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THE FIRST CUT
by Dianne Emley
Ballantine Books, August 2006
352 pages
$23.95
ISBN: 034548617X


Buy in the UK | Buy in Canada

Nan Vining is finally returning to duty after a year of medical leave after a brutal attack she received while on the job. As a single mom, she relishes the chance to go back to work and regain her own identity as a working woman.

Shortly after her return to the Pasadena Police Department, Nan hears about a case that will allow her to regain her footing with her colleagues. Fellow policewoman Frankie Lynd, is brutally murdered and discovered under a nearby bridge. This murder frightens Nan as she begins suffering 'fever dreams' and flashbacks.

Since her near-death experience, Nan has a new connection with the dead that is paranormal in nature. This ability frightens her and causes her to doubt her own sanity. In order to regain her serenity and her former job, Nan must find Frankie's murderer before future victims can be claimed.

THE FIRST CUT moves very slowly. While attention is paid to details and to the process of a murder investigation, the bulk of this book focuses on Nan's problems re-adjusting to work, to her new role in the police department and her fears that the attack on her has destroyed her ability to be the woman and mother she once was. Depending on what you are looking for in a book, this obsession can be either a positive or a negative thing.

As well as moving slowly, THE FIRST CUT has a couple of additional flaws. My biggest peeve with this book is that the killer is revealed to the reader very early in the book. I prefer books where the reader has to guess the killer's identity. While I do not mind guessing the criminal's identity before the protagonists, I do not like to know for sure nor do I like 'listening' to the criminal's thought process.

While I did not enjoy the plotting of THE FIRST CUT, Nan Vining is a strong character. She has a strong sense of who she is and who she wants to be. She plans to regain her former role in the police department as well as her former peace of mind. Nan is courageous and stubborn enough to stick with a case that threatens her serenity.

This tenacious nature also appears in her determination to overcome the limitations, such as panic attacks that are the result of her near-death experience, makes her appealing and admirable. As well as being a good cop, she wants to improve her relationship with her child as they both confront the fears the past year have put on them.

Nan's character compensates for the weaknesses of THE FIRST CUT. I would be interested to see which direction Dianne Emley's next book will go. I hope that she tightens up her plot and increases the speed of the story but allows Nan to keep her combination of strengths and weaknesses that makes her so engaging.

Reviewed by Sarah Dudley, September 2006

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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)


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