The Last Cut

DS Harri Jacobs #1

by Danielle Ramsay

The first in a brand new series, a gritty thriller for fans of Paul Finch and Tania Carver.

Obsessions can kill.
First, he selects them. Strips them of their identity.
Then he kills them. All for her...

DS Harri Jacobs transferred to Newcastle from the Met in the hope of leaving her past behind: the moment where her stalker turned violent. He left her alive, saying that one day he would be back. And she ran.

But a year later, she realises he has followed her from home. He'll prove his devotion. With blood...

Genres: Thriller, Fiction

302 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 1, 2017

About the author

Danielle Ramsay is a proud Scot living in a small seaside town in the North-East of England. Always a storyteller, it was only after initially following an academic career lecturing in literature that she found her place in life and began to write creatively full-time.

Reviews

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is mainly told over four days. This really brought the urgency into Harri and her team catching the serial killer that was at large.

As we know by now, nearly all the main characters in a detective crime series have some sort of past. What a past Harri has. What happened to her a year before would leave most of us completely broken. Don't get me wrong as Harri is seriously damaged from what has happened to her but I absolutely loved her strength. She is determined to try and carry on as normal. Women are to often portrayed to be weak and I am so glad the author has come along with someone that is very much a fighter.

Serial killers do not come anymore sick and twisted as the one in this book. You will seriously shudder when reading the parts to do with the killer and the victims. As a human being it was pretty gruesome to read but as a huge fan of the crime genre, I couldn't get enough. 

For the first book in a series, the author has really raised the bar with The Last Cut. This is a seriously dark and gripping read that is sure to be a huge hit for fans of this genre. A brilliant start to a series and can't wait to meet up with Harri again.

My thanks to the author for a copy of this book. All opinions are my own and  not biased in anyway.

[Joe Stamber · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Last Cut is a decent story fighting to get out from a number of issues holding it back. I was surprised to see the average rating is so high because it was a close thing for me whether to give it 2 or 3 stars.

From the start, Ramsay uses italics to emphasise certain thoughts, a lazy device that shouldn't be necessary. The excerpt from another novel that is included suffers from the same problem, so it's obviously something that Ramsay uses.

Just in case anyone thinks that the main character being female and the victim of a nasty assault might suggest any kind of weakness, she has been made so aggressive and objectionable that it is impossible to like her or have any kind of empathy with her.

Probably the worse thing is that any plot point that Ramsay feels is in any way important is laboured to the point that I was thinking "Okay, I get it!". She needs to realise that readers aren't stupid and give them some credit for recognising important information.

A big deal is made about the fact that the main character lives in the secure top floor of an unoccupied building, with an all round view and multiple dead bolts on the door. Early on, she sits with her back to said dead bolted door, baseball bat in hands because she hears a creak somewhere. Later, to suit the plot, she hears a noise outside and undoes the dead bolts and goes to investigate. Seriously?

The positives are that the basic plot is a good one, the book is technically well written and it's a fast moving story that is easy to read. I would like to have rated it 2.5 stars, but I've been very generous and given it 3 stars that it doesn't really deserve.

[Audrey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author and what a brilliant way to start. This was really creepy and at times I wanted to hide behind the sofa. I highly recommend this book, its brilliant.

[Cora Tea Party Princess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to come.

[Alexina · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 stars

I have only recently heard of Danielle Ramsay and was looking forward to reading her DI Jack Brady series, but held off when I heard about The Last Cut about to be published.
This arrived at the perfect crime time for me. I was looking for an interesting gritty new series and Danielle delivered that in spades. I was quickly drawn in and I absolutely love books with a chilling stalker feel to them. I find that they have me on the edge of my seat more than other types of psychological thrillers.
Harri is such an unbelievably strong character and I was in awe of her skills at coping. I did wish she would confide in someone though and hoping that she can gel with her team slightly more in the follow up reads. Without compromising her brilliant personality though.
The only slight niggle for me was there was repetition of Harri's thoughts and I know why this was done, and it didn't detract from my enjoyment, but I would liked to have a little less of it in places, it didn't quite slow down the plot, but it wasn't always necessary.
A brilliant start to a new series and I am looking forward to how Harri handles what is coming next. I thoroughly enjoyed this read with some breath taking moments and there was enough gruesome to keep this book as a page turner and suspense to keep it all slightly clandestine.

