Apr 23, 202310 min read

The First Cut by Val Penny. Review

Book Description

It’s hard to escape a brutal past.

A vicious killer is on the loose .

Victims targeted include an academic and members of Edinburgh's high society.

When the Murder Investigation Team find out that the killer is connected to her past, DS Jane Renwick is banished to the side-lines and forced to look on as the manhunt ramps up at a ferocious pace.

Has someone from Jane's birth family returned to haunt her?

Is one of her relatives involved?

Where will the killer strike next?

This gripping police procedural is set in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The exciting novel is the first in Val Penny’s new series of Scottish thrillers.

BLOG TOUR REVIEW

Review for 'The First Cut' by Val Penny.

Read and reviewed for ZooLoos Book Tours, Spellbound Books and Val Penny.

Publication date 6th March 2023.

This is the fourth book I have read by this author. It is also the first book in a new series by the amazing Val called 'The Jane Renwick Thrillers'. book in the 'DI Hunter Wilson Crime Thriller' series but can be read as a standalone. I have also read 'Hunter's Chase' which is the first book in the 'DI Hunter Wilson Crime Thriller' series, 'Hunter's Revenge' which is the second book in the 'DI Hunter Wilson Crime Thriller' series and 'Hunter's Force' which is the third book in the 'DI Hunter Wilson Crime Thriller' series and I would highly recommend them all.

I was originally drawn to this book by its eye catching cover and intriguing sounding synopsis and title. I also love Val's books and if this is half as good as 'Hunter's Chase', 'Hunter's Revenge' and 'Hunter's Force' it is guaranteed to be a page turner!! It is probably one of the weirdest reasons to want to read a book but another reason I was drawn to it is because one of the main characters is called Hunter and Hunter is in the title and sons name is Hunter!! I must admit I was also biased due to the publisher being Spellbound Books. I have yet to read a book published by Spellbound Books that I haven't enjoyed. Hopefully this won't be the first... Watch this space! (Written before I started reading the book).

This novel consists of a prologue. The chapters are short to medium in length so easy to read 'just one more chapter' before bed...OK, I know yeah right, but still just in case!

This book is based in Edinburgh and Glasgow, Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿, UK 🇬🇧. The bonus for me of books that are partly or fully based in the UK is that I live in the UK and have sometimes visited places mentioned in the book which makes it easier to picture.

This book is written in a mix of third and first person perspective and the protagonists are DS Jane Renwick, DC Amar Patel, DC Angus McKenzie and the unnamed killer. The benefits of books written in first person perspective are as long as they are well written it makes you feel that you are being spoken to by the protagonist and it can create more of a bond between yourselves and them. If there are several protagonists you also get to see more of what is going on. The benefits of third person perspective with multiple protagonists are that it let's you see the bigger picture of what's going on and you get to know more characters more, what they are thinking and what they are doing. It feels like you get to see the whole picture and not miss out in anything. To have the benefit of both first and third person perspective ensures you don't miss out on anything.

This book is extremely well written with vivid descriptions that really set the scene and kept me on the edge of my seat. The cover and synopsis suited the storyline perfectly.

WOW!! Yet another explosive way to start a new series by this AMAZING author!!! I was absolutely gobsmacked from the mind blowing beginning to the very end!! If you loved Val's DI Hunter Wilson series you will absolutely LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this series too!! If you haven't read any of Val's books then what the heck are you waiting for?!?

OMG!!! I absolutely LOVED Val's DI Hunter Wilson and when I realised she had started a series based on Jane I was absolutely landed. I must admit that I didn't think it would be as good as the Hunter series because it was one of the best series I have read but Val blew it out of the water and managed to write a book just as amazing and I cannot wait for the next book in either series!! I loved Jane in the Hunter series so I absolutely LOVED getting to know her more in this book along with meeting more of my old friends from that series along with more new characters but I will go into more detail on the characters in a bit. I was completely sucked into the pages from start to finish and was gutted when it came to an end! The storyline is multi-layered and absolutely ram packed with mystery, deceit, murder, secrets, lies, romance, tension and suspense. I love the fact that although this is a crime thriller there is some light hearted moments throughout which had me laughing out loud on several occasions!! I also enjoyed the fact that there wasn't just the main storyline but plenty of other events going on to absolutely grip the readers attention. I enjoyed looking into the lives of several of the characters. I was absolutely glued to the pages from the very first one until I came to the end. i was devastated to say goodbye to some of my favourite characters so I really hope Val is typing up the next book as I write!! Hint Hint Val ;) This is one of those books where I had my kindle glued to my hand from the first thing in the morning until I had devoured it all in a few hours. I genuinely could not put it down as every time I told myself I would finish that chapter and get on with something else I had to know what happened next and this happened so many times I just read it all in one sitting in the end!! Therefore, make sure you have no plans before you even read the first sentence!!! In this book we meet a killer who is picking off seemingly random victims who don't seem to have much in common. However, the killer has something in common with DI Jane Renwick as it turns out they are related. This means that Jane cannot work the case and is sent home which angers and upsets Jane as she has not met her family since she was taken away from them as a child and yet they are still managing to ruin her life. Her wife Rachael who is working under DI Hunter Wilson has accrued some holidays so takes some time off to be with her. However, if you have read any of the books in the Hunter series you know Jane has a habit of not listening so does some digging of her own. One of the things I loved about Val's Hunter Wilson series is that she managed to shock me every time when it came to who the killer was and yet again she manages to do it in this book and I guessed completely wrong!!! Jane only has 3 brothers so the there is a small number of people who could be the killer which makes it even more intriguing as you try to work out who is lying. It has gotten harder and harder to shock be but Val has managed it in all the four books I have read by her so a HUGE WELL DONE VAL on YET AGAIN proving me wrong!!! Something I very rarely admit to, especially when it comes to my partner so just between us lol!! Anyway, I best move on to what I thought of the characters before this turns into a book but CONGRATULATIONS Val on what promises to be another addictive, explosive and successful series by you!!! I cannot wait to get stuck in to the next book in this amazing series 'A Fighting Chance'!

