There’s a thin line between love and murder.
When “Love Doctors” Ian and Kate Culpepper are brutally murdered in their Carmel mansion on Valentine’s Day, Ava knows it’s karma. Because Ian’s leaving her for perfect Kate four years ago had cut her bone deep. And then they had the nerve to show up here, on her turf. With their perfect house and their perfect daughter and their matching perfect … daughter and their matching perfect smiles.
It’s no wonder Ava can’t stop watching. It’s no wonder she can’t let go.
But Ian is far from perfect, and Ava owes a debt too. For the unforgivable thing they’d done together. The dark deed that severed their marriage in two. When Ava’s name is found inked in blood at the crime scene, a reckoning seems inevitable. Someone knows what she’s hiding. Someone sees what she’s done. And karma is ready to collect its pound of flesh.
“[The First Cut] hitsthat spot that craved a good, creepy, twisty book that would hook me by theteeth…” –Amazon reader
“The First Cut was outstanding. And the perfect breakthrough for thecursed reader’s slump.” –Amazon reader
Another terrific installment to this series that kept me on the edge of my seat.
“Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”
“Love and hate are two sides of the same coin.”
“Secrets come unearthed, rising like bones from a shallow grave.”
Dr. Ava Lawson is a woman scorned in more ways than one. Her ex-husband, Dr. Ian Culpepper, stole her idea for a hit TV reality show, “Love Doctors”, then divorced her in order to marry his pregnant mistress, Kate. When the two are found murdered in their home, Ava becomes a suspect.
As the book progresses, many dark truths are revealed. Ian and Kate seem to be the perfect couple, but there is darkness lurking behind every door of their lives. Ava is obsessed with Ian and Kate, following them, taking photos of various moments in their lives, and basically stalking them. Even though she is a psychologist, it seems that Ava is the one who needs therapy. Haunted by her father’s suicide, Ian’s betrayal and a huge secret that they share, Ava is on a road to destruction.
The author, Ellery Kane, has a wonderful writing style, drawing the reader into her stories. Having previously read the first two books in the “Doctors of Darkness” trilogy, I knew that this story would be suspenseful, full of angst, cringe-worthy decisions by the characters, and a twisted ending.
If you enjoy psychological thrillers, characters that make you want to grab them and shake some sense into them, and plenty of twists, you need to read this book (as well as the others in the series). In the end, Ava realizes that there are ways to kill the Hydra that has been inside her for so long: Own your guilt, admit you did wrong, accept your punishment, forgive yourself and ask for a second chance. Those are pretty good words to live by IMHO.
I was given the chance to read this book through a book review group and chose to review it.
Madison Culpepper is 4 years old when her parents Ian and Kate are brutally murdered in their home. Known as the “Love Doctors” who could have killed them on Valentine’s Day?
Dr. Ava Lawson is shocked by the murders but can’t help think that it could be karma for Ian leaving her for Kate. Now Ava is dating police officer Luke Donovan and soon she finds herself under suspicion for the murders.
Can Ava clear her name and can she figure out who could be setting her up before she’s found guilty?
This was a great book and it got me engaged like the first one did which made me super excited!
Ava had quite the past and was linked to some unsavory characters through the book but it my heart I was pretty sure she did not commit the crimes! I really enjoyed her tracking people down and trying to piece everything together and I could tell slowly that she was getting closer and closer to the truth.
I wondered what was going to happen between Luke and Ava as suspicion began pointing towards her and I wasn’t surprised with everything that happened between them although I was really disappointed in Luke.
There were various characters that I was mad at through the book for events that happened but things started looking up with a letter that was found although I was mad at what happened next!
I loved when I found out the twist with Kate as I wasn’t expecting it but things just fell into place after that! Things got so intense after that and I could not put the book down!!
The end was super exciting and I was finally a little grateful for Ricky Sherman and who he brought with him! I felt bad that it still wasn’t over for Ava but I was so proud of her at the very end of the book!
This was my first time reading a book by this author. I received an advanced copy, in exchanged for an honest review.
This is book 3 in the Doctors of Darkness series. I have not read books 1 & 2 but I feel this series can be read in any order or as standalones.
The characters and the plot were intriguing, and the story line kept me wanting to turn the next page to find out who did it.
Great story, will definitely be reading books 1 & 2.
What an intense book! We experience this story through the eyes of Ava, a psychologist and ex-wife of Ian Culpepper, famed TV relationship doctor along with his new wife, Kate. However, we are not sure we can trust Ava’s perspective. Especially since all evidence points to her being the murderer of Ian and Kate.
Complicating matters is the fact that her boyfriend of a year, Luke, is a cop, along with his brother and father, who is the lead detective on the case. The book goes back and forth between the present, and various Valentine’s Days over the previous eight years of Ava and Ian’s meeting, relationship, marriage, and divorce. Many characters are not who they seem to be, and we never know who to believe. This is a page turning thriller that keeps us guessing until the end.
By any means this was not a bad book.It just wasn’t for me.
It did started good.The prologue was interesting,and I was eager to get into the book.But,I was disappointed really quickly.For me,this book just drag way too much.There was nothing thrilling in it to make me realize that I’m actually reading a thriller.By the time this book started to be interesting again,I was reaching it’s end.So,yes,I was bored pretty much the whole time.
And then there is our main heroine Ava.I really didn’t like her.I found her to be paranoid and obsessed with her ex-husband.Insecure and stupid,too.I didn’t like her.
There was way too many people involved in the mystery too,people that at the end were not that much important at all.I had a problem catching up with all of them.