[Rebecca Stobart · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been a fan of Danielle Ramsay's work for years and have reviewed all five of her DI Jack Brady novels on my blog, as well as her book Broken Silence being the first review I did overall.

The themes of Danielle's books always resonate with me. Rape and assault are still very much taboo subjects and they shouldn't be, they're ugly topics but if people pretend they don't happen then it's very likely they won't stop. Harri Jacobs is raped in her own home, her attacker has not yet been brought to justice and because of his promise to come back and kill her has left her unable to remain in London, which brings her to transfer to the North East.

I love Harri. I thought I was going to have a difficult time adapting to a new detective, but I really honestly love her. She's so real and a total badass, even though she is struggling to deal with what happened to her and there's this fear in the back of her mind, she refuses to give up her job and hide away completely.

Danielle Ramsay is always going somewhere with her writing, she doesn't write about random murder cases and everything is relevant. It almost hurts trying to keep up with everything because you just know it's going to come back later. Harri wants to remain working on the case but as similarities between her case and those of the murder in question arise, is it really a good idea?

There are some quieter moments in the book so you'll have time to breathe, I don't think it affected pace too much. Harri has a lot of inner conflict, hardly surprising given what she has been through, so a lot of the time away from the station is her dealing with that. It makes her feel even more real, she's suffered and she continues to do her job, but that doesn't mean she's automatically okay. A lot of damage as been done and just because a person isn't constantly crying, doesn't mean they aren't in pain, plenty of people have to go about their day to day life and might never show that what happened to them has left a lot of damage.

As I said, Harri is very real. If you would like to know a little more about why that is then I urge to read this which is a post written by Danielle herself entitled writing what you know. I don't want to say too much as it's a really powerful piece that I think you should read, but if you don't read it, just know that Danielle understands what it means to be a strong female.

Any fans of this author will know her books aren't for the faint of heart. There's some very graphic scenes that make this a brilliant thriller but also the murder mystery aspect of the book keeps you guessing until the end. Just as with all of Danielle's writing, I want more. I can't wait for the next book and this one has only been out 3 days. Please don't keep us waiting!

[Craig Gillan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely brilliant. Harri is a great character and hope to read about her again,

[Dee Groocock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book of Danielle Ramsay’s that I have read, oh boy, what a start! I was totally gripped from page one of this book. I loved the character Harri and couldn’t help but feel for her, even though she had shut herself off from everyone due to her past.
There were many heart stopping and heart racing moments in this book. Looking forward to reading more from this author.

[Robert Scragg · Rating 5 out of 5]

DS Harri Jacobs, a rising star in the Met, has her world turned upside down when she becomes the victim of a violent stalker. He left her close to death, with a promise that one day he’d be back to finish the job, and Harri transfers back up to Newcastle, for what she hopes is a fresh start. But when photographs of her assault from the previous year, are posted anonymously through her door, and her current case takes on a frighteningly personal twist, she starts to wonder if her attacker has tracked her down to make good on his promise.

Harri Jacobs is an interesting creation. She wears a tough outer skin on the job, deflecting jealousy from male officers, keeping her focussed in pursuit of her suspect. We also spend a lot of time inside her head though, eavesdropping on her thoughts as she deals with her personal trauma, channelling it, determined to not be defined by it, and be seen as a victim. There’s also a regular dose of darkness, as we get glimpses of our antagonist from the point of view of another of their potential victims, which really serves to crank up the fear and suspense throughout.

