The story begins in the quiet village of Baron Mallet, where a group of so-called friends, Annabel Maddock, Ben Knot, David Patel, Chris and Lynette Davis, Catherine Maddock, and Mark Cherry, spent their youth together. But behind the facade of friendship lay cruelty. Mark was the constant target of their bullying, and no one ever stood up for him.
Then tragedy struck. Annabel was found dead at the abandoned mill. The investigation dragged on for nearly a year, but the truth was never fully uncovered. David Patel was convicted. Annie’s blood on his clothes sealed his fate. Yet the murder weapon was never found.
Thirty years later, “The Mill Killer” is finally released on parole. At the same time, a Hollywood director arrives in Baron Mallet to film The Cut, a movie meant to dig into the town’s buried secrets. But this isn’t just another horror flick. Instead of cheap scares, the film reimagines the tropes of the eighties slasher, turning them into something far more unsettling and layered. And someone behind the production seems to know exactly what happened all those years ago.
The past refuses to stay buried. Ben, who once dated Annabel, now finds his career, his family, and his secrets under threat as the cameras roll. Revenge, guilt, and the scars of bullying intertwine in a story that blurs the line between fiction and reality.
The Cut is not a neat revenge tale, it’s messier. At times the pacing drags, but the novel lingers because it reminds us of a chilling truth: bullies don’t change. They thrive on arrogance and power, not conscience. The only way to stop them is to stand up, say no, and refuse to let them define you.