Published: February 24th 2022
Publisher: Viper
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Suspense, Crime Fiction
Format: Hardcover, Kindle, Audiobook
I’m delighted to be opening the blog tour for this terrifically twisted thriller. Thank you to Viper Books for the invitation to take part and the gifted ARC.
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SYNOPSIS:
WHO WILL SURVIVE THE NIGHT?
A nightmare jolts Debs awake. She leaves the kids tucked up in their beds and goes downstairs. There’s a man in her kitchen, holding a knife. But it’s not an intruder. This is her husband Marc, the father of her children. A man she no longer recognises.
Once their differences were what drew them together, what turned them on. Him, the ex-army officer from a good family. Her, the fitness instructor who grew up over a pub. But now these differences grate to the point of drawing blood. Marc screams in his sleep. And Debs hardly knows the person she’s become, or why she lets him hurt her.
Neither of them is completely innocent. Neither is totally guilty. Marc is taller, stronger, and more vicious, haunted by a war he can’t forget. But he has no idea what Debs is capable of when her children’s lives are at stake…
A powerful exploration of a relationship built on passion, poisoned by secrets and violence. Perfect for readers of Blood Orange and Big Little Lies.
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MY REVIEW:
“What if the thing she’s most afraid of isn’t some threat lurking outside the safety of this cosy home, clawing at the doors, peering into her double-glazed windows, its breath frosting the panes?
What if it’s right here in the kitchen beside her?”
Debs wakes early Christmas Eve from a nightmare. Quietly, she makes her way downstairs and discovers she has woken up to something even more terrifying than what haunts her dreams; her husband, Marc, standing in the kitchen holding a knife. She no longer recognises the man she married and as fear courses through her, she wonders what he has planned. Over the course of a few hours that cold morning, the couple’s problems in their marriage come to a head. But will Debs and her children make it out alive?
Tina Baker has done it again! Nasty Little Cuts jumps straight into the action, taking no prisoners with a twisted opening, heavy with foreshadowing. There’s an unbearable sense of dread as Debs and Marc face off against one another in the kitchen, the story unfolding slowly as it moves between that December morning and flashbacks to the past; small clues about their characters and relationship unveiling as the reader is kept on a knife edge wondering how Debs will escape.
“Each word, a tiny snag, each shallow cut stings. A word, a look, a sigh. One after the other after the other, all in a row, like the teeth on a bread knife. Tiny, tiny serrations. Eventually, they could slice you in half.”
My love for Ms. Baker is no secret. I adore her. And I have been waiting with bated breath for this follow up ever since I finished her fantastic debut, Call Me Mummy. Once again she has delivered a knock-out thriller that is complex, layered and nuanced. It is a psychological puzzle that not only examines the characters in uncomfortabledetail, but explores topics such as depression, PTSD, infertility and the need for communication in relationships. She breathes pain into the story that will make your heart break in two. I loved the imagery she used to describe depression, anxiety and PTSD; the dark, haunting, overwhelming feelings that you can’t escape and eat you up from the inside. It is so vivid and raw, helping those who might never have experienced these things really understand how it feels. The writing is ebullient, sharp, funny and riveting, much like the lady herself, and she creates a tone that moves between deeply unsettling, heart-wrenchingly emotional and darkly amusing, keeping me hostage as I was unable to tear myself away.
“For a long time now a syrupy blackness has seeped back into this vacuum inside him.”
The characters are deeply flawed and achingly real. Richly drawn and compelling, they are superbly written and jump from the pages. Dolly is a vivacious, fun child and I couldn’t get enough of her. I loved little Pat-Pat, who reminded me of my own son when he was young, right down to the ‘Duracell bunny’ comparison. And while there are multiple narrators, Debs feels like the main character. The true heart of the story. And it is her I felt the strongest connection with. Her terror during those hours in the kitchen is palpable, making my heart race as if I was in the room myself. Marc is someone we see as the villain from the start, but I found my heart breaking for him as I learned of his past and the inner turmoil he was trying to keep locked inside. It isn’t easy to make a character someone the reader can both loathe and feel sympathy for, but Ms. Baker shows her talent as an author when she manages to accomplish this with Marc.
“Bruises fade. Another blooms internally.”
This is a portrait of a failing marriage and we soon discover the idyllic, happy relationship they try to portray isn’t the truth. Theirs is a marriage filled with misery, misunderstanding, isolation, abuse and fear. A toxic relationship that is slowly killing them both on the inside but neither knows how to fix. They are both adrift and desperately trying to reach out and tell each other what they feel and need. Only they never come out and say it, leading to a minefield of miscommunication and resentment. It is devastating to watch as they destroy not only themselves, but each other, all building up to the morning that Debs finds Marc in the kitchen holding the knife. They have reached their breaking point.
Nasty Little Cuts is a pacy, punchy and gripping thriller. A harrowing, brutal and tortured story that will make your heart pound and leave your nerves on edge. I can’t recommend this book enough. Go and read this as soon as possible.
Rating: ✮✮✮✮✮
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MEET THE AUTHOR:
Tina Baker, the daughter of a window cleaner and fairground traveller, worked as a journalist and broadcaster for thirty years and is probably best known as a television critic for the BBC and GMTV. After so many hours watching soaps gave her a widescreen bum, she got off it and won Celebrity Fit Club. She now avoids writing-induced DVT by working as a Fitness Instructor.
Call Me Mummy is Tina’s first novel, inspired by her own unsuccessful attempts to become a mother. Despite the grief of that, she’s not stolen a child – so far. But she does rescue cats, whether they want to be rescued or not.
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BUY THE BOOK:
Waterstones*| Amazon*| Bookshop.org*
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Please check out the reviews from the other bloggers taking part in the tour.
Thanks for reading Bibliophiles ☺️Emma xxx
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