DO NOT EVEN THINK ABOUT READING THIS UNTIL YOU HAVE CLEARED YOUR SCHEDULES AS YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO PUT IT DOWN!!!

It is always worrying when starting a new series as you have no idea who the characters are. It is very important for me to bond with not only the lead protagonists but also any characters that may make repeat appearances during the series too.

I wasn't just 100% invested in the storyline but also in the characters, many of whom I have met previously in Val's 'DI Hunter Wilson' series and I was absolutely landed to meet them again as they very quickly became like friends to me and I have missed them!. Every single one of the characters were well defined, realistic and strong. I absolutely loved Jane in Hunter's books and loved reading more about her past and getting to know her more in this book. Jane has an absolutely tragic past but she refuses to let it define her. She is a strong, determined and smart woman. I always love seeing strong female protagonists as a female myself and Jane is definitely one of my 3 favourite protagonists! jane is married to DC Rachael Anderson who works under DI Hunter Wilson in Fettes Station in Edinburgh, Jane and Rachael make a fantastic couple although they don't always see eye to eye they are a strong couple who have been through a lot together in the previous books. We meet Rachael's parents in this book and I absolutely loved her mum who treats Jane like a second daughter which I think is beautiful. Rachael is another strong female lead who I really like and I have been invested in and connect with since I met her. Due to Jane being off the case we spend a lot of time with DC Amar Patel and DC Angus McKenzie. I wasn't a huge fan of Amar when we first met him and I thought he was a bit of a childish idiot but as I got to know him more I got to like him. Angus made me laugh out loud on so many occasions i kept getting funny looks off my partner!! They make me laugh when they are together as they act like schoolchildren at times insulting each other. It takes them a while to warm up to each other as Amar is more concerned about trying to look better than Angus and trying not to let him get one up on him but as the book goes on they start working together better and as a team. Other characters from the Hunter series that we met again in this book included DI Hunter Wilson who I really connected with from the start and love how well he works with his team. Hunter is down to Earth, has a good sense of humour and is a great team player. I have enjoyed watching his relationship with Dr Meera Sharm develop and I'm looking forward to seeing it continue in the next book! I have never been a huge fan of DCI Mackay but I find that he is a good boss and he has grown on me more through the books.. I love DC Tim Myerscough and was glad to see him again. I find him to be such a lovely character who makes an absolutely fantastic addition to this team. Although he is rich he doesn't show off the fact and is very generous with his money to his friends. I also loved meeting DC Winston Zewedu (Bear) again who I absolutely adore and thought was a great team player and friend. Tim and Bear have been friends for a very long time and it is lovely to see how close they are and how they look out for each other. I dint believe I met her in the previous books however I may be wrong but I absolutely love DI Regina Jallow who has a huge personality, is very blunt and is just an absolutely brilliant member of the team. She may be short but she makes up for it with her attitude and I look forward to getting to know her more!!! Well I best leave iot there before I completely bore you all or give anything away but I absolutely LOVE this amazing team that the fantastic Val has brought to life and I cannot wait to meet them all again in 'A Fighting Chance', the next book in this series and one which I hope is coming very soon (fingers crossed) .

A HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to Val on yet another fantastic addition to an absolutely addictive series!!! I cannot wait to see what Hunter and his team get up to next! This is why you are on my favourite author list Val and here's to your next explosive success 🥂!!! Some of my favourite quotes/conversations included: 😂 Court case in chapter .hilarious 😂 "McKenzie, I want every connection between Lady Munro and the other three victims by close of business. I want to know everything, even if they use the same hair dye or breathe in the same rhythm. Do you understand?" "They're all dead. They don't breathe at all, sir." "F##k off, McKenzie" Honestly, I was drinking my tea at this point and ended up spitting it out laughing. One of the funniest things I've ever read in a book 😂

Overall an absolutely AMAZING and explosive start to what promises to be an addictive series and an absolutely action packed page turner that will keep you hooked until you've finished!!!

Genres covered in this book include Crime Thriller, Mystery, Thriller, Hard-Boiled Mystery, Suspense, Crime Fiction, Police Procedural, Scottish Crime, Noir Crime, British Detective Stories, Literature & Fiction, Fiction and Thriller amongst others.

239 pages.

This book is just 99p to purchase on kindle via Amazon which I think is an absolute bargain for this book!!!

Rated 5 /5 (I LOVED it ) on Goodreads, Instagram, Amazon UK and Amazon US and on over 30 Facebook pages plus my blog on Facebook.

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Author Bio

Val Penny has an Llb degree from Edinburgh University and her MSc from Napier University. She has had many jobs including hairdresser, waitress, banker, azalea farmer and lecturer but has not yet achieved either of her childhood dreams of being a ballerina or owning a candy store.

Until those dreams come true, she has turned her hand to writing poetry, short stories, nonfiction, and novels.

Val is an American author living in SW Scotland. She has two adult daughters of whom she is justly proud and lives with her husband and their cat.