I feel like this is a story that you’ll be thinking about long after finishing it, it’s gritty, it’s suspenseful, it’s dark and I found it to be a really interesting read. I’ve never read a book about a cult before and I think it worked really well with hearing about the timeline from start to finish, I liked the dual timeline too, it really added to the mystery build up. It was quite a hard read at times regarding all the manipulation, grooming aspect of it and what all the characters went through.

I really liked that there was constant conflicting with Lucy’s character, she was obviously flawed and questionably unreliable and I never really knew how to feel about her, but I feel like that was the point. learning about her upbringing and her experiences was interesting when reflecting on what type of person she was as she explains everything about her journey, both past and present. I did really enjoy the psychological element of it and the true crime & the ways of the industry that was all included in the story, I thought it worked really well.

I loved the writing too, I’d definitely be interested in reading more of the authors work based off this book.
Overall it was incredibly thought provoking, intense, well written and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it.

This is a sharp, addictive debut that reads like a true crime documentary you can’t stop watching. Lucy Golden, cult survivor, controversial memoirist, and reluctant public figure, is a wonderfully complex protagonist: part victim, part icon, and never as straightforward as people want her to be.

The dual timelines and mixed formats create a tense, layered narrative that’s both fast paced and emotionally grounded. Once the story drops into the 'Oasis', we get a character study mixed with pure thriller energy. The ending actually made me a little teary eyed too.

A little dark, a little unsettling, but incredibly compelling, this novel explores trauma, fame, and the messy business of owning your own story.

a riveting and intense read. one which plays so many questions around in my head and i loved it for that.you cant help but want to know more. you cant help but be one of the audience wanting to know the truth of the story.
this isn't the type of thriller that scares via shocks, gore or big waves made. it instead hums simmering under the surface of you the whole way through. and that is indeed made so much possible by the main character Lucy. she was a teenage survivor of a cult. but her life spun when she became some sort of true crime celeb with people vying at her coat tails for more more more like shes some kind of movie star. this is so true to the weirdness of real life in relation to these things and people. its gone down a rabbit whole in our society of creating stars out of criminal or stars out of harrowing stories.
in this book we look at how Lucy has tried to fight to have her own narrative. shes served her time for this over and over and it seems no one seem to let it go. the thirst from trauma fans fuel more and more around this story. she somehow famous for everything a person could NOT want to be famous for. this creates a character that you are never quite sure of and flip between feelings on. she is somehow large and yet so small and vulnerable. shes in this spotlight and yet you can feel her want to hide and not be seen. not to mention the lingering harm done to her from what she went through in her past. and of course the world doesn't seem to remember this or even care. they've created what they have of her,about her. she whatever the audience or public have built no matter how far away it might be from the truths! so who is she really? who must she be to be seen or carry on living in this outside world? the other characters surrounding her life also bring her to life, and you cant help but feel for someone who has ALL this going on in their lives. what kind of person would that ever shape you into? it would crack me in too. will it Lucy?
when secrets start to surface it becomes even more gripping. you are waiting tense with what might be to come. you dont know whether you feel the need to rescue Lucy or hear more from her because is there so much more shes not been saying? do we need to drop allegiances? or is her story still explainable due to circumstance? have i been fooled once again by a social media star like character???
with a documentary on the cusp about her, more podcast releases it seems the tension could rocket and blow. i felt it, i felt myself feeling more and more uneasy. i waiting too. i was just flicking through pages wanting and then needing to know more and how this would all play out. was i as bad as the audiences hounding her, haha?
i love how much Rachel had so much in here but each element was done right. it felt like she had all the details and concepts down. true crime, cults and trauma and she knocked each thing out the park and wove them around each other brilliantly. i couldn't get enough of this one.
the idea of making victims celebrity makes me so uncomfortable. the way we suddenly make trauma victims into a spectacle and then often pick over them has never been more relevant or worrying. this book holds all that up so well and writes it clearly to make you feel all those unsettling thoughts all the way through.

I was hooked from the very first line. This was addictive to read and had so many twists and turns. Lucy, despite being a deeply unlikeable character, makes a fantastic narrator. I pitied her, judged her, and in the end came to understand her. I won’t say too much about the plot itself, because I think you need to go into this book blind for the full experience. Taff managed to deliver a whirlwind of a story with deplorable characters, real human tragedy and plot twists that had me reeling. Absolutely absorbing and excellently written.

Rachel Taff's Paper Cut is an evocative thriller. Despite being thirty-five years old, Lucy Golden still struggles to accept her involvement in a cult twenty years ago. She has maintained her relevance on the true crime scene by writing a book about her experience. However, she is at first hesitant to appear in a forthcoming documentary. Lucy consents to participate when documentarian Isaac Coleman says he will make the movie with or without her. What follows is an intriguing mystery full of twists.

I thoroughly enjoyed this. It took me a few chapters to get into it, but once in, I was completely invested.

The protagonist has been through the ringer, abducted by a cult for 16, from where she eventually escaped, we hear here story in duel timelines. One part is set in present day, the other her flashbacks to her time at the cult, told by the medium of her best selling book.

She's not instantly likeable, but I prefer that in a thriller. Who wants their females to be saccharine sweet when battling personal demons and dealing with a stalker, a bitch of a mother and a pushy documentary maker? Not me!

Her mother? Wow! I could write a whole essay about her. What a character! It has been a long time since someone in a book made me angry - but she managed to!

Lots of shocker moments and plot twists, this is a perfect read for fans of thrillers and true crime!