Title: Cut to the Bone by Ellison Cooper
Agent Sayer Altair Series Book Three
Publisher: Minotaur Books
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 329 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
In Ellison Cooper’s new standalone novel Cut to the Bone, a bus full of high school students has disappeared from Washington D.C. and FBI neuroscientist Sayer Altair must hunt down the culprit who has a link to her own past.
After grieving the death of her fiancé and almost losing her job, Agent Sayer Altair is finally starting to rebuild her life. Her research into the minds of psychopaths is breaking new ground and her strange little family is thriving. But Sayer’s newfound happiness is threatened when she is called in to investigate a girl’s body left inside a circle of animal figurines below a cryptic message written in blood. When they discover that the dead girl is one of twenty-four missing high school students, Sayer quickly realizes that nothing in this case is what it seems.
As the investigation draws her in to a tangled web of fake identities and false leads, the trail soon begins to point directly to her own life. Now, Sayer must confront her painful past to uncover her connection to the deranged killer if she hopes to save the missing teens and protect everything that she loves.
Review:
Cut to the Bone by Ellison Cooper is a chilling mystery that is quite suspenseful. Although this newest release is the third installment in the Agent Sayer Altair series, it can be read as a standalone.
FBI Director Anderson assigns Senior Special Agent Sayer Altair to a murder investigation that turns out to be very complex. Looking first into the killing of a police officer, a teenage girl’s lifeless body is discovered nearby. Her murder includes very puzzling elements that Sayer fears could be the work of a possible serial killer. After FBI analyst Ezra Coen discovers the victim’s possible identity, Sayer is shocked to discover that twenty three students and several adults are also missing. Now in a race against time, Sayer and the members of her team begin their frantic search for the missing teens. Will they find them before it is too late?
Sayer knows time is not on her side and she presses hard to find the rest of the teenagers. She is unprepared for what awaits her and the pressure becomes more intense after their stunning discovery. Altair is also searching for the meaning behind some of the items found at the scene of the first murder. She knows that finding the explanation for what the killer left at the scene might lead her and the rest of the team to their murderer. Sayer is also very uneasy once she is certain that someone is following her. Is this person linked to her current investigation? Or is there a more sinister reason for this person to keeping such a close eye on her?
Sayer is also a little uneasy due to Director Anderson’s hand’s off approach to this high profile investigation. Pushing her concerns aside, she enlists the aid neighbor Tino De la Vega to question one of their witnesses. She also relies on Max Cho and his search dog Kona to find a possible trail to the missing students. With Ezra compiling useful information and other experts providing valuable details, Sayer has to act fast due once they realize the murderer is going to strike again. But with scant leads to follow and little viable evidence, can Altair and her team find this disturbed person before the next victim is murdered?
Cut to the Bone is a clever mystery with a fantastic cast of characters and intriguing storyline. Sayer works virtually around the clock in order to prevent the next death. Past and present collide as Ellison Cooper brings this fast-paced mystery to a jaw-dropping conclusion. Old and new fans of the Agent Sayer Altair series are sure to enjoy this latest high octane mystery.
