4 out of 4 stars
Share This Review
House of Cuts by June Gillam is the first book in the Hillary Broome series. When the PriceCuts superstore came to town, it drove Stoney's Market, a small neighborhood grocery store, out of business. After 50 years of proudly serving the community as a family-owned business, the neighborhood market faced the devastating reality of having to close its doors. Then the staff had to settle for jobs as “trainees,” working for the people who had just turned their lives upside down. But what would drive someone to commit gruesome murders, leaving dismembered corpses on display in the superstore?
Hillary Broome is the best thing about the book. She is a plump, Irish, red-head who likes chocolate biscotti, good wine, and Jack Daniels. I strongly identified with Hillary. She is a newspaper reporter, and she teaches journalism at the community college. She should have been in New York working for a major news outlet, but she let her "secret" send her into hiding.
Hillary's troubling secret was that, under the pressure of a deadline, she plagiarized one line from an obscure article in a small-town newspaper and claimed it as her own thought. Charles, her editor and ex-boyfriend, discovered the plagiarism, but he didn't report Hillary; he just threatened to. Hillary punished herself relentlessly for that lapse in judgment, knowing that, at any moment, Charles could expose her as a "fraud" and ruin her career. She allowed her “P” mistake to control everything in her life. I think she should have confessed, paid a fine, or whatever the penalty was, and moved on. She should never have allowed Charles to control her with that threat.
Her budding love affair with Ed Kiffin, the lead detective, was a delightful addition to the story. They were both immediately drawn to each other, and they had common experiences of loss, failure, and powerlessness.
I loved the character development of the killer. Seven chapters were written from the killer's perspective. I felt like I was in his head, watching the murders unfold. I liked the way the author kept the story on a psychological level without getting into too much gruesome detail.
It is not fair that a superstore could come to town and crush the small businesses that could not compete with it, but it happens every day. I can almost understand how it would push someone over the edge, especially someone who is already unstable. If they had put me out of business, I would have started another business, shopping for customers and delivering groceries. Or I would have started a food truck business that catered to the crowds at the superstore. But killing people definitely makes a better story.
This book was well written and professionally edited. I found a couple of minor typos, but only because I was looking for them. I can't think of anything critical to say about the book. I would recommend House of Cuts to anyone who enjoys the Norman Bates “Psycho” films. If you are sensitive to psychopaths and dismembered bodies, maybe you should pass on this one. But I absolutely adored this book. I am giving it an enthusiastic rating of 4 out of 4 stars. I have read one other book in the Hillary Broome series. I intend to read them all and follow Hillary Broome and this author in the future.
******
House of Cuts
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
