Scan barcode
alliehwilliams's review against another edition
4.0
Really, really enjoyed this one. A definite page turner. I was disappointed by one outcome from the ending but that just shows how invested I was in the characters and their lives (my disappointment was NOT with the writing). Christina Kovac made it to my "must-read" list with any new books on the strength of this one.
jen_is_booked's review
4.0
It had been so long ago when I read the synopsis that I'd mostly forgotten what this book was about when I decided to finally read it. The female lead, Virginia, is smart, strong and likeable; she doesn't let much get in her way and she doesn't play victim to fear, she does what is necessary for her story no matter what. This does mean that she sometimes puts herself in danger and sometimes she trusts the wrong people, but this doesn't blind her to facts and she is willing to change her mind when the facts prove her wrong. There is a little bit about her past which gives you a sense of how she was shaped as a person, but I don't think it gets too in the weeds about it and doesn't take away from the main plot. The supporting characters are well developed and played their part well in the overall narrative. Some of which I wouldn't mind getting their own book because I'd love to learn more and I'm sure they have more stories to tell and mischief to get into. There were plenty of twists and it did keep me guessing until the reveal, but I wonder if that's because I was focused on the story and not on wearing my detective hat the whole time. I'm sure others had figured it out far ahead of me, it wasn't an earth shattering reveal, but it was well done. I will continue to read this author and I do recommend this book, it was well written and well thought out.
judithdcollins's review against another edition
4.0
Christina Kovac delivers an intriguing suspense; highly-entertaining action debut, THE CUTAWAY —a brilliant and tenacious TV news and producer uncovers a video and sets out to discover the whereabouts of a missing female attorney while discovering something even more sinister.
From power, greed, dirty politics and corruption in Washington, this heroine will not stop until she has uncovered this dangerous web of deceit.
The author brings a wealth of her own experience managing Washington, DC newsrooms and producing crime and political stories as well as a TV journalist from the top networks to the pages as her story comes alive.
A beautiful woman, Evelyn Marie Carney an attorney; has gone missing in Georgetown. The Metropolitan Police Department is looking for this woman, last seen on Sunday.
TV news producer Virginia Knightly thinks she may have seen this young attorney somewhere. Most likely not in person; perhaps a cutaway shot, one of those quick flashes of video used to show a reaction. She was uncertain.
Evelyn was a recent law school graduated and worked at a prestigious firm. On the night she disappeared, she had dinner at a restaurant in Georgetown. She left alone. Police recovered her car abandoned not fifty yards from the restaurant.
Knightly has a memory, which is not exactly photographic; however, things, places, details, and events burn a permanent place in her memory, which is a gift at deadline. She can recall the angle of every frame, where it was shot, and what time of year, and the specifics. Armed with this kind of information can also be dangerous.
She loves telling stories, on or off camera. However, she may get more than she bargained for. Dark money.
Soon Knightly suspects foul play and begins her own investigation. Investigators seemed more interested in Evelyn’s martial problems. A martial separation was requested by Evelyn the night of the disappearance. What about her war-hero husband, Peter? Who was romantically involved with Evelyn?
What did Ian Chase’s official portrait from the Department of Justice have to do with the missing woman? Who was Evelyn looking at in the video? Was someone expected to turn a blind eye to illegal activities?
Virginia becomes enthralled and caught up in a high-stakes case, murder, greed deceit, dark money, power, and corruption. Hot on the trail, she soon realizes for every great story, there is a risk. Some far greater than others.
She discovers road blocks every way she turns, even in her own backyard, plus Michael Ledger, the detective which she had a relationship. Also PACs, political fund raising with anonymous donors (so-called dark money) to nonprofit groups, made in secret.
Money missing from the fund. Was Evelyn being set up? By whom?
Compelling! An edgy mystery with "behind the scenes" intensity in a contemporary suspenseful cutthroat news business. An intense tightly wound debut suspense. Looking forward to more from this author, who definitely knows her way around a story.
For fans of authors, Neely Tucker, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Lis Wiehl, and Jennifer Vaughn (some of my top favorites).
A special thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.
JDCMustReadBooks
From power, greed, dirty politics and corruption in Washington, this heroine will not stop until she has uncovered this dangerous web of deceit.
The author brings a wealth of her own experience managing Washington, DC newsrooms and producing crime and political stories as well as a TV journalist from the top networks to the pages as her story comes alive.
A beautiful woman, Evelyn Marie Carney an attorney; has gone missing in Georgetown. The Metropolitan Police Department is looking for this woman, last seen on Sunday.
