What do you think?
Rate this book
Raymond Donne Mystery #4
Nasty Cutter
Danger gets a little too close to home for ex-cop Raymond Donne . . .
When his father s former law partner, Harry Stover, is murdered while being celebrated as Williamsburg, Brooklyn s Man of the Year, ex-cop turned schoolteacher Raymond Donne fights his old police instincts and vows to stay out of the investigation. That is until his childhood home is broken into and one of his students is threatened.
Has a decades old case of his father s come back to haunt the Donne family? Could the murder have something to do with the victim s charitable work connecting low-income kids with business leaders in Williamsburg? Raymond never has liked unanswered questions, and when the answers come a little too close to his home and school, he decides he s not above giving the cops a little unwanted help."
When his father s former law partner, Harry Stover, is murdered while being celebrated as Williamsburg, Brooklyn s Man of the Year, ex-cop turned schoolteacher Raymond Donne fights his old police instincts and vows to stay out of the investigation. That is until his childhood home is broken into and one of his students is threatened.
Has a decades old case of his father s come back to haunt the Donne family? Could the murder have something to do with the victim s charitable work connecting low-income kids with business leaders in Williamsburg? Raymond never has liked unanswered questions, and when the answers come a little too close to his home and school, he decides he s not above giving the cops a little unwanted help."
- GenresMystery
384 pages, Hardcover
First published December 20, 2016
About the author
Tim O'Mara
17 books164 followersTim O’Mara has been teaching math and special education in the New York City public schools since 1987, 12 of them in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Sacrifice Fly, his first novel, introduces schoolteacher/ex-cop Raymond Donne and was nominated for the 2013 Best First Novel Barry Award. Other Donne mysteries: Crooked Numbers, Dead Red, Nasty Cutter, slated for release in the U.S. January 1, 2017. His short story, "The Tip," is published in Unloaded: Crime Writers Writing Without Guns and his novella, "Smoked" is available in Triple Shot: 3 Authors, 3 Novellas. Tim O'Mara lives and teaches in Manhattan.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
March 10, 2017
Raymond Donne, ex-cop now a school teacher, gets in the middle of a murder investigation against his better judgment.
His father's former law partner, Harry Stover, is murdered while being celebrated as Man Of The Year. And then Stover's office is broken into the same night.
Who had motive to kill Stover? He's a nice man ... for a lawyer ... he does a lot of charitable work, most notably connecting low income kids with business owners. One of those kids happens to be one of Donne's former students.
The twin young men, Bobby and Billy Taylor, were represented by Stover years ago. Bobby was accused of raping a young lady at a booze and pill party. He served 10 years and is currently working for his brother, who has now retired as a pro baseball player. Are they involved?
It turns out that Stover was having an affair. Was his mistress involved? His wife? His son?
Donne quietly .. more or less .. begins his own brand of 'helping' the police solve the case.
This was a fast and entertaining read. There are a lot of characters to take a look at, but the author has woven them all in a way they don't get lost in the shuffle. Although this is a book in a series, this one is great as a stand-alone.
The characters are cleverly drawn. I liked the interaction between the main characters .. especially Donne and his long-standing girlfriend, who happens to be a reporter. There are moments of humor, and moments where they each wonder if the relationship is going to work.
The story premise is a good one and the ending really caught me by surprise.
Many thanks to the author / Severn House Publishers / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
His father's former law partner, Harry Stover, is murdered while being celebrated as Man Of The Year. And then Stover's office is broken into the same night.
Who had motive to kill Stover? He's a nice man ... for a lawyer ... he does a lot of charitable work, most notably connecting low income kids with business owners. One of those kids happens to be one of Donne's former students.
The twin young men, Bobby and Billy Taylor, were represented by Stover years ago. Bobby was accused of raping a young lady at a booze and pill party. He served 10 years and is currently working for his brother, who has now retired as a pro baseball player. Are they involved?
It turns out that Stover was having an affair. Was his mistress involved? His wife? His son?
Donne quietly .. more or less .. begins his own brand of 'helping' the police solve the case.
This was a fast and entertaining read. There are a lot of characters to take a look at, but the author has woven them all in a way they don't get lost in the shuffle. Although this is a book in a series, this one is great as a stand-alone.
The characters are cleverly drawn. I liked the interaction between the main characters .. especially Donne and his long-standing girlfriend, who happens to be a reporter. There are moments of humor, and moments where they each wonder if the relationship is going to work.
The story premise is a good one and the ending really caught me by surprise.
Many thanks to the author / Severn House Publishers / Netgalley for the digital copy of this book. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.
