Pasadena homicide detective Nan Vining and her partner, Jim
Kissick, are called to the scene of a horrific double
murder. Not only were two people killed, the man's body had
been dismembered before the bodies were posed grotesquely.
Vining and Kissick begin their investigation by getting to
know those close to dilettante businessman Oliver Mercer and
his latest girlfriend, Lauren Richards.
Friction between Mercer and his business partner, Mark
Scoville, appears to be a promising clue at first. But with
Scoville having an alibi, Vining and Kissick must consider
whether he hired a hit man or if Ms. Richards' stalker
finally snapped and lashed out. Or is there another motive
for these murders? Seemingly unconnected events begin to
weave together into a murder conspiracy.
Vining balances the murder case with her own investigation
into the man that nearly killed her over a year ago. T.B.
Mann—short for the bad man, as she calls him—managed to get
away after ambushing her and knifing her. Her heart actually
stopped for two minutes before she was revived. Vining is
conducting her own secret look into clues that even her
colleagues are unaware of. If her theory is correct, T.B.
Mann is responsible for at least one other policewoman's death.
Squeamish readers should be aware that there are some grisly
scenes in CUT TO THE QUICK. POVs from various sources—the
killer himself, police detective Nan Vining, business
associates of the murdered man, among others—give readers
viewpoints into the thinking of the various characters. This
story is the second in a three-book plot arc, so don't be
surprised that not all loose ends are resolved. Ms. Emley
has created a taut, suspenseful thriller that will leave
readers eager for more.
Playboy Oliver Mercer has been brutally slain in his posh
home in the Pasadena hills, joined in death by his
long-legged trophy girlfriend—both not just killed, but
dismembered and displayed in a twisted, gruesome tableau.
The only evidence left at this helter skelter massacre: a
size-eleven high-heeled shoe print and a long strand of hair
from a blonde wig.
The gory horror of the Mercer manse reawakens terrible
memories for homicide detective Nan Vining, who survived her
own harrowing knife attack a year earlier. Still feeling her
ruthless assailant’s hot breath on her neck, Nan breaks her
own rules and secretly tracks the taunting, murderous
gameplayer her daughter Emily dubbed T.B. Mann—the Bad Man.
Putting it all on the line, she risks both her badge and her
heart. For working the case alongside single mom Nan is
appealing ex-flame Jim Kissick. With conflicted feelings for
him, Nan struggles to stay focused on the Mercer case, with
all its potential suspects.
The male victim’s business partner was Mark Scoville, a
billboard tycoon with a destructive gambling problem.
Scoville’s wife is the ambitious bombshell of morning
television’s “Hello L.A,” famous for her gorgeous tears and
triumph over substance abuse. And circling the periphery on
his Harley is Bowie Crowley, the Zen-ful ex-con whose debut
novel transformed him from tattooed outcast to literary
toast of the town.
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