The Cut

The Hobbit actor Armitage (Geneva) proves his auspicious literary debut was no fluke with this stellar sophomore outing. In September 2023, Ben Knot is trying to keep his failing architecture firm afloat in the English village of Barton Mallet. His professional distress is compounded when he reads a report that the so-called “Mill Killer” is about to be released on parole, reviving painful memories from the summer of 1994, when Ben graduated from high school in the same town, and someone he knew died. Meanwhile, Ben’s son, Nate, has been cast in a horror movie shooting in Barton Mallet that Ben slowly realizes is taking inspiration from that long-ago scandal. Armitage toggles back and forth in time, opening the narrative with a nameless teen witnessing what appears to be a murder and gradually teasing out the secrets that Ben has carried with him for the past 30 years. With atmospheric prose, a serpentine plot, and searing psychological acuity, Armitage explores themes of guilt, bullying, and small-town sins without skimping on entertainment value. The result stands with the best of Minette Walters. Agent: Amy Mitchell, United Agents. (Sept.)