TV news producer Virginia Knightly thinks she may have seen this young attorney somewhere. Most likely not in person; perhaps a cutaway shot, one of those quick flashes of video used to show a reaction. She was uncertain.
Evelyn was a recent law school graduated and worked at a prestigious firm. On the night she disappeared, she had dinner at a restaurant in Georgetown. She left alone. Police recovered her car abandoned not fifty yards from the restaurant.
Knightly has a memory, which is not exactly photographic; however, things, places, details, and events burn a permanent place in her memory, which is a gift at deadline. She can recall the angle of every frame, where it was shot, and what time of year, and the specifics. Armed with this kind of information can also be dangerous.
She loves telling stories, on or off camera. However, she may get more than she bargained for. Dark money.
Soon Knightly suspects foul play and begins her own investigation. Investigators seemed more interested in Evelyn’s martial problems. A martial separation was requested by Evelyn the night of the disappearance. What about her war-hero husband, Peter? Who was romantically involved with Evelyn?
What did Ian Chase’s official portrait from the Department of Justice have to do with the missing woman? Who was Evelyn looking at in the video? Was someone expected to turn a blind eye to illegal activities?
Virginia becomes enthralled and caught up in a high-stakes case, murder, greed deceit, dark money, power, and corruption. Hot on the trail, she soon realizes for every great story, there is a risk. Some far greater than others.
She discovers road blocks every way she turns, even in her own backyard, plus Michael Ledger, the detective which she had a relationship. Also PACs, political fund raising with anonymous donors (so-called dark money) to nonprofit groups, made in secret.
Money missing from the fund. Was Evelyn being set up? By whom?
Compelling! An edgy mystery with "behind the scenes" intensity in a contemporary suspenseful cutthroat news business. An intense tightly wound debut suspense. Looking forward to more from this author, who definitely knows her way around a story.
For fans of authors, Neely Tucker, Hank Phillippi Ryan, Lis Wiehl, and Jennifer Vaughn (some of my top favorites).
A special thank you to Atria and NetGalley for an advanced reading copy.
JDCMustReadBooks
marshaskrypuch's review against another edition
2.0
The premise of this novel sounded so promising and I like the fact that the author is a TV journalist herself, so I was hoping for a gritty fast thriller with authenticity. Instead, this novel plods on at a grindingly slow pace with the mystery of a disappeared pretty woman in DC that never transcends the trope.
Thanks, Netgalley, for the e-review copy of this book.
Thanks, Netgalley, for the e-review copy of this book.
kbranfield's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars.
With a clever plot and a resourceful lead protagonist, Christina Kovac's debut mystery The Cutaway is a riveting mystery about a missing woman.
Missing person notices come across TV news producer Virginia Knightly's desk on a fairly regular basis, but she is soon obsessed with the case of Evelyn Carney. An up and coming lawyer, Evelyn appears to have vanished into thin air after a rather tempestuous dinner with her war hero husband, Peter. With her newly estranged husband's alibi immediately clearing him of suspicion, the investigation is quickly stalled. Virginia is a little puzzled to discover her ex-boyfriend Michael Ledger, who is now the commander of the Criminal Division, is involved in the case, but she pushes aside her curiosity in order to utilize him as source. With the help of Evelyn's co-worker, Paige Linden, Virginia quickly discovers Assistant US Attorney Ian Chase is a "person of interest" in Evelyn's disappearance. However, after uncovering some irregularities and inconsistencies in the investigation, Virginia is uncertain whom she can trust as she continues delving into what happened to Evelyn.
Virginia is a talented journalist with an uncanny ability to remember images from photographs and news stories and she knows right away that she has seen Evelyn in a cutaway from a news story. She is right in the middle of trying to locate the footage when the somewhat smarmy news director Nick Mellay begins throwing his weight around and handing out pink slips. Smarting from her temporary demotion, Virginia throws herself into uncovering as much information about the missing lawyer as possible.
Although she wants to stay as far away from Michael as possible, Virginia is too smart not to make use of a valuable resource, so she shoves down her misgivings and pays him a visit. Trying to keep her personal feelings out of their renewed professional relationship, she is soon trading information and favors for insider details about the case. While Virginia finds working alongside Michael a distasteful prospect, she views him as a trusted source even though she knows he is not being completely forthcoming about certain aspects of the investigation.
After some of her leads dry up, Virginia turns to Paige for assistance. Despite the attorney's reluctance to go on the record, she does provide some very valuable insight and information about Evelyn's professional and personal lives. Some of the details Virginia gleans from Paige corroborates other facts she has unearthed while some elements of their discussions point her in new directions.
