| Genre | Bisexual / Pansexual/Panromantic / Contemporary / Agents/Spies / Law Enforcement / Military/Former Military / Romance / Action/Adventure / Mystery/Suspense/Thriller |
| Reviewed by | Barb Manning on 10-June-2024 |
When by-the-book meets off-the-record, the story’s just starting . . .
Special Agent Ty Grady is pretty sure he’s about to get fired. His last perp skipped town before he could make an arrest, leaving him with a lot of means and precious few ends. When he’s called into the boss’s office, he expects the worst. And he isn’t exactly wrong.
Chained to a desk in cybercrimes, Special Agent Zane Garrett dots his i’s and crosses his t’s. He doesn’t have much of a choice in the matter—his record can’t handle another black mark. When he learns he’s getting reassigned, he doesn’t miss the ironic pronunciation on “promotion.” Wherever he’s going, it’s nowhere good.
When they’re partnered to solve a series of murders, their chances of success look low. They’re fantastic agents, but the case seems more like a punishment than an assignment. They can’t stop driving each other crazy. . . and not just in a bad way. This killer already took out the previous agents assigned to the case, and it’s not long before he’s on Ty and Zane’s trail, as well. They’ll have to set their frustrations aside, before it’s too late.
Reader discretion advised. This title contains the following sensitive themes: Drug Use, Drug Use (non-consensual), Explicit Violence
First edition published at Dreamspinner Press, September 2008.
*This is a limited re-release of the original series, without changes. Some aspects of the story are now dated, and an updated version will be published at a later date.*
The Cut & Run series starts out with a murder mystery, which unites two FBI agents, Tyler Grady and Zane Garrett for the first time. It's instant dislike at first meeting, but over the span of the assignment, two very strong-willed, independent men come to what is the beginning of a tentative partnership. Zane and Ty immediately find themselves in danger as soon as they arrive in New York to solve a serial murder.
Tyler, or Ty, is the brighter of the two, the more incandescent. He drops on masks like a chameleon. Ty presents himself as a wisecracking, cocky and abrasive character. He knows his job and does not defer to anyone. Ty has performed "side jobs" for the Bureau that no one ever reports on in any records. What is not always evident with Ty is his sensitivity to others, which he only reveals in certain moments.
Zane is the darker partner. He has a history that includes a deceased wife. Zane is serious, detail-oriented and focused. Zane is a chain smoker, an alcoholic and a drug addict trying to overcome his personal demons. There is an immediate attraction between these two hard-edged characters, but there is also tremendous difficulty with either of them trusting each other.
Ty and Zane are intensively involved in the murder case. They are working outside of the system because they suspect the killer is someone inside the Bureau. This leaves them vulnerable and open to some disastrous circumstances that finally prompt the FBI to withdraw them from the investigation for almost six months. Not only does the case lag, but also the relationship between the two protagonists as the Bureau sends Zane and Ty off in different directions to work on different cases.
The ending to the first book in the Cut and Run series was a nice read. The novel focuses more on solving the crime than the relationship between Zane and Ty. I found that refreshing, but the story left the romance as secondary. Still the relationship between these two characters is intriguing enough to make me eager to see the next episode.
DISCLAIMER: Books reviewed on this site were usually provided at no cost by the publisher or author. The first edition of this book was provided by the publisher for the purpose of a review.
| Format | ebook and print |
| Length | Novel, 388 pages/146K words |
| Heat Level | |
| Publication Date | 10-June-2024 |
| Price | $6.99 ebook, $19.99 paperback |
| Buy Link | https://riptidepublishing.com/collections/cut-run/products/cut-run |
