great read awesome writing i really enjoyed this author and this book i would reccomend to other for sure

This was a book I was so busy telling everyone about I didn’t realize I had not written my review.  Step into the world of journalism, beauty of Georgetown and characters who keep you guessing and you have one thrilling suspense story! Plan this to have a prime spot in your beach bag this summer!

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book. Unfortunately, I did not finish it. I will therefore not be posting reviews of it. I could not get into the story.

From Wikipedia: "Cutaway: In film and video, a cutaway shot is the interruption of a continuously filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually, although not always, followed by a cut back to the first shot, when the cutaway avoids a jump cut."

In this very smart and suspenseful debut, author Christina Kovac takes her readers into the cutthroat world of broadcast journalism. At 34, Virginia Knightly has worked her way up to the position of executive producer of the top-rated Evening News at a tv station in Washington DC, but receives the stunning news that her boss wants to take over her position, effectively demoting her. 

Still working for the show, she decides to follow up on a story that intrigues her: the disappearance of a young lawyer named Evelyn Carney. Carney had recently met her husband for dinner at a Georgetown restaurant and tearfully announced that she wanted a separation; she left the eatery shortly thereafter and was not seen again. 

Virginia remembers the woman's face from somewhere--she has a great memory for that kind of thing--and is pretty sure it was in a cutaway scene in a news video. When she sees Ian Chase, an assistant US Attorney, at the vigil held for Evelyn, she has an 'aha!' moment and sets her editor searching through the station's film library, looking for film of Ian speaking which includes that particular cutaway scene she so vividly recalls. In the shot he finds, Evelyn is seen in the audience, looking totally rapt. Was Ian her lover by any chance, the one for whom she was leaving her husband? He IS the one who phoned in the missing person report, after all. 

After the young woman's dead body is found in the river, Virginia pursues her own investigation even more vigorously, working her many contacts and sources, including her former lover in the Metropolitan Police Department. She interviews Evelyn's friends and follows up a phone tip or two, but soon realizes she has been told so many lies, just who can she trust? 

The mystery is very intriguing and suspenseful. At one point in the story, it felt like one of those movies where you know the young woman is making a deadly mistake by going out alone in the night and you want scream NO!! Don't go!! This effect is heightened if you've been able to figure out the whodunit by this point, as I had. Loved it!

The writing is so well done throughout the story, but I particularly enjoyed the emotional scenes when Ginny confronts her estranged father. Kovac's personal tv broadcasting experience and expertise adds gravitas and authenticity to her newsroom setting--all the politics and maneuvering that goes on behind the scenes and what it takes to investigate, film, write and produce stories for the nightly news. The professionals make it look easy but it's not!

Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me with an arc of this exciting new book.

This is a fast-paced book that had an intriguing main character and a story that kept me guessing. A young female attorney is missing, but the homicide unit is looking into it. Is it a missing persons case or do they think that she is dead and a killer is on the loose? No one will give Virginia Knightly, a producer for the Evening News, a straight answer. This story has so many twists and turns and you don't know which sources are being truthful and which ones are lying to her. The ending was a total surprise. This is an amazing first book. I'm looking forward to reading what Ms. Kovac writes next.

Thank you to Atria/37 Ink and NetGalley for this e-book. This did not influence my review in any way.

DNF- Couldn't get into the story line. The style of writing just wasn't for me.

I wasn't very impressed with this one. I mean, I liked it enough to finish it, but I wasn't eager to. It was a good story and I enjoyed it at times, but it didn't hook me all the way. I kept getting distracted while reading it, which really makes the rating take a hit. There were several twists that I didn't see coming and that were exciting. It was a good story overall, but I think it could've been better. I also think it needs to be noted that this reads more as a mystery than a thriller, I think it would give the reader different expectations.

This was a solid debut with a great twist of perspective - it has a bit of the feel of a police procedural but from the  side of the news and the investigative reporter.  The Cutaway had interesting characters, some great twists and turns of its own. While  I was distracted midway by the relationship drama in the middle, the pace quickly regains speed and hurtles along until the conclusion.

This is not a good psychological thriller. And it really isn't about politics and the DC underbelly, other than that it takes place in DC, and involves crime. There are no players involved in the "DC underbelly" or organized crime or anything like that. The entire first half of the book, only three major plot points occurred, and two of them were in the personal life of the main character and had absolutely nothing to do with the missing woman.

The last 25% of the book, the plot really picks up pace, but by then, I just really didn't care about the main character, and there wasn't enough about the real reasons for the missing woman's disappearance for me to really be invested in her either. Not to mention a huge focus of the whole book is the demise of the news industry, and how television media is dying and everyone needs to worry about job security. Having recently read another book that obsessed about the death of print media to the internet, I have decided I just have no interest in stories set in the news industry.

This thriller is pretty fast-paced, but also fairly predictable. There were also a few side plots that took up way too much space but didn't advance the story at all other than to distract the reader from the mystery.

I can't believe this was a debut novel! This author has a voice and such an intriguing, suspenseful story! Every time I thought I knew where the plot was going, there was a twist I didn't see coming! This was also a refreshingly new outlook on the same old murder mystery which I absolutely loved. It was so much fun to read!

