The best psychos out this month: The Cut by Richard Armitage, High Season by Katie
The Cut by Richard Armitage (Faber & Faber £18.99, 336pp)
Actor Richard Armitage is best known for his roles in films such as the Hobbit, but he is fast becoming recognised for his stylishly written thrillers.
The Cut tells the tale of Ben Knott, a fashionable architect returning to his home town. Memories of a murdered school friend and their killer are about to resurface.
Meanwhile, his son has a part in a film being made locally which seems to be replicating scenes of bullying and secrets from his own childhood that he would rather forget.
Armitage manages this complex plot with a skill and raw honesty that throws a genuine new light on the legacy of bullying and revenge that can deform and explain much of aberrant adult behaviour. A terrific read with a heartfelt message.
High Season by Katie Bishop (Bantom £18.99, 384pp)
It was 20 years ago that five-year-old Nina was the witness to her sister’s murder in the pool of a glamorous mansion in the Cote d’Azur. Since then, she has finally settled on her career as a child psychologist – a choice her family is not thrilled about and she is strangely drawn to.
When Josie Jackson, the woman whom five-year-old Nina identified as her sister’s murderer, is released, a TikToker decides to make a true crime documentary about the death. Nina is drawn back to the scene of her sister’s death and forced to question her memories and their consequences.
The writing brilliantly creates the hedonistic atmosphere of the South of France and it’s an education in TikTok culture with a very unguessable outcome.
To Love A Liar by L. V. Matthews (Penguin £9.99, 384pp)
A retired and married policeman, Chris Fletcher, is suddenly pulled back into the drama of his murky background as an undercover police officer whose lover, Sophie, died in tragic circumstances more than 20 years ago.
A new investigation is launched into the circumstances of Sophie’s death after her sister claims that Chris may have been involved.
This tangled story is told through multiple viewpoints, but being inside the mind of the policeman is the most riveting. He had met Sophie having infiltrated an environmentalist group.
The careful plotting and convincing character development maintain a strong sense of jeopardy even when the storytelling becomes a bit convoluted. The book raises compelling questions about the morality and temptations for undercover cops.