The Cut: A BBC Radio 2 Book Club pick

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You don’t have to read far into this novel to realise you’re in the hands of a craftsman at the art of thriller writing. Mind you, the name on the front cover should have been a dead giveaway. In between co-penning the excellent Ambrose Parry series with his wife, Chris Brookmyre has found time to produce this brilliant standalone.

Dark, heartfelt, stylish and thrilling, The Cut is the kind of wonderfully original tale I just adore. Chris Brookmyre is a storytelling mastermind’ The Cut is set around films and horror ones particularly. It has two narrators. Jerry, young, and a rather light fingered student of film. Millicent, far older, and was a make-up artist on 80s horror films; she was accused of murdering her boyfriend and served a long sentence for the crime. As I write this I'm thinking that this does not sound like my sort of book. I'm not a "film" person and dislike horror particularly. However these rather off the wall ingredients made for a decent read in my mind.In the early hours of 14 June 2017, a fire engulfed the 24-storey Grenfell Tower in west London, killing at least 72 people and injuring many more. An entire community was destroyed. For many people affected by this tragedy, the psychological scars may never heal. Jerry opened his door, and there, of course, was Danby, with his two wingmen hovering behind, and that lassie Philippa, who was always staring at him like he was a sideshow freak. Bampot Central was shortlisted for the Crime Writers' Association Macallan Short Story Dagger in 1997. Its a decent if unremarkable read that tries a little to hard to impress and wrap everything up in a bow for the reader at the end.

However, much as there are some really good elements it cuts from one time frame to another which makes the cutting choppy. There is so much going on it’s convoluted and there are so many characters and threads my head spins with the effort of keeping up. There are sections especially in the making of Mancipium that are longwinded and don’t especially interest me. There are way too many film references between Jerry and Millicent which someone more au fait with movies may enjoy more than I do. The Cut bears a superficial resemblance to Denise Mina’s Conviction – a woman investigating her own past life among the super-rich, an odd couple on the road in glamorous foreign locations. Both books even have a yacht in them. The Cut, though, is less exuberant, given all that Millie has already lost. As the story unfolds, it becomes clear that she and Jerry are both damaged in their way. Meanwhile, Detective Superintendent and mother-of-two Catherine McLeod is called to the scene of a murder in the Highlands. Following a theatrical outdoor performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream at Cragruthes Castle, a prominent figure in the Scottish arts community is shot dead during a post-performance photo call. With her initial leads turning out to be red herrings, McLeod struggles to determine the killer’s motive.Jerry had spent years growing his hair into dreads like Chris Barnes, Rob Flynn or indeed Rob Zombie, but he doubted Danby would have recognised any of them. The guy had called him that purely because of what it said on the T-shirt he was wearing. consequences of it. He’d claimed he’d lay a hundred to one, but Jerry was the guy who had named the stakes. When a new house share guest - Jerry arrives, while initially not interested, she soon finds him interesting and one of the few people not asking about her past. The epilogue made a reference to the pandemic but seeing as it did not add anything to the story (I don't remember we're told when the story is taking place exactly) it felt a little bit forced. Detective Superintendent Catherine McLeod has one major Glaswegian gangster in the mortuary and another in the cells for killing him - which ought to be cause for celebration. Catherine is not smiling, however. From the moment she discovered a symbol daubed on the victim's head, she has understood that this case is far more dangerous than it appears on the surface, something that could threaten her family and end her career.