I was expecting a much more thrilling read than we got.
Rating: 2.5/5
Alex Brantley is a burned-out surgeon whose desperation to start a new life outside of medicine leads him to settle in a sleepy Texas town close to the Mexican border, a town that has a dark side. Its secrets and his own past catch up with him as traits he thought he’d buried in the deserts on the frontiers of the border rise up again to haunt him.
To the citizens of Three Rivers, Henry Wallis appears to be a normal Texas teenager: a lean, quiet kid from a good family whose life seems to center around running cross-country, his first girlfriend, and Friday night football. That Henry is a cultivated illusion, however, a disguise he wears to conceal his demons. Both meticulous and brutally cruel, he manages to hide his sadistic indulgences from the world, but with that success, his impulses grow stronger until one day when a vagrant is found murdered.
When Alex and Henry’s paths cross, it starts a domino effect which leads to mangled lives and chilling choices made in the shadows along la frontera, where everything is negotiable.
I received a free copy of The Cuts That Cure through Blackthorn Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for this opportunity!
It looks like my good streak has yet to start back up again. I had another not so great read. Which honestly, I’m really bummed about. I was expecting a much more thrilling read than we got.
I was expecting a much more thrilling read than we got.
The premise follows a surgeon, Alex who got burned out being a surgeon and decides to start fresh in a small town as a science teacher. One of his students, Henry appears to be a normal kid. Has decent grades, has a girlfriend, is the star runner on the cross-country team. However, Henry has a dark side he doesn’t let anyone see. Henry has been able to keep this dark sadistic side hidden until one day he finally acts on them and does something unforgivable, murdering a vagrant.
The premise and summary seem so simple, but it felt a bit like a bait and switch. What I expected to get from this read and what I got was the opposite. It felt like we didn’t truly go past the events of what we’re told in the summary. I had hoped to see more of Henry’s sadistic side. I wanted to see a young serial killer. But after we learn the details of the events laid out in the summary that was basically it. That was the end of Henry’s role in the storyline. It just left me going “What? That’s it?”
After we learn the details of the events laid out in the summary that was basically it. That was the end of Henry’s role in the storyline. It just left me going “What? That’s it?”
And then we’re supposedly supposed to see Alex and Henry’s paths cross after Henry murders the vagrant. This couldn’t be farther from the truth, in my opinion. To me, it felt like we were reading two separate stories within the same book. While, yes Alex was Henry’s teacher, there was very little interaction between the two. Or at least, none that we get to see. And so to me, this “cross in each other’s path” didn’t really happen. And this didn’t even occur until 70% into the story. At this point, it no longer felt like a cross in the paths and more of cause and effect.
As I mentioned, this was more of reading two separate stories. I was captivated by Henry’s storyline. I wanted to know what was going to happen next. So much so that I couldn’t help but be bored from Alex’s point of view. I just didn’t find Alex’s story that interesting compared to Henry’s. Every time we got to Alex’s point of view, I just wanted to move along to get back to Henry. As well as, I found myself struggling to follow Alex’s storyline. It was such a different vibe than Henry’s, adding more to my thoughts of two completely different stories. And as I said, the connection between them didn’t happen until 70% into the story, I often found myself thinking “how are these two going to connect?” I was disappointed in the answer.
I just didn’t find Alex’s story that interesting compared to Henry’s. Every time we got to Alex’s point of view, I just wanted to move along to get back to Henry.
I will say, though this book touches heavily on the theme of suicide. This was unexpected for me as the scenes around this theme are intense and graphic. This could be a trigger for some readers. So please keep this in mind.
Overall, I was disappointed with this. The storyline went in an entirely different direction than I expected. And the direction it went just wasn’t one I appreciated based on the premise we’re given in the summary. To me, it was the wrong direction. It’s almost as if the story we read in the book is completely different than the story we’re hinted at with the synopsis.
I was disappointed with this. The storyline went in an entirely different direction than I expected.
However, I think if you enjoy dark thrillers that touch on serious topics such as suicide, then ignore my rating and give this a try for yourself! This just wasn’t the book for me. I’m only one person and no two people read the same book. If you do decide to pick this one up, I sincerely hope you enjoy this one!