Danielle Ramsey does a great job bringing the North East to life, as her stage for the events that unfold. With The Last Cut, she’s laid the foundations for a very promising series, and hits us with an ending to the first instalment that absolutely leaves you wanting more.

[Julie Simon · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read, enjoyed this and looking forward to reading more books featuring Harri.

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was very good . Huge fan of the DI Jack Brady series by the same author so wasn't sure if this could compete with the . It certainly could . Looking forward to more .

[Paul Finch · Rating 4 out of 5]

WARNING FOR MINOR SPOILERS

DS Harri Jacobs is a cop on the edge.

Okay, lots of police fiction likes to adopt that attitude, but in this case, author Danielle Ramsay really means it. Her central character has been through an ordeal the likes of which few people would recover from. A Newcastle girl by origin, she joined the Metropolitan Police in London, during the course of which service she was attacked and raped with such ferocity that she almost died. Before abandoning her broken body, her anonymous assailant made things even worse by promising her that one day he’d return and finish the job.

As part of her effort to get over this nightmare – not least because, somewhat outlandishly, she suspected that one of her London colleagues, DI Mac O’Connor, was the culprit – Harri transferred to Newcastle, feeling more at home in familiar surroundings. But even then – and this is where the novel actually starts, she is increasingly frightened and paranoid. It hardly seems likely that her attacker will follow her north, but while Harri is a strong, tough character, she is deeply damaged psychologically, and finds that she can’t trust anyone. Not only that, she keeps her new colleagues at arm’s length. In the case of wideboy DC Robertson, it’s perhaps understandable, because he’s a total throwback, but DI Tony Douglas is one of the good guys, and yet Harri is equally cool with him. And after all that, at the end of each trying day, she goes back home to an upper apartment in an otherwise empty industrial building, where she barricades herself in, so increasingly unnerved by the all-encompassing darkness that she sits with her back to the door and a baseball bat in her hand.

Of course, none of this self-imposed isolation really prepares her for the ultra-difficult days that lie just ahead.

A series of horrific crimes commences, when a young woman is found murdered and ghoulishly disfigured. We, the readers, know who is responsible; we don’t know his identity, but we’ve seen him at work in his homemade surgical lab, where he coldly, clinically, crudely, and in eerie, concentrated silence, performs torturous reconstruction on helpless and brutalised female captives. We realise, without needing to be told, that the body already discovered will only be the first of many.

All of this would be difficult enough for the cops to deal with, but Harri’s own troubles are about to get a whole lot worse. Not only has the first victim been left at a deposition site which has personal meaning for her, but she then becomes the recipient of information connecting this latest atrocity to the attack that she herself suffered (including, very alarmingly, photographic images). Convinced that it’s the same perpetrator finally coming back for Round Two, Harri knows that if she was to hand this new intel to her bosses, she’d immediately be taken off the case – and she cannot stand that thought. She’s only just regained control of her life, and to lose it again, so soon – to the same heinous villain – would be more than she could bear.

And so begins one of the most difficult enquiries that any police officer, fictional or otherwise, has ever embarked on, the killer behaving ever more monstrously, Harri agonised with guilt about withholding key evidence from the rest of the team, but determined to stay on the case, because unless she is the one to take this fiend down, she knows that she’ll never have peace, and will never be able to live with herself …

In the modern era, there is an increasingly thin line between crime fiction and horror, and in The Last Cut, Danielle Ramsey crosses it several times. Make no mistake, this story centres around a truly horrific concept.

Conceive, if you can, of a serial killer who abducts his victims, straps them down in the dark and the cold, and then literally goes to work on them over a period of days, if not longer, gradually transforming them through non-anaesthetised surgery into a completely different kind of creature. Scalpels, needles and acid are all applied liberally. He even replaces their eyes with glass baubles, so that in the end only featureless monstrosities remain.

Danielle Ramsay doesn’t lay it on hard in terms of obscene detail, but again, it’s the bone-chilling concept. If you tried to put that idea alone into a movie, it would be 18-rated for sure.