Like I said,not a bad book,not badly written either,but in my opinion it was boring.
Chilling, haunting, and brilliantly written. I loved this book and admit I didn’t sleep so I could finish it. Ellery Kane manages to squeeze every last drop of terror and psychosis out of her characters, drawing us in so deep that we start to question what we thought we knew about the characters and about ourselves. The lingering doubt, the questions, the nervous biting of nails and clenching of teeth… All the brilliant side-effects of this author’s incredible approach to this genre. Would give six stars if I could.
Ava is a psychologist with a heavy past. She has her favorite clients and some that she merely tolerates. After the twin murders of famous love doctors Ian and Kate Culpepper are announced, she starts to see the ways that the celebrities affected her various patients. None of them are more affected than Ava herself. Her mysterious past is tied to Ian’s in a dark and tumultuous way. And that past is coming back to haunt her. Someone wants her to go down for their murders but who?
First thing about this book is even though it is part of a series, it is a standalone. The characters within this story are not ones who have appeared in the series before. The First Cut starts with a bang and held me from the very first chapter. I found the main character, Ava, to be an interesting character. She was an unreliable narrator of sorts in the way that she introduces the reader to her world. Slowly, the truth is revealed through a series of memories and personal revelations. Ava isn’t a good person, but she isn’t a murderer either.
Every character in the story is fleshed out well, not just Ava. Throughout the story we see the way that Ava’s teenage years have affected her, and how that played out to what happened to her as an adult. As she comes to terms with her ex-husband’s death, she starts to evaluate her own behavior, getting to the root of why she behaves like she does. At the end of the story, we see a completely different Ava, and I loved how real her character development really felt.
The mystery and suspense in this story were good. I didn’t know who was the murderer until the last hour of the book. It was one of those mysteries so well-written that anyone could have done it. I spent the first half of the audiobook thinking it was Ava herself.
I definitely recommend this book to fans of psychological thrillers/mysteries.
Before this book, this author was new to me, but I will be reading the other books in this series for sure.
Narration was perfect.
This book was given to me for free at my request and I provided this voluntary review.
The Final Cut (Doctors of Darkness #3) by Ellery Kane. This book is about Dr. Ava Lawson. She was once married to Ian Culpepper who was part of the love doctors. The women who has replaced her and Ian are now dead. This is a story of the solving of the crime of Mr. & Mrs. Culpeper’s death, Ava’s past relationship on how she became Mrs. Culpepper and her current obsessive relationship regarding her ex and her possible implication in his murder. Definitely another story with many twists and turns, who actually committed the crime and why. This story at times had my head spinning. At times I didn’t know what in the heck was going on but once it was all revealed I was like ” hell I didn’t see that coming.” This was definitely a strange series and the style of storytelling by the author was something I had never experienced. Once I got use to it, it made following the story easier. 3.5 stars for me.
If you have read the first two books in this series then you are going to absolutely love this one.
Book Three starts off with a bang and the chills and thrills just keep getting better through out the story.
This is a story that keeps you guessing as to who did what and when.
The author has knocked it out of the ball park with this book and I can not wait to see what she gives us next. ~Absolutely rocks… And your Valentine’s Day may never be the same…
A psychological thriller that has everything. The First Cut builds continually as Ava tries to make sense of what is happening in the intense twisting of her mind.
Valentines day should bring happy memories of flowers, candy and love. But in The First Cut, it brings instead uncontrolled memories of deeds too horrible to ever discuss, but also too horrible to forget. Longing for what should have been hers only deepens the fear of what she might have done. Murder, flawed narcissistic individuals and intense descriptions, Ellery Kane has left nothing out of The First Cut. I received an ARC of this book and chose to give my review.
Wow! The First Cut was great! I loved it. I am going to read the first two books in this series. A Psychological Thriller that keeps you guessing until the end. This book really had me on end. All through the book I had this creepy feeling. Dark thoughts, wondering, have I done anything I’m ashamed of? Ava was an amazing character that really spoke to you. I loved the way the Author wrote the story and I’m so going to read all her books.
I give The First Cut 5 stars for it’s great story.
I would recommend this book to Psychological Thriller Fans.
Love Ellery Kane! I wait for her books to come out,then I read them as fast as I can to see what kind of psychological mayhem she will bring and I have not been disappointed as yet! This is the 3rd installment in this series and it hits that spot that craved a good, creepy, twisty book that would hook me by the teeth and pulled me through this long cold winter now I am waiting again! Thank you Ellery Kane for writing another awesome book in the Doctors of Darkness series and letting me have early access and allowing me to read and review!
This is my first book by Ellery A Kane. As I was reading the book, I was confused by the naming of the chapters and the back and forth of present and past. After a few chapters I caught on. The newspaper clippings were a nice touch.Ava was married to Ian Culpepper years ago. They divorced over the fact Ian was seeing someone else. That seems to be Ian’s thing over the years. Ian then married Kate. They became known as the power couple called Love Doctors. Someone murdered them while their little girl was there. Before Ian died, he wrote Ava on the bathroom mirror in his blood. Ava became a suspect. She says she didn’t do it. Ava owes a guy money, money she got from her ex husband. That money is known as extortion money. Ava is in a relationship with a cop whose dad is working the murder. But the cops family don’t know she’s the ex wife. Ava was watching this couple from a far. That could have been her life, her daughter. Someone is out to get her and make her pay. Ave thinks some one is following her. Ava was visiting her mo who is in a nursing home. Toward the end of the book, I was slowly putting 2 and 2 together. I was shocked to find out who did it. This book was fascinating and hard to put down.