The Cuts That Cure by Arthur Herbert - Book Tour & Review

The Cuts that Cure, by Arthur Herbert

 

Purchase link: http://mybook.to/CutsThatCure-AHerbert

Genre:  Psychological Thriller

Print length: 298 pages

Age range: 18+

Trigger warnings: Significant and fatal violence; horror components

Formats available for the Tour: all standard electronic formats (sorry, no paperbacks)

Amazon Rating: 4.5

 

About The Cuts That Cure

Alex Brantley is a disgraced surgeon whose desperation to start a new life outside of medicine leads him to settle in a sleepy Texas town close to the Mexican border, a town that has a dark side. Its secrets and his own past catch up with him as traits he thought he’d buried in the deserts on the frontiers of the border rise up again to haunt him.

To the citizens of Three Rivers, Henry Wallis appears to be a normal Texas teenager: a lean, quiet kid from a good family whose life seems to center around running cross-country, his first girlfriend, and Friday night football. That Henry is a cultivated illusion, however, a disguise he wears to conceal his demons. Both meticulous and brutally cruel, he manages to hide his sadistic indulgences from the world, but with that success, his impulses grow stronger until one day when a vagrant is found murdered.

When Alex and Henry’s paths cross, it starts a domino effect which leads to mangled lives and chilling choices made in the shadows along la frontera, where everything is negotiable.

 

My Review
First, before I get into my review, I'd like to thank Blackthorn Book Tours and the author for sending me a signed physical copy to read and review. Thank you so much! I appreciate it! 

The Cuts That Cure is a dark thriller that follows Alex Brantley, a surgeon who is seriously done with practicing medicine. It's making him depressed, and he just can't do it anymore. And after he loses control with a family who brings in their burned 8 month old (that they are abusing, of course), Alex tries to kill himself. He's saved at the last minute, and after being cleared after evaluation, Alex moves to Three Rivers, Texas, and starts over as a science teacher. But his new life is about to come crashing down around him.
Enter Henry Wallis. Henry seems like a normal teenager, but Henry is hiding a dark secret. Henry has urges. Dark, sick urges. But he's gotten really good at hiding them. Until one day he messes up. 
When Henry's story collides with Alex's, things take a turn, and how it all ends... well, I won't spoil anything. You'll just have to read it and find out.
This was a really strong debut novel. Like, really strong. I was immediately hooked by the first couple of chapters. They start off with quite a bang, and while things kinda slow down a bit after that (not in a bad way, but more to ease the reader into the story), they only end up causing some serious anticipation for what's to come. I know I was on the edge of my seat, eagerly awaiting the ending.
And while I will admit to not expecting that ending, and kind of wishing it had been a little different, I felt it was really good overall, and I rather enjoyed how it all tied together there at the end. 
I felt for Alex. He was a really relatable character. Sometimes you just have to move on from a job when it feels like it's sucking your soul right out of your body. Although, I guess I can't say suicide over a job is really the right answer, for Alex at the time, it definitely seemed like it was. I was glad when he was given a second chance, because he honestly came across as a decent guy. Plus, what he did at the beginning... I can't say I blame him. He was a lot nicer with his actions than I would have been had I come across a family abusing their child. 
If you're a fan of dark psychological thrillers with some elements of horror, definitely check out The Cuts That Cure. You won't be disappointed.
4.5 stars.

About the Author

Arthur Herbert was born and raised in small town Texas. He worked on offshore oil rigs, as a bartender, a landscaper at a trailer park, and as a social worker before going to medical school. He chose to do a residency in general surgery, followed by a fellowship in critical care and trauma surgery. For the last seventeen years, he’s worked as a trauma and burn surgeon, operating on all ages of injured patients. He continues to run a thriving practice.

He has recently contracted his debut novel, The Cuts that Cure, to White Bird Publishing in Austin Texas. It’s due for release in early 2021. He has begun work on his second novel.

Arthur currently lives in New Orleans, with his wife Amy and their dogs.