The horror movie atmosphere doesn’t end there, either. The Last Cut isn’t just about a deranged killer and his nightmarish MO. It’s also about the state of heroine, Harri Jacobs’s mind. This is without doubt one of the most effectively traumatised lead-characters I’ve encountered in a crime novel to date. Primarily, that’s because it’s not in the reader’s face, but it’s there nevertheless, lurking constantly in the background.

Harri, as we’re told from the outset, it a rape survivor. Though, in many ways, she hasn’t survived at all. Her intense conviction that the madman who attacked her is not only still out there, but still stalking her, and even murdering other women in the most elaborate, grotesque ways in order to get at her, clouds her thinking to the point where she withholds essential info from her superiors, misjudges fellow officers (almost fatally at one point), and is driven to live like a recluse in a semi-derelict former factory with only a single, heavy-duty lift connecting her residence to the rest of the world.

This excellent latter device is itself hugely effective in creating a sense of fear and alienation. Harri is a lonely soul even during the day, when she’s on duty. She is so convinced that indifference to her plight lurks on all sides that she takes desperate, dangerous measures to ensure that she is kept on the case, which segregates her massively. But at nighttime, this sense of paranoia literally takes physical form. She blockades herself into this terrible old building, which creates a siege mentality, thanks to which she gets almost no rest.

The mere thought of this is blood-curdling. How would you react if, in the darkest part of the night, you heard movement on the other supposedly empty floors? How would you respond if you suddenly heard the lift ascending in the early hours of the morning – and indeed how does Harri respond?, because yes, you guessed it, that’s exactly what happens.

This is all tremendously effective in creating a dark, ultra-grim police novel.

The authentic Newcastle setting is desolate and gloomy, and again in horror fiction fashion, maintains a subtle but ghostly aura. We’re so focussed on the tight, tense interplay of the central characters that we see very little of the cty’s day-to-day life or its general population (aside from those among them who die so horribly – one gruesome event on the Tyne Bridge lingers long in the memory), so the whole of Tyneside is there, but mostly as a spectral backdrop.

Danielle Ramsay obviously loves her native Northeast, but this is a stark portrayal of the difficulties faced by police teams in the heart of an unfeeling city, especially when they are confronted by particularly violent crimes. It also reminds us that police officers themselves are only human, and likely to be damaged by many of the things they see and do – and quite often are not always the best judges of their own situations.

An intense, brooding psycho-thriller, gritty and dark as hell, and built around a disturbing but intriguing mystery. You can’t afford to miss it.

[Woofas · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a disappointment! I feel that I have read the same story three times in one book. Time after time explanations and backgrounds were repeated and repeated and repeated. The whole book needs savage editing and then an intriguing story would evolve.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wowsers. What a gritty book. As an early warning for readers of a gentle disposition, there are incidents in the book such as rape and suspected suicide that could act as a trigger. That said, neither are portrayed in an overtly graphic manner, but it is clear what has happened and in part it is the aftermath of both, and the reasons behind them, which this novel explores. Now with the housekeeping out of the way, what did I think of the book?

From the very opening chapter this is a book which demands the reader’s attention. There is a darkness in the tone which sets the scene straight away. A sense of foreboding and menace and a clear understanding that this is not going to be a cozy crime caper. There is a clinical precision about the opening scene, one which is echoed in the actions of the book’s central antagonist and although you will not find out until much later in the book how twisted this individual is, you will most definitely know in which direction they are headed. It is claustrophobic, suffocating, dark even. In essence, all the things I love about a gritty serial killer story which this book most definitely is.

Harri Jacobs is a no-nonsense kind of Detective. Like all good fictional detectives she carries a lot of baggage, but unlike most, hers is the kind of baggage that could have destroyed a weaker person. I won’t go into any more detail than that, her past is spelled out clearly in the book itself and an element of it hinted at in the blurb, but suffice to say that her past, the reason she left London and returned to her childhood home of Newcastle, is inextricably linked to a new case which is about to be handed to her team. A vicious killer who has hideously disfigured a young woman and left her mutilated body in a place which Harri knows well. And when the killer starts to make contact with Harri personally, she has is forced to make decisions against her conscience in order to try and stay on the case.

