This was a good mystery story about a TV producer that investigates the disappearance of a woman, Evelyn Carney, that she is determined to find out what happened to her. A good solid story that keeps you guessing on what happened to Evelyn Carney, and who was involved and why. The story starts out slow but picks up speed to leave you with a surprise ending.

I was very intrigued after reading the description for this book.

Virginia Knightly is a young and intelligent TV producer. She is the only woman at her news station in a position of power. When a missing persons notice comes across her desk and catches her eye, she can't shake the feeling that she knows the woman. Eventually she remembers that she saw her in a video clip. Virginia senses something from the woman's reaction to whatever is happening. She can't get the woman out of her head.

Virginia has a great memory. It's not photographic, but her mind will grab on to an image and not let go. This can be helpful in her line of work. However, the downside to this "gift" is that she can't ever get rid of the pictures either...which can be very painful at times.

"Be careful what your eyes take in. What you see becomes a part of you"

Virginia feels like she is meant to cover this story. The missing woman is a beautiful young attorney named Evelyn Carney. She was last seen leaving a restaurant where she met her husband for dinner. Apparently the dinner hadn't gone well and she left in a distressed state.

No one has seen her since.

When Virginia is summoned to a meeting with the news director. He tells her there are going to be some layoffs at the station. Virginia is not happy, but he's not done with the bad news. He tells her that for now, he is going to be overseeing content and production of the station.... which is Virginia's job. He's demoting her but tells her it's just for the time being, that HE'S going to get things back on track. She's livid but the missing woman's case helps distract her.

Virginia thinks this story will help her get her job back. But it means doing things a little differently. She starts to investigate on her own with some help from an anchorman, Ben as well as her ex-boyfriend, Michael Ledger who is the lead detective on the case.

She gets her hands on Evelyn's journal and learns how ambitious she is. She wonders if Evelyn's ambition got her involved in something she couldn't get out of. What about the people in Evelyn's life.....her angry husband? a new lover? a prominent prosecutor? a former professor? Virginia wonders who knows more than they are saying. But as she continues her investigation, things start happening that make it obvious she isn't just putting her career in jeopardy, but possibly her life.

Where is Evelyn?

Virginia is a great character. An intelligent woman who has a strength many would envy. She likes the mystery behind her stories, she's addicted to figuring out the unknown, determined to get answers. She won't take garbage from anyone but she's also very caring and honest.

I enjoyed seeing how things worked behind the scenes. The media, police, and politics quite often go hand in hand. I could see how chasing a story could become addictive. The high you get when you get that perfect shot or when you break the story. It sounds intense.

It took me a little while to get into the story. But it picked up as I kept reading. As well as working the case, Virginia's also trying to deal with some personal issues. I found her story interesting. It gave some insight into what makes her tick. The second half of the book gripped me and definitely made up for the slow start. I liked how it all came together in the end.

All in all 'The Cutaway' was an interesting read. Suspenseful with some good twists and turns. A missing woman, secrets, possible corruption, conspiracies and cover-ups. I was excited to find out what happened.

A very good debut novel. I look forward to reading more from Christina Kovac.

Thank you NetGalley, Atria Books, and Christina Kovac for providing an advanced copy of this book for me to read in exchange for my honest review.

I went into this debut novel eager for a gritty, suspenseful, psychological thriller set within the hustle and bustle of a network news team. But I wouldn't call it a psychological thriller, nor would I equate it with Paula Hawkins or Gillian Flynn's works. Instead, it's a detailed look at the dissension within the ranks of a TV news station, a mystery surrounding a missing person and a lot of page time devoted to Virginia's love life.

The characters needed more development in order for the reader to become invested. Virginia is tough, has a cool job but I struggled to connect with her and understand her intense, oddly obsessive, interest in this one specific missing person case. A reason is given for her obsession towards the end of the book but it was a case of 'too little, too late' for me with the reasoning not being overly unbelievable.

The first three-quarters of the book was a slow-go for me and I waited to feel pulled into the story. The pacing and character development were weak throughout and I struggled to finish this book. I picked up this book because its blurb said it was a 'dark thriller' but Evie's disappearance felt convoluted and played second fiddle to Virginia's romantic angst. The last quarter of the book picks up the pace but by that time I wasn't invested in the plot or Virginia and was just eager for an ending.

In the end, this debut novel had an interesting premise but I wouldn't recommend it to fans looking for a psychological thriller. While the behind-the-scenes look at a TV network news station was interesting, too much time was spent on Virginia's love life while the plot surrounding the missing woman was left in the shadows for too long.

Disclaimer: My sincere thanks to Atria Books and NetGalley for providing me with a complimentary e-book copy of this book in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

Evelyn Carney, as first year law associate goes missing after having dinner with her husband in Georgetown. Virginia Knightley, a 34- year old news producer for a television station, receives a press release about the missing Carney and can't shake the feeling that she has seen her somewhere before and in Knightley's words "People just don't go missing in Georgetown." With rumored cuts at the news station hanging over head Knightley is determined to get the story on what happened to the missing Carney. Knightley is well-connected to some of D.C.'s finest, but as her investigation continues it becomes increasingly unclear as to who exactly is telling her the truth about what actually happened Evelyn Carney and why.

This book was slow to start for me, but after about 25% into in the pace really picked up it was a great read after that. Because you are set up with little to no background on either Carney or Knightley at first, it is hard to really care about either of the characters, but the author does start to flesh out the characters after about a quarter of the way through so the story does interesting. The tone is very dry, almost like an episode of Law and Order, but twists and turns keep it interesting and ultimately I was surprised by ending, which is always a good thing!

Thanks to the publisher Atria books and NetGalley for the ARC to review. This book is available now!

I make it a habit not to look up anything about an author before reading their book. Even without the advance knowledge, however, I could tell reading Christina Kovac’s upcoming novel, The Cutaway, that she had something to do with news journalism. In her story of a TV news producer chasing the truth behind the disappearance of a D.C. attorney, the elements that really pop are the glimpses behind the scenes of the nightly news; the work, the last-minute decisions, even the power struggles that shape the broadcasts. This makes sense, considering Kovac’s seventeen-year history working in local and national news broadcasts in the D.C. area. Unfortunately, though, the portions dealing directly with the work of the news are really the only portions of The Cutaway that draw you in. While Kovac tries to give her lead character, Virginia Knightly, some sort of depth with a sympathetic back story, it feels more like an afterthought than character development. The rest of the book’s characters feel even more two-dimensional, giving the book more of a tabloid feel than a serious literary effort. If you’re looking for something light to pop in your bag on the way to the beach, and like books set in D.C., this might be the story for you, but don't look to this one for something of lasting impact.

In this solid debut novel we meet Virginia, a journalist who becomes obsessed with the disappearance of a lovely lawyer, Evelyn. The circumstances surrounding Evelyn's disappearance are interesting....she meets her husband at a restaurant to tell him their marriage is over, leaves and basically vanishes. We get to know Virginia as she becomes further involved in the story of Evelyn's disappearance. We also get lots and lots of details about the inner workings of a newsroom which at times I enjoyed but I felt that there was sometimes too much newsroom happenings when I really wanted more focus on the disappearance of Evelyn. There's also a storyline dealing with Virginia's past home life which I have to say also took away from the main storyline.
I thought the characters were well-written as I could really picture them in my mind. There were times I started to question Virginia's extreme obsession with Evelyn and times I thought she came across as kind of silly when she seemed to take action without thinking. Overall, this is a solid debut and I would read the next installment if it becomes a series.

I recently grabbed this one from Net Galley, a suspense mystery that’s a debut novel for Ms. Kovac. It was fast-paced and well-plotted. I was impressed with the incredible level of detail in the story, focusing on news production in DC and the behind the scenes events of making news come to life for viewers.

I’d love if this was the start of a series featuring this protagonist. Thank you for my review ecopy!
full review on my blog

Dead girls, they’re everywhere recently. A mystery is not a mystery without a dead girl, it seems. Evelyn Carney is the dead girl in Christina Kovac’s The Cutaway. A radiant woman living and working in Washington DC, surrounded by hungry, crooked people who are willing to put lives on the line for their career. But this book is not about Evelyn, not really. It is about Virginia Knightly, an ambitious, brilliant and brave news producer who will do anything for a story.

Evelyn’s murder is really only a subplot to Virginia’s story. Virginia is passionate about her career, her co-workers and the news, and when her new boss decides to take over, it seems that all of those things are on the line. Thankfully, Evelyn turns up missing and Virginia has a story to pursue, using her connections with sexy detectives and sexier news anchors to find leads before anybody else can. Really, she’s a pro and seems to get to places and find information even before the police. Yet, there is so much going on in Virginia’s life – dying father, career issues, boyfriend troubles – that Evelyn is always a afterthought, a topic that pops up every once in awhile, to recede back into the background for another few chapters.

If you like mystery, if you like political settings and strong women, then you will really enjoy The Cutaway. It is very slow paced but Virginia’s spunk makes up for it. Sort of. In places where the novel was faster paced, it did hold attention, but otherwise I found myself bored and skimming. I skimmed most of the book, which is why I can’t mark it as “read”. Cutthroat politics and law are not subjects I am well versed in so they did not draw me. Kovac obviously has experience in both, as well as in news reporting, and she knows how to write well, but realistic details and writing skills do not make good book. After being bored for so long, I just skipped to the end to find out what really happened to Evelyn. And all it made me do was go “huh”, that’s it.

Final thought: meh.

A cutaway is a news videographer’s means to break up a lengthy shot and create visual interest. In Kovac’s aptly named THE CUTAWAY, the short snippet that features a beautiful missing lawyer from upscale D.C. ends up as the fulcrum upon which the plot pivots. When Virginia Knightly, editor for an evening TV news show, hears about Evelyn Carney's disappearance, she is struck by the uniqueness of someone from the right side of the tracks going missing. As she investigates, she uncovers a husband with PTSD, a hidden but high-profile lover, corrupt politicians, embezzlement, and much more. There are so many possibilities that could have led to Evelyn's disappearance that the reader is unlikely to figure out the mystery ahead of Virginia.

Kovac, who has extensive experience in both D.C. and TV newsrooms, packs this book with details about how both work. Politics, both office and governmental, play key roles in the narrative. There are multiple threads running through the plot, some political and some personal. Virginia's past surfaces along with her long missing father, and she struggles with two love interests. The busyness of the plot doesn't allow Kovac the space to fully develop the characters. It's clear that Kovac believes in the underlying goodness of people, but at times the conflicting perspectives on each character provide not nuance but confusion.

THE CUTAWAY provides a fascinating glimpse into the world of an investigative reporter. So often in crime books the news media play a negative and/or disruptive role. Here, the reporters are the heroes. This book might be classified as a "news procedural," along the lines of a "police procedural" but with a different spin.

Combine a news director, a previous love affair with the head investigator, a scheming law firm, and the mysterious disappearance of a young woman, and a thriller is born. Debut author Christina Kovac has created a tense, page-turner of a book in her first time out. She highlights today's struggle to put out factual news and still keep the ratings up through lead character Virginia Knightley who chooses to ignore the management's directions and continues to investigate the disappearance and subsequent murder of a young Georgetown attorney. Is the attorney's ex-military husband involved, as he struggles with PTSD? How about the U.S. attorney, rumored to be having an affair with the young woman? How is Knightley's ex-boyfriend involved, as he runs the investigation? Is there something more than friendship with the lead anchor? And what is with the law firm where the victim worked? Kovac forces you to furiously turn pages as you attempt to answer all these questions, giving you a few red herrings to chase down along the way as well as some complicated relationships among the characters to decipher.

I enjoyed this book as a mystery however I wouldn't categorize it as a thriller. The setting of a newsroom was an interesting technique, and I found the scenes that involved the setting quite compelling. The heroine was a very layered character and I found her engaging. Ms. Kovac crafted a strongly plotted mystery. I appreciated that she did not telegraph the twists and that there were many complicated turns in the storyline. The pacing is even and the read, though not fast, was entertaining.

This is a solid mystery that moves fairly quickly. Evelyn Carney was last seen leaving a restaurant alone after a domestic dispute in which she tells her husband she wants a divorce, and she is now missing. It seems like an open and closed case, but of course it is not.

Told from the perspective of sassy and smart 34-year old television producer Virginia Knightly, getting to the bottom of Evelyn’s disappearance takes multiple twists and turns. Trying to identify the culprit kept me guessing, the clues sending me in different directions. But be forewarned, there is really no way of figuring it all out until near the end.

An interesting whodunit with most everything tying up at the end, though I have a niggling suspicion the door is still open for characters to reappear in a follow-up book.

The Cutaway is about a news reporter in Washington DC with a photographic memory. It starts when a woman goes missing after a dinner date with her husband.

This was an interesting read, and I enjoyed the investigation through the eyes of a news reporter instead of the detective/cop. It twists and turns so you don't know who did it. You think you know before everyone else, and then you are wrong. It reminded me of The Trespasser by Tana French at times.

It was a little slow at times, and it randomly got really detailed into finances and corporate drama toward the end, but I enjoyed the book overall. It was a pretty quick read, and I feel smarter by reading it and understanding how the newsroom affects investigations.

*Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for the ARC, for which I have given an honest and unbiased review*

Fun read! Yes, although it's a crime mystery/thriller, it still was enjoyable to read. My attention was captured immediately and was drawn into the mystery and all that surrounded it. The author also does a great job of incorporating a secondary plot line that actually enhances the story and moves along with the original disappearance/crime. There are times when reading this type of book that I cannot figure out why the second story is even being told. Not so here. I thought the tension in the newsroom for ratings and the anchor rivalry really added to the story. Virginia was a great lead and I felt it was worth my time reading it.

Thanks to Atria Books and Netgalley for an eARC of this book.
A great first novel. A woman has gone missing and Virginia Knightly, a tv producer, wants to know what has happened to her. The plot is engaging and mostly believable. The workings of a tv newsroom are fascinating. Parts were draggy and the book seemed longer than it was. All in all worth reading and I hope Virginia comes back in another book. 3.5 Stars.

Virginia Knightly is a 34 year old news producer in Washington, DC. One morning, she comes across a press release about a young attorney who is missing. Evelyn Carney was last seen eating dinner with her husband in a Georgetown restaurant. Virginia connects the image of Evelyn to video footage from one of her TV productions. Following her curiosity, Virginia starts to put together clues from Evelyn last few days.

The current atmosphere at Virginia’s TV station is tense after rumors of layoffs and falling ratings. Virginia becomes more immersed in Evelyn’s case after her producer demotes her to producing stories in the field. She is perplexed to find a lack of urgency from law enforcement investigating the case. She feels that the detectives assigned to the case seem to be more concerned with Evelyn’s personal life and her possible ties to Washington politics. Suspecting a cover- up from the police and the government, Virginia pushes herself to unravel all the loose ends.

This is a fast paced mystery interweaving politics, law enforcement and the free press. This is a debut novel from Christina Kovac who worked for seventeen years managing and producing stories in Washington, DC newsrooms.

A woman disappears in Washington DC. A television news producer investigates the disappearance and the woman's background. Meanwhile there is all sorts of infighting and politicking going on at her station. She becomes more and more involved with the case of the missing woman. The plot is complex and the characters interesting in a very well written novel. My only dislike was that we were never really introduced to our protagonist, although we were given background, etc., as the novel progressed. The author did give some background of the victim at the onset however. Thanks to Net Galley and Simon and Schuster for an ARC for an honest review.

Boring, slow and uninteresting. Too much detail. Really needs a shot of adrenaline.

Who can you trust?

When a young attorney goes missing, Virginia Knightly -- a television evening news producer, is drawn into the story and uncovers lies, perfidy and obstruction at every turn. Evelyn Carney disappeared after leaving her husband in a Georgetown restaurant. When she is later found dead, Virginia uses every member of her team, an old boyfriend who is the chief police investigator, and Evelyn's friends and partners to try to uncover what happened to the woman. Who killed her, and why? It becomes the focus of her life amid tumultous times at the news station. Set in Washington, DC where the movers and shakers reside adds another important dimension to the novel.

Unlike the usual thrillers I read, this novel is told from the view point of a news journalist. I know that we often think of them as invasive and unscruplous, and there are hints of the underhanded way that secrets and information are traded between the law enforcement side and the sensationalism bent of nightly news reporters. Virginia is no saint, but she is honest and digs into the story. Evelyn was married, but it seems she might have been having an illicit affair. Her paramour has not been charged, and the police seem to be evading the hard questions. Is there a coverup, and if so, for whom? It's a complex plot with lots of characters who each have individual personalities that add to the narrative.

The story is not particularly fast-paced but the details are revealed in such fashion as to keep the reader hooked. I don't know much about how TV news is produced and those details were quite interesting as a sideline to the main point of the novel. So it's a mystery without the thriller chiller, but it caught me and kept me interested. I can't say I really liked Virginia, but enough was explained that I could understand most of how she behaved given her past. She will do just about anything to get her answers for her news broadcasts. The other characters were not so fully fleshed out. Can I say that I really didn't like the ending all that much?

I think any reader who likes a complicated mystery will appreciate this one. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this e-book ARC to review.

This book is a great mystery with interesting and well thought out characters. This book follows the disappearance of a young attorney in Washington DC from Virginia, a talented television producer. Virgina gets invested in the case of the missing lawyer and starts investigating the disappearance on her own. This book is well written and fascinating. I highly recommend.