“James Hayman’s THE CUTTING is a stunning debut that gripped me from first page to last. A thriller of a thriller.”
-Tess Gerritsen, NY Times bestselling author of The Keepsake.

Someone is Stealing the Hearts of Beautiful Young Women…Homicide detective Mike McCabe left New York for Maine seeking to escape his own dark past and to find a refuge from the violence of the big city for himself and for his teenaged daughter.

But on the cobble-stoned streets of Portland he finds far more than he bargained for.

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From St. Martin’s Minotaur

The Portland Press-Herald gives The Cutting “A Rave Review.”
Here’s an excerpt:

In “The Cutting,” (Hayman) gives readers a suspenseful police procedural whirling around a character who has the brains, courage and human concern to be the reader’s hero from start to finish.

All in all, if that sounds like a rave review, it’s because I intend this to be one. Rarely does a new novelist make a debut, in Maine or anywhere else, as polished, well-paced and plotted as this one.

Even less often does a writer create characters as well-drawn and centered as Hayman gives us with his Portland Police Detective Sgt. Mike McCabe, three years into life in his new city.

Read the entire review at:
http://pressherald.mainetoday.com/story.php?id=274367&ac=Audience&pg=1

Here’s an excerpt from a terrific review of The Cutting from The Bangor Daily News

“Hayman’s pacing is perfect. He sends the detective hurtling after the killer but also allows McCabe to stop just often enough for readers to learn how deeply damaged the man is. At his core, the policeman, like the victims for whom he seeks justice, is fragile. It is his stubborn tenacity, his young daughter and his artist girlfriend that keep him going…The Cutting is an unsettling thriller, not because Portland and the state have a history of madmen killing strangers on a rampage. What’s frightening is that Hayman makes it seem possible, even probable.”

Read the entire review at:

http://www.bangordailynews.com/detail/111054.html

Another Rave Review from Bill Bushnell at the Brunswick Times-Record:

“This may be Hayman’s first novel, but he writes like a pro. Colorful, gritty, and vivid, the story is complex, suspenseful, and full of unexpected yet carefully constructed plot twists… Hayman spins a terrific yarn of action-packed suspense and mayhem.”

The Cutting Selected for IndieNext list!
The Cutting has been selected for the July ‘09 American Booksellers Association Indie Next Great Reads List. The IndieNext list is compiled from nominations by independent booksellers across the country and consists of the twenty or so best-liked books published that month in all categories. According to the ABA website “The Indie Next List, drawn from bookseller-recommended favorite handsells, epitomizes the heart and soul of passionate bookselling. Independent booksellers are and have always been discoverers of the next big thing, the next great read, the next bestseller, and the next undiscovered gem.”