Harri is a tough character. She struggles settling into the new team, not finding it easy to trust or to forge new relationships after her ordeal ,and having been felt betrayed and let down by people from her past that she used to consider as friends. She struggles to accept people’s motivations as anything other than suspicious and this distance she creates around herself puts her in a very vulnerable position. But she is no longer the victim that her attacker sought to make her. She is stronger and she is determined. I will be honest and say that at times I struggled with the way in which Harri was portrayed, if only because she was too isolated, too determined to go it alone. There were a lot of passages which seemed to repeat, where she seconded guessed what was happening around her, especially her suspicions of a former colleague. But the more I thought about it, the more real this seemed, this paranoia and secrecy. These are the actions of someone who has been through a great trauma and escaped, albeit not completely unscathed. She hides her insecurities behind a steely persona at work but at home her fears and memories dominate. This element of the character humanises her. I wouldn’t call her a sympathetic character, I think if she were real she’d kick my arse for that, but she is certainly someone you can get behind.

Although a lot of the action centered around Harri, the secondary characters were well fleshed out, with her boss Douglas and Crime Scene Manager Munroe both likeable and supportive characters. Although Harri has an initial hate-hate relationship with one of her DC’s, Robertson, a quiet appreciation and understanding develops between the two of them throughout the novel and I can see this as a partnership that could develop into something really special. But it is the development of the voices of the killer’s victims, a young unidentified woman who watches him set to work on his other ‘subjects’, and his wife who suffers unimaginable violence at his hand, where we start to learn more about the killer himself. We hear from him only in glimpses but by his actions and how he treats these women we learn more about his character than any investigation could provide. He is sadistic and twisted but he is also hell bent on revenge. As to why he has singled out Harri, you will need to read to find out, but it may not be what you first imagine. There is a certain something which occurs later on in the book that certainly took me by surprise.

The pacing in this book varies, but I wouldn’t describe any of it as fast paced exactly. It definitely draws you in and pulls you along with the narrative and there are some real edge of the seat moments when you can feel the tension rising and know that the threat levels against Harri are quite high. But there are also moments of great introspection, where Harri retreats into her own mind, trying to make sense of the violence, both against her and against the young victims. These slow the narrative but still draw the reader in. If I had one criticism of the book it would be that after a world of build up, it almost seemed that Harri found her man too soon, too quickly. I expected more of a cat and mouse chase, more of an intense build to what was, in the end, a rather brief finale.

But then I say finale… It is very clear that the story still isn’t over for Harri. She may have caught her man, may have stopped the violence for now, but by the end of the book, the scene has been well and truly set for another thrilling clash. I for one am looking forward to seeing what fresh hell Ms Ramsay unleashes on our poor Detective Sergeant next. Overall a great start to the series.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

Opening with a scene that wouldn’t be out of place in any psychological horror film, The Last Cut starts off with a brutal kick in the guts and keeps on kicking all the way through. A brutal and visual introduction to the latest Detective on the block, DS Harri Jacobs.

The pace of the novel matches the time frame. It is narrated over a four day period leaving me feeling as though I were reading and living it real time. I found myself immersed in the investigation and Harri’s very real fear that her attacker was coming back to finish her off.

The author drip feeds little clues throughout the story, giving and taking all the time and ensuring that my brain was engrossed in trying to determine who the killer was and why they were doing what they were doing.

