{"id":2621,"date":"2024-08-19T10:59:39","date_gmt":"2024-08-19T01:29:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hundredacreofbooks.com\/?p=2621"},"modified":"2024-08-19T11:52:36","modified_gmt":"2024-08-19T02:22:36","slug":"cutters-end-detective-sergeant-mark-ariti-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hundredacreofbooks.com\/index.php\/2024\/08\/19\/cutters-end-detective-sergeant-mark-ariti-1\/","title":{"rendered":"Cutters End Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti #1"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Author: Margaret Hickey\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Publisher: Penguin Books Australia\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Genre: Crime, Mystery, Outback Noir, Suspense Thriller\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Year of Release 2022<\/p>\n\n

Release Date: 05\/07\/2022\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Rating\u00a0\ud83c\udf1f\ud83c\udf1f\ud83c\udf1f\ud83c\udf1f\ud83c\udf1f<\/p>\n\n

Book #1 of #3\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Synopsis\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

A desert highway. A remote town. A murder that won’t stay hidden.

New Year’s Eve, 1989. Eighteen-year-old Ingrid Mathers is hitchhiking her way to Alice Springs. Bored, hungover, and separated from her friend Joanne, she accepts a lift to the remote town of Cutters End.

July 2021.\u00a0Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is seconded to a recently reopened case, one in which he has a personal connection. Three decades ago, a burnt and broken body was discovered in the scrub off the Stuart Highway, 300km south of Cutters End. Though ultimately ruled an accidental death, many people – including a high-profile celebrity – are convinced it was murder.

When Mark’s interviews with the witnesses in the old case files go nowhere, he has no choice but to make the long journey up the highway to Cutters End.

With the help of local Senior Constable Jagdeep Kaur, he soon learns that this death isn’t the only unsolved case that hangs over the town…<\/p>\n\n

Review\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

1989 New Year\u2019s Eve, 18-year-old- Ingrid Mathers accompanied by her friend Joanne Morley have made plans to travel 500km north. The pair are hitchhiking to Alice Springs to attend a New Year\u2019s Eve party to celebrate their graduation. One morning Ingrid wakes early bored and hungover ready to continue their journey, however the two friends have gotten separated, and Joanne hasn\u2019t shown up at the agreed rendezvous point unable to contact her Ingrid decides to wait a little while, in the end, she accepts a lift to the remote town of Cutters End in the South Australian outback.<\/p>\n\n

July 2021 Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti is called upon to investigate a cold case from 1989 it shouldn\u2019t take up too much of his time, it\u2019s mostly about tying up any loose ends make the powers that be happy. Mark discovers he has a personal connection to the case. Three decades earlier a broken and burnt-out body was discovered in the scrub off the Stuart Highway 300km south of Cutters End. At the time it was ruled an accidental death, many people including a high-profile celebrity- even to this day are certain the body has met with foul-play-murder. The interviews Mark is conducting is turning up no new information and with the pressure mounting Detective Sergeant Mark Ariti finds himself making the long journey up the highway to Cutters End.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

Upon arrival Mark meets with local Senior Constable\u00a0Jagdeep Kaur it becomes clear to Mark that the burnt-out body isn\u2019t the only cold case that surrounds Cutters End.<\/p>\n\n

Every once in a while this reader gets an absolute hankering for a good Mystery\/Thriller and the Audiobook for\u00a0Cutters End<\/em>\u00a0was available in the library, having not read anything but glowing reviews for this series and hearing nothing but praise for the authors writing I had nothing to lose, and I was not disappointed from the opening sentence of \u201cHe wasn\u2019t coming back. The finality of it hit and hot tears welled, growing soggy once more\u201d\u00a0<\/em> to the very last line.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

The moment the reader begins reading the Prologue it\u2019s impossible not to care about these people even if they would be considered by other readers as strangers, author Margaret Hickey has crafted a diverse universe of believable and likeable characters that come to life as the plot progresses, but I found myself wanting to know more about them as people.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

In recent months I have myself more and more intrigued and drawn towards the Mystery Thriller genre and Mark Ariti makes for the perfect character in which to delve into the genre, unlike many police procedural protagonists before him I was able to form a really strong and fast bond with him as a reader I only hope he becomes a more dynamic character as the series progresses because he doesn\u2019t make me cringe and flinch away from the novel or series altogether, in fact, I would happily be his damsel in distress!<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0Although Jagdeep Kaur is a static character she isn\u2019t completely unlikeable as a character I\u2019m keen to find out if she remains throughout the series.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

When the big plot twist was revealed, I felt somewhat like a dear in the headlights, it took me reading back over those pages a few times to fully comprehend what this reviewer was reading! This in no way takes away from the plotline if anything it shows just how invested I was in the story and the future titles in the series.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

The plot much like the tagline keeps you on the edge of your seat making it harder to put the book down, so be prepared to not be very productive with your days once you open the book.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

As I said before I haven\u2019t read many police procedural crimes, so I found myself really emersed within this story as it feels original and deeply character-based rather than focusing on the shock value of the story but at the same time the shock value doesn\u2019t take a complete backseat this is the reason behind the 5-star-rating.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n

\u00a0If I had to describe Cutters End:<\/p>\n\n