Cut to the Bone by Alex Caan

Book blurb…

For fans of THE FALL and Sarah Hilary, this slick, dark contemporary thriller will have you on the edge of your seat… Ruby is a vlogger, a rising star of YouTube and a heroine to millions of teenage girls. And she’s missing. She’s an adult – nothing to worry about, surely? Until the video’s uploaded. Ruby, in the dirt and pleading for her life. Who better to head up the investigation than the Met’s rising star, Detective Inspector Kate Riley? She’s leading a shiny new team, high-powered, mostly female and with the best resources money can buy. It’s time for them to prove what they can do. Alongside her, Detective Superintendent Zain Harris – poster boy for multiracial policing and the team’s newest member – has his own unique contribution to make. But can Kate wholly trust him and when he’s around, can she trust herself? Ruby’s millions of fans are hysterical about what may have happened to her. The press is having a field day and as the investigation hurtles out of control in the glare of publicity, it becomes clear that the world of YouTube vloggers and social media is much, much darker than anyone could have imagined in their worst nightmares. And the videos keep coming . . .

My thoughts…

This had me on the edge of my seat—literally. I think the issues covered (re social media today) are so scarily authentic. What an excellent and well crafted plot! As always, the test for me with this genre is how well the author keeps me guessing. This novel had me wondering until the end and then some.

Cut to the Bone is fascinating. One minute I’m trying to imagine how on earth will the crime be solved. After it was all over I was left trying to imagine how any crime was ever solved before technology. There were a lot of characters in the story but they all served a purpose and all had their own issues to work through.  The main investigators were intriguing and likeable as they were drawn deeper into the pool of suspects.