DS Harri Jacobs has a terrifying and traumatic backstory. As I watched her character unfold before me it made for fascinating reading. Prickly doesn’t even begin to start to describe her character. This woman comes with enough baggage to fill a baggage carousel. Working in a male-dominated environment is proving challenging for her as rumours abound as to why she transferred from the Met and exactly how she had earned her promotion. Herri doesn’t deal with such behaviour through the usual channels but rather faces it head-on in a way that wins her no friends but plenty of enemies. The walls she has built to protect herself prevent her from connecting with her colleagues or making any friends. I found myself swinging between empathy for her and a real frustration at her behaviour. Little snippets about her family background were also provided. I want to know so much more about her and cannot wait to find out as the series develops.

From the very outset, it is clear that this is not a cosy crime, it is dark and it is brutal. The killer is one of the most twisted, devious and sick that I have ever come across. His methods leave you in no doubt of the horrors he has in mind for Harri if he catches up with her. The links between her own trauma and the current spate of killings mean she is at risk of being kicked off the investigation; she goes out of her way to keep these links hidden from her superior, DI Tony Douglas. He is probably the only person she feels she can truly trust but even with that trust she cannot fully open up. Watching her relationships with others develop throughout the novel was enthralling. I was especially engaged in the relationship between her and DC Robertson. I won’t say much about this other than my mind was well and truly changed by the end!

My heart was in my mouth, I was reading from behind my hands, I was afraid to put my lights out! It provided all the right ingredients for a gritty serial killer read! Danielle Ramsay took those ingredients and created the most exquisitely dark read. Not for the faint-hearted and covering topics such as rape and domestic abuse this one will grab you by the throat and pull you into four days of unadulterated terror! A perfect mix of crime fiction and horror…I loved it!

[Rob Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Harris was stalked, raped and sliced on 1st April last year. Her attacker has not been caught. She moves from the Met to Newcastle to start afresh although promoted to a new role. Has her stalker found her? A photo of her injuries arrives at her new home. Messages arrive on her new phone. Is it someone she knows? Then cruelly altered bodies appear in the area she grew up. Found a bit too graphic and horrific topic. But compelling to find who the attacker was. 7/10.

[Sarah Baines · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars for me for this book.

I LOVED Danielle Ramsay's DI Jack Brady series but I struggled a bit with this one. I found parts of it quite repetitive to the point I nearly gave up on it. Saying that however, I'm glad I didn't. Once the repetitive bits ended, it flowed a lot better and I enjoyed it more. I will definitely read the next in the series.

[Susan Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read by this author and it certainly won't be the last. It is the first in the Detective Harri Jacobs series. I couldn't put this book down as the suspense continued to build throughout . Several heart stopping moments in this gripping crime thriller. Looking forward to the next book!

[ron harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely superb

Danielle Ramsay has done it again with this first DS Harri Jacobs thriller. I loved the Jack Brady books, this was just as good if not better.
Has the makings of a good series of books and I will look forward to the next.

[Sheila Maughan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Exceptional thiller

Once again Danielle Ramsey has created a terrifying thriller which is a real page turner. The first in a new series that this time has a female detective. An excellent gripping read.

[Jacob Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review to follow.

[Jean · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a goodreads win. I enjoyed this and look forward to more from this author. It has good well developed characters and a twist I did not expect.

[Lisa Pritchard · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought the beginning and middle were stronger than the ending, which felt a little contrived and probably wouldn't bear close analysis, but overall this was a compelling and fast-paced read.

[Julie Pownall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn't put this down.

Completely enthralling read kept me guessing until the end. Will definitely read more from this author and looking forward to it

[rose smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read

Brilliant. Couldn't stop reading until book was finished. Now looking for more of the same, or at least of similar reading

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. 5 stars grabs you from start to finish . DS Harri Jacobs has her work cut out for her. Book 1 in the series.

[Ella Goldstraw · Rating 5 out of 5]

Have read all of Danielle Ramsay's books and have enjoyed them all. But this book is by far the best. If you enjoy crime thrillers this is a must, you will be gripped from start to finish.

[Mr Christopher Heath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this book and I look forward to reading more of this authors work.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Was surprised how much I liked it.

[Yvonne Downs · Rating 1 out of 5]

Just awful - not in a good way.