However, the one fact that seems to be irrefutable from both of Virginia's sources is that Evelyn was personally involved with Ian Chase. She is also aware that Ian is refusing to talk to the police, but she is hoping he will be willing to talk to grant her an interview. Virginia is quite tenacious and rather inventive in her attempts to talk to Ian but he is firmly refusing to go on the record. When the police investigation into his role in Evelyn's disappearance heats up, readers will enjoy the exciting peek into the process in which journalists obtain footage for their broadcast.
The Cutaway is a very intriguing mystery that has plenty of interesting twists and turns. Christina Kovac utilizes a few red herrings and misdirects in an attempt to obscure the perpetrator's identity and motive for the crime. Savvy readers will most likely pick up on a few details that will provide them with a suspect almost right away but the motive for Evelyn's disappearance will remain elusive. Chock full of suspense, this fast-paced and riveting mystery culminates with a rather surprising conclusion. Hopefully this is just the first of many investigations starring the very intrepid and immensely appealing Virginia Knightly.
With a clever plot and a resourceful lead protagonist, Christina Kovac's debut mystery The Cutaway is a riveting mystery about a missing woman.
Missing person notices come across TV news producer Virginia Knightly's desk on a fairly regular basis, but she is soon obsessed with the case of Evelyn Carney. An up and coming lawyer, Evelyn appears to have vanished into thin air after a rather tempestuous dinner with her war hero husband, Peter. With her newly estranged husband's alibi immediately clearing him of suspicion, the investigation is quickly stalled. Virginia is a little puzzled to discover her ex-boyfriend Michael Ledger, who is now the commander of the Criminal Division, is involved in the case, but she pushes aside her curiosity in order to utilize him as source. With the help of Evelyn's co-worker, Paige Linden, Virginia quickly discovers Assistant US Attorney Ian Chase is a "person of interest" in Evelyn's disappearance. However, after uncovering some irregularities and inconsistencies in the investigation, Virginia is uncertain whom she can trust as she continues delving into what happened to Evelyn.
Virginia is a talented journalist with an uncanny ability to remember images from photographs and news stories and she knows right away that she has seen Evelyn in a cutaway from a news story. She is right in the middle of trying to locate the footage when the somewhat smarmy news director Nick Mellay begins throwing his weight around and handing out pink slips. Smarting from her temporary demotion, Virginia throws herself into uncovering as much information about the missing lawyer as possible.
Although she wants to stay as far away from Michael as possible, Virginia is too smart not to make use of a valuable resource, so she shoves down her misgivings and pays him a visit. Trying to keep her personal feelings out of their renewed professional relationship, she is soon trading information and favors for insider details about the case. While Virginia finds working alongside Michael a distasteful prospect, she views him as a trusted source even though she knows he is not being completely forthcoming about certain aspects of the investigation.
After some of her leads dry up, Virginia turns to Paige for assistance. Despite the attorney's reluctance to go on the record, she does provide some very valuable insight and information about Evelyn's professional and personal lives. Some of the details Virginia gleans from Paige corroborates other facts she has unearthed while some elements of their discussions point her in new directions.
However, the one fact that seems to be irrefutable from both of Virginia's sources is that Evelyn was personally involved with Ian Chase. She is also aware that Ian is refusing to talk to the police, but she is hoping he will be willing to talk to grant her an interview. Virginia is quite tenacious and rather inventive in her attempts to talk to Ian but he is firmly refusing to go on the record. When the police investigation into his role in Evelyn's disappearance heats up, readers will enjoy the exciting peek into the process in which journalists obtain footage for their broadcast.
The Cutaway is a very intriguing mystery that has plenty of interesting twists and turns. Christina Kovac utilizes a few red herrings and misdirects in an attempt to obscure the perpetrator's identity and motive for the crime. Savvy readers will most likely pick up on a few details that will provide them with a suspect almost right away but the motive for Evelyn's disappearance will remain elusive. Chock full of suspense, this fast-paced and riveting mystery culminates with a rather surprising conclusion. Hopefully this is just the first of many investigations starring the very intrepid and immensely appealing Virginia Knightly.
berthouille's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
teah_jilly's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
shxlby98's review against another edition
3.0
This room forever to read because I was so bored until the last 100 pages, I don’t like political thrillers so that might have been the downfall of this book but I tried.
mcbeezie's review against another edition
3.0
fast paced, interesting story. I enjoyed reading this and getting caught up in the thrill of the chase for the story. Well written, and it kept moving, and kept my interest in the story. Thanks to NetGalley for providing a copy in exchange for my honest review.