3.7 - twisty, turny, corrupt - and completely believable, given that it's set in D.C.!

A solid thriller set against the backdrop of a Washington DC news channel.

I have had this book on my shelf for some time now (being a mood reader has its disadvantages). After finishing The Cutaway I wished I had read it when it first hit my shelf. Not too many books in this genre can keep my attention this way from the beginning to the end. The time line of the story was truly realistic and kept me guessing from the beginning to the end. Once the story wrapped up, the first thing I appreciated most about the story was how it concluded. Most suspense ends with something shocking – to the extreme, where I find myself roll my eyes and think to myself “You have got to be kidding me!” With The Cutaway; all I felt after the last page was satisfaction.

The characters were relatable and not over the top. I loved that it was written in different POVs (my favorite book format); gives me a better understanding of the individual characters and their part in the story on a deeper level (to me anyway).

A suspense thriller written from an angle from inside the newsroom with our leading character Virginia Knightley, News Producer which I find so darn refreshing compared to the usual “badass detective” or a alcoholic ex-cop.

Overall, it’s one of the top suspense thrillers I have read this year so far.

Okay mystery/thriller. I enjoyed the female protagonist and her coming from the perspective of a journalist rather than a profession in law enforcement which is typical of this genre. Nothing spectacular, but a quick, fun read for the mystery book lover.

Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced digital review copy of this book.

It took me awhile to get to this book.  I could almost sense that it would need my full attention and so I put it off.  What a shame.  Because it was  a really good, intense story with plenty of powerful, high intensity people in it.   In the beginning, I had a little bit of trouble getting into the story.  I'm so glad I kept with it though.  Virginia, wow.  Now she was quite the pit bull when it came to getting a story and not only that, it had to be the truth.  She also wasn't out to destroy people with the truth which made her so refreshing.  She had her code of conduct and she stuck with it.  She was a complex person.  I liked her unique photographic memory that had more to do with pictures than any other kind of content.  She saw just a quick glimpse of a picture and it stuck with her.  I can see now why the book was titled Cutaway.  
Secondary people were such a good addition to the book, even though so many times I began to wonder, "Trust this person or don't trust this person?"  The writer pulled you right into Virginia's dilemma pretty easily as time went on. One person who really did seem to have her back was the Evening News Anchor, Ben.  He would get snippy at times and give her attitude too but he did try to help her as much as he could.  They made for a good team. 
The office politics were easily believe, it was so like what you see in regular, non-book life.  Some people had to go, they needed to leave their positions.  They abused their power, took credit for others work , intimidated their staff and were just plain unpleasant.  I'll let you read the story to see how that goes.  
The twists and surprises in this book were excellent.  Every time I thought I knew the who and the why of what was going on, I found out I was wrong.  The story kept me guessing; I liked that.  
The only thing I didn't like was that one relationship ended, I had been pulling for them.  But, *sigh* I guess I can see why it had to work out this way (at least for now maybe?)

"Cutback" is about an unsuspecting serial killer whose murders have attracted the attention of a local TV news producer. Once young lawyer Evelyn Carney goes missing, TV news producer Virginia becomes obsessed with finding her and what happened to her. She enlists her old veteran anchor, Ben in the hunt.

Together they piece together the story. Who killed Evelyn, and others, and why. 

It is a great detective story based on like most, careful observation. Virginia sees something in a piece of film footage that compels her to keep scratching the itch that almost kills her.

I found the ending overly long since it was no surprise. In my opinion, if you are going to end this way, just do it and don't drag it out.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed "Cutback." An excellent novel by a new author writing about what she knows best.

My review is somewhat mixed for The Cutaway. I did not feel that this novel was a stunning psychological thriller like Gone Girl or Girl from the Train. However, I do feel like it is a very good mystery. It was suspenseful with some good twists but in the sense of a good "who done it". Had Christina focused more on Paige Linden the novel could have become more of a psychological thriller. However, I did think The Cutaway was a very good read and would recommend it to any mystery readers.

Free copy received from NetGalley for honest review -----
A missing woman, a television news producer investigating what happened...this has the makings of a made for TV movie of the week. This story had me intrigued from the beginning and was not disappointed until the very end (did Ginny really get a happy ending?) I love a good mystery and this book kept me guessing until the very end. Ginny is a news producer who gets demoted while investigating the case of a missing woman and we are taken along on her journey to discover the truth. The other personalities in the book are also vibrant with mysteries of their own. My only issue was at the end when she lets her potential love walk away. This could easily be the beginnings of a series. Well done for the author's first first into writing. Definitely would recommend this to people who like mysteries and thrillers.

This is a stunning debut. A new favorite thriller author has arrived !  This is one of the best thrillers I have read this year. The writing is perfection, the protagonist is smart, courageous and fearless. I loved the premises of a successful woman television producer investigating on her own in the underbelly of Washington D.C. This book has it all, suspense, a wonderful well crafted mystery and thrills at every turn of the page.  The characters and plot are very well developed.. It is truly compelling in its entirety .  I predict much success for this wonderful author and look forward to the next book. 

Thank you for the opportunity to review this ARC which did not influence my review.