A Thousand Cuts

By Simon Lelic
(Viking Adult, Hardcover, 9780670021505, 304pp.)

Publication Date: March 4, 2010

Other Editions of This Title: Paperback

Categories: Literary

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the March 2010 Indie Notables

“Simon Lelic introduces a wonderful character, London Det. Inspector Lucia May, in this outstanding debut. In what should be a cut- and-dry murder case, May instead pushes further and deeper, uncovering secrets at all levels. All the characters are fully drawn, and even the murderer is sympathetically portrayed in this deep, and deeply human, examination of responsibility. That said, this is also a fast-paced page turner, with pitch-perfect dialog and characters you long to meet again.”

-- Leslie Reiner, Inkwood Books, Tampa, FL

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the March 2011 Indie Next List

“This is a very timely novel on the insidiousness of bullying and how it can affect all ages, not just kids on the playground. A Thousand Cuts opens with a school shooting committed by a teacher. An open-and-shut case becomes much more when Detective Inspector Lucia May pieces together the testimony from various witnesses and realizes that assigning the blame is not as easy as expected.”

-- Laura Lucy, White Birch Books, North Conway, NH

Selected by Indie Booksellers for the Summer '11 Reading Group List

Description

A stunning debut novel that unravels the hidden story behind a school shooting

It should be an open-and-shut case. Samuel Szajkowski, a recently hired history teacher, walked into a school assembly with a gun and murdered three students and a colleague before turning the weapon on himself. It was a tragedy that could not have been predicted. Szajkowski, it seems clear, was a psychopath beyond help. Yet as Detective Inspector Lucia May- the only woman in her high-testosterone office in the Criminal Investigations Department-begins to piece together the testimonies of the various witnesses, an uglier and more complex picture emerges, calling into question the innocence of others. But no one, including Lucia's boss, is interested.

As the pressure to close the case builds and her colleagues' sexism takes a sinister turn, Lucia begins to realize that she has more in common with the killer than she could have imagined, and she becomes determined to expose the truth. Brilliantly interweaving the witnesses' accounts with Lucia's own perspective, A Thousand Cuts is a narrative tour de force from a formidable new voice in fiction.

About the Author

Simon Lelic has worked as a journalist and currently runs his own business. He was born in Brighton, England in 1976 and lives there now with his wife and two sons. This is his first novel.

Praise For A Thousand Cuts…

This book is on these lists:

For sure by cathy
Wenzinger's Wish List by wenzinger
Robbiewi's Wish List by robbiewi
Amaliaslash's Wish List by amaliaslash
Alison McFall's Wish List by Alison McFall
Thenarose's Wish List by thenarose
Two by dmkpt
Lisette's Wish List by lisette
JamesMcKenzie's Wish List by JamesMcKenzie
LisaKal's Wish List by LisaKal

All lists >>

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