncovering of family mysteries. The setting created for Wind Thorne was very well done. You'll be swept back to the time leading up to the Great Depression, with its opulence, followed by years of great loss. This book was highly satisfying.

4.5 stars.

On a dual timeline we meet Ruby and Chester in the 1920's and Lindsey and Otis in present day.
The story is set around the Wind Thorne estate, once Ruby's parental home, now a museum run by Lindsey's aunt. When Lindsey gets hold of an ancestral diary, she decides to put her current job on low and concentrate on the family history, soon turning into family mystery.
Both women choose to step out of their comfort zone and into a life filled with obstacles, which adds serious flavor to the story.

The Cut of the Moon deals with forced marriage, human trafficking, bootlegging and the Great Depression, as well as friendship, care and kindness.
There is a good balance between both time periods. The characters are well developed, the writing is attractive and moves at a pleasant pace, the surroundings are fitting. A subtle twist leads to a satisfying conclusion.

Thank you Netgalley and Lake Union Publishing for the ARC.

Thank you to Net Galley and Lake Union Publishing for the chance to read and review this book. All opinions are my own.
Wow! What a great story! This story is told using two storylines-one is current time, and one is the 1920's. A young woman from each time period is the main character in their story line. There is also a mystery involved. The author does an excellent job of bringing the characters together. It is the kind of book that you don't want to stop reading. You want to find the answers. Lots of times one of the storylines is stronger in a book, but it is not true in this story. I thought both of them were equally engaging. I know you will like this book. It is an intriguing tale with lots of twists and turns.

"A startling mystery and a longing for love link two women, a century apart, in a haunting novel about family secrets by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of The Lost Letters of Aisling.

Jewelry designer Lindsey McKenna is thrilled to be working at an antique exhibit at a local landmark that has been her obsession: the Wind Thorne estate. During the 1920s, it roared. Until an unsolved murder shadowed its legacy. Today, restored as a museum, Wind Thorne draws crowds of visitors to upstate New York. When one of them approaches Lindsey with an old diary, Lindsey is drawn deeper into Wind Thorne's storied past.

It's 1925 when young Ruby Thornhill steals her beloved sister's engagement ring - a naive but heartfelt attempt to stall her upcoming wedding, which Ruby fears will tear the siblings apart. What the theft triggers thrusts Ruby into danger, and with it comes the realization that Wind Thorne is home to potentially inescapable secrets.

Aided by a charming gemologist, Lindsey gradually uncovers Wind Thorne's history - and to her surprise, her own history as well. Now two young women, nearly a century apart, are righting the wrongs of their family and putting the past, and all its heartbreaking mysteries, to rest."

Stealing a ring is a bit risky. It's a pricey item that can trigger extreme reactions...

"The Cut of the Moon" is one of my favorite types of novels - a dual timeline historical fiction that combines mystery and romance in dual timeline. The characters were interesting and kept me reading to see what was going to happen. It was well written, and I was honestly the ending was not what I was expecting but it was such a fun twist. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy!