This one is a tough one to rate for me, I give it a 3.5 rating.
For me, this book started out slow… almost painfully slow, and didn’t seem to get going until I was almost 50 percent into the book! The build up of the characters was super slow and boring, especially for a book that is labeled as a thriller. I almost gave up on this book a few times.
But alas, I am glad I didn’t give up because once the pace picked up half way through, it became a pretty decent mystery/suspense book. There were many different suspects, a whole lot of deception, and many interesting characters. It was an original story and the ending turned out decent, even if I wished for a different ending for the main character.
*I’d Like to give a special “thank you” to NetGalley and Atria Books for providing me an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Great title! Great plot! Great characters! THE CUTAWAY by Christina Kovac was filled with suspense and kept this reader wondering. Who was Evelyn Carney, and what reasoning could be behind her disappearance? Is she alive? Is she dead? If she is alive, where could she be hiding? If she is dead, who killed her and where is her body? That is what Virginia Knightly is trying to find the truth about as she digs for answers. Will the answers lead her to the truth or lead her into deep trouble? She has already lost her job. What else could happen with her snooping around in other peoples business? Will she find more than what she bargained for?

I liked this book. It was interesting and kept me guessing.

thank you.
enjoyed it,
will get copies for family and friends.

The ending was pretty predictable. It reminded me of the show Notorious in terms of some of the characters. It was an easy read and a decent way to pass the time.

Very good book especially taking into account it is
Christina Kovac' s first book. Enjoyed the characters, plot and especially the setting in a tv station in DC.

I enjoyed The Cutaway. I think it's a great debut novel. At first, I thought it was a little slow paced but as I continued to read, it definitely picked up and I realize all the small details are essential to the story line. While reading, I thought I had it all figured out, then a new twist came into play, then another twist. Needless to say, I was completely wrong on my assumptions! I will definitely be reading Christina Kovac's future books.

I received an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

My first thought when I finished this book: why did it take me so long to finally read this book?!

I love a good mystery or thriller. Not just in the book form. I have been known to get interested in a local news story, and try to be a detective and figure out what the real story is.

This book gave me a sense of that from the other side. The person who breaks the news.

Lots of twists, and a good read for sure!

If you are looking for a good mystery then I would recommend <em>The Cutway</em>, Virginia Knightly, a nightly news producer for a Georgetown television station, intrigued by a missing person report that comes across her news desk begins looking into the disappearance. With a new news editor trying to edge her out of her job and an anchorman, whom she has mixed emotions about, Knightly finds herself getting involved in more than just a young and beautiful missing lawyer.

"O, what a tangled web we weave when first we practise to deceive!" I am sure that we wish our real news media were as intent on getting to the truth of the matter, as this TV producer. Despite the lack of support from her staff, a police detective, and powerful political opponents Knightly doggedly keeps searching for answers.

The plot is good, I felt the author did a good job of moving the story along. At times the characters are a little flat but, I really didn't mind so much cause I was enjoying the story.

I received this book from Netgalley,the author Cristina Kovac,and the publisher Atria Books enabling my honest review and I thank them. The book read a little slow for me,the story and plot is firm,but I found myself jumping over some writing to get to what mattered, It is a good read ,a news writer hears of a woman missing,an attorney from a big law firm. When she finds her photo she remembers seeing her before in some video. The story goes from there in several directions,the journalist,Virginia Knightly,becomes obsessed with finding this woman. She delves into anyone she can find who dealt with this attorney. The story is slightly predictable but interesting,I just think there was too much information not related to the plot. The writer obviously knows her tv production,and it shows in her writing. I liked the story,a simple mystery,just needed to be cleaned up a bit.

Really enjoyed this one. The story kept me interested and the characters were well developed. Love a good mystery that keeps me guessing until the end.

I requested The Cutaway based on the description of the story and the fact that it's a debut (librarians love debuts)! The novel is an interesting and suspenseful mystery, an intriguing character study and a behind-the-scenes glimpse of a world I knew little about. Ms. Kovac's career as a televison journalist and news producer supplied her with a terrific background for the telling of this tale. I found myself getting lost in the story and enjoying the interactions between the characters, The mystery was complex and opaque, and it was entertaining watching the main character follow the clues and see her grow as a character throughout the novel. I am curious, though, whether journalists actually have the kind of luck Ginny had in getting sources to talk to them. That's something I'm not sure was realistic, but it may be based on my own lack of knowledge of the field. Other than that, it was an enjoyable debut. Thanks for the opportunity to review it prior to publication.

"The Cutaway" is an intriguing mystery about the disappearance of a young woman named Evelyn Carney as it is investigated by a journalist, Virginia Knightly. Virginia lives behind the camera, writing stories for the nightly news anchor, Ben. Everyone else assumes they have a thing, but their relationship has always been strictly professional. Virginia is hooked by Evelyn's case and investigates it herself, picking up the trail of clues left by people involved in Evelyn's life as well as those given by the police- often through her ex-boyfriend, Michael.

The beginning of the book is really slow. Virginia recognizes Evelyn from a cutaway used a few years back and spends some time finding the video. The scene is set during this time, and we don't really begin to uncover any evidence. After she finds the cutaway, things begin progressing, and we get a clearer picture of all the people in Evelyn's life. I won't say too much more about the case to avoid spoilers.

I do not think of this book as a thriller. It was more of a mystery with a few pages that would qualify as a thriller towards the end. Evelyn's case is not so intense, and Virginia is not really involved in the case, just uncovering the clues along the way. Later, when she does become more involved, it really still seems distant from her except for a couple of scenes. The last half of the book moves much more quickly and is more interesting than the first half.

I'd rate it between 3 and 4 stars, and I am bumping it to 4 because I was really interested in solving the case and getting to the end. There's also a romance involving Virginia that I wish had featured more prominently in the story (we only get a couple scenes of this, but I loved it when it was happening). It's an intriguing mystery from a different point of view than usual (a journalist), and I would be curious to read more books featuring Virginia in the future.

Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

Although the plot twists weren't big surprises, I still found this to be an enjoyable fast paced mystery. The author did a good job of writing what she knows. This novel had a great cast of fleshed out characters that I would like to revisit. Any chance of a series Ms. Kovac?

I loved this book! I hope there are many more Virginia Knightly books to follow this one. An ambitious investigative journalist gets caught up in a missing person case - great character development, plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading well into the night.

It will do. This book is a little bit light for the title, but that is ok. It has a lot of insight to the TV production side of things. It has a some suspense, as we read through to get the mysteries solved. Virginia Knightly has worked her way to the top, in the TV industry. Now she is a big name producer. This female lawyer is missing, after having just seen her husband. Ah, what a story. Something is up, so now it's just a matter of who, when, where and who is watching her.

My copy came from Net Galley. I have left a review because I can. My thoughts and opinions are my own.

The book has a good premise, but for me it was just a so-so read. The book started slow but it caught my attention about 1/4 way in. I feel like there was too much extra information that just wasn't necessary to the story. The twist was pretty good and there were definitely hints, but I didn't pick up on it before the reveal (good job there!) I personally didn't care for the ending; but that has more to do with my preference than the actual story.

All in all, not bad for a debut novel.

**Received from NetGalley for my honest review**

The Cutaway by Christine Kovac is a debut novel, which I hope she continues with a series, starring her main character Virginia Knightly. Ms Kovac gives us a mystery to solve, a back stage look at the TV news industry, a little romance, and some edge of your seat moments thrown in. I was given an early copy to review.

The Cutaway by Christina Kovac was a novel I definitely enjoyed, although I did not love it. To begin with, this is being marketed as a psychological thriller, compared to the work of Gillian Flynn and Paula Hawkins. This book shouldn’t be compared to Gone Girl and The Girl on the Train. The Cutaway was good, but to me, it just didn’t fall into the same category as the previous books mentioned.

Here’s what I liked about The Cutaway:

Writing Style: Kovac’s writing style was amazing. Crisp, clear, concise, with the right amount of description. Her writing made me never want to put the book down.

Authenticity: Virginia, our narrator, works as a new producer in Washington DC. Kovac also has experience producing news shows, and her information and background really helped pull the story along. This wasn’t someone guessing about how to run a news station, this was someone who knew how to run this type of platform.

Main Character: Virginia was a fascinating main character. Her flaws made her human, and she was smart. So often in mystery/thrillers we have main characters who make stupid decisions, and I just can’t root for them. I also like how Virginia was a journalist. Often with mysteries we get the viewpoint of a detective or just average Joe. Virginia fell into the middle.

My complaints:

I think the biggest thing that shocked me about this book is that it wasn’t a thriller. Not once did I feel scared or really worried for our main character. It was definitely a mystery, but there wasn’t a lot of suspense.

The D.C. setting I enjoyed, however there was a lot of political lingo I wish could have been dumb downed a bit.

I also thought there were too many characters introduced in the story, and at times it was hard to keep track of who’s who. Some of the “twists” also left me scratching my head in confusion.

Bottom line:
Would I recommend this book? Yes.
Is this a thriller? Not really.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC! This is my honest, unbiased review!

Although the beginning was a bit full it picked up about half way through to be a novel that ended well. I would have liked a bit more with Ben but I guess all the problems the main character has to work through won't happen soon