December 18, 2016
Robert Donne's father's law partner, Harry Stover, is killed at a benefit and he cannot help himself but investigate the crime. He finds out more and more details and it just keeps happening. As he finds out Harry Stover's office has been broken into he goes with a friend who downloads the files off Harry's computer and they find out he owns alot of property and is also having a affair. When he and his girlfriend attend Harry's shiva they meet the brother of a rape victim and the story goes from there. I would like to thank the Publisher and Net Galley for the chance to read this ARC.
April 26, 2018
O'Mara does it again! Fast paced, lovable characters and unexpected exciting conclusion. Kept me hooked from beginning to the end!
May 28, 2019
This series continues to impress. It should be more popular.
Raymond Donne, cop turned school teacher, is at a reception for his father's old law partner when the guest of honor is murdered. As usual, Donne has trouble not investigating the crime.
And, as usual, he finds himself in the middle of solving the murder.
The characters, plot and writing are top notch. It's a great regional mystery series.
Raymond Donne, cop turned school teacher, is at a reception for his father's old law partner when the guest of honor is murdered. As usual, Donne has trouble not investigating the crime.
And, as usual, he finds himself in the middle of solving the murder.
The characters, plot and writing are top notch. It's a great regional mystery series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 9, 2026
Tim O'Mara always has a intriguing tale to tell through Raymond Donne, his key protagonist. Nasty Cutter is not the best title (IMHO) but it's a quick and easy read and I was at the end before I knew it. It's steeped in the past and even references Nazis and the like. A good mystery and an even better thriller, much better than the large majority of books in this genre.
July 23, 2021
3.5 stars
Good series. The plot in this one was a bit convoluted with too many red herrings. But the main character, ex-cop turned teacher Raymond, and his reporter girlfriend, are worth spending time with.
Good series. The plot in this one was a bit convoluted with too many red herrings. But the main character, ex-cop turned teacher Raymond, and his reporter girlfriend, are worth spending time with.
March 4, 2019
I really enjoyed this book. Keep up the good work!
June 16, 2020
What a cast of characters. I think Bobby should have been made to suffer more and I also think Billy should have been told he wasn’t guilty.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2016
Nasty Cutter by Tim O'Mara
5 Stars
I had not read anything by this author until now, but I really enjoyed it.
The former partner of ex-cop Raymond Donne's Father is murdered at his own Man of the Year celebration. Raymond Donne vows to stay out of the investigation until his childhood home is broken into and one of his students is threatened.....
The overall story was very good, characters were likeable and the story flowed along nicely.
However, my only real criticisms would be the constant use of New York slang which detracted from the conversations and made the characters laboured.
Many of the characters and their family members had the same given name which was really confusing at times.
Lastly the main story seemed to take second place to other storylines in the middle of the book and then re- appeared at the end for the big reveal.
Having said that, I would most certainly read more of Mr O'Mara's books in the future as I ended up being quite fond of Raymond Donne and his lovely Girlfriend Alison.
Helen
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
5 Stars
I had not read anything by this author until now, but I really enjoyed it.
The former partner of ex-cop Raymond Donne's Father is murdered at his own Man of the Year celebration. Raymond Donne vows to stay out of the investigation until his childhood home is broken into and one of his students is threatened.....
The overall story was very good, characters were likeable and the story flowed along nicely.
However, my only real criticisms would be the constant use of New York slang which detracted from the conversations and made the characters laboured.
Many of the characters and their family members had the same given name which was really confusing at times.
Lastly the main story seemed to take second place to other storylines in the middle of the book and then re- appeared at the end for the big reveal.
Having said that, I would most certainly read more of Mr O'Mara's books in the future as I ended up being quite fond of Raymond Donne and his lovely Girlfriend Alison.
Helen
Breakaway Reviewers received a copy of the book to review.
December 18, 2016
No doubt I will read the previous books in this series and any future books. My only gripe is that once the mystery is solved, there was an unresolved issue or two. A brief epilog would have been nice
March 27, 2017
I loved this book. It had the mystery piece, of course, but the main character, Raymond, is also a dean at a school, so you also get a variety of issues. The book held my interest from beginning to end and I will definitely read the past books featuring Ray.
February 27, 2017
I received this arc from Netgalley.
Mediocre at best. Too much emphasis on the relationship of Allison and Raymond for my liking. Glad to be done with this one.
Mediocre at best. Too much emphasis on the relationship of Allison and Raymond for my liking. Glad to be done with this one.
May 3, 2017
This was a great book. It was very hard to make it last even a day! A nice mix of drama, and mystery and some romance. It was fun to see how the ending would be, who did what.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews