AUDIOBOOK REVIEW: Cut & Run (Cut & Run #1)

Cut & Run (Cut & Run #1), by Abigail Roux and Madeline Urban
Publish Date: September 30, 2008
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Format: audiobook, purchased
Genre: adult m/m crime suspense
To Buy: Amazon

Rating: 4 STARS

(Synopsis) A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He's cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he's paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it's hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic cliche: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer's knife.

I've had my eye on this book for a very long time, but just never found the time to get to it until now. I love a good crime suspense novel, and the m/m romance angle was an even bigger plus for me. I finally pulled the trigger on the audio version of Cut & Run so that I could finally experience this book that I've heard so many talk about while taking my springtime walks around my neighborhood. 

On the whole, I really enjoyed Cut & Run. It centers around an unlikely partnership of two salty FBI agents as they team up to try and figure out who a nasty serial killer is in New York City. Both men come to the partnership with their own respective demons and rather large chips on their shoulders. In the beginning, they're combative, angry, insulting and all that results in them being mostly unproductive as they try to solve the case. 

I knew from talking to friends that, eventually, these two men got together, and honestly for the first 30% or so of the book, I couldn't imagine how it would happen. Ty and Zane didn't even remotely like one another. I wouldn't say there was a slow burn, because there really was no flame at all that I could tell. The beginning was spent laying the groundwork for the case and listening to Zane and Ty trade insults. 

But, as I always say, passion takes many forms. In Zane and Ty's case, it manifests in open hostility for awhile before it absolutely erupts into some toe-curling sex. After that, things take off - the murders pick up, the sexual tension increases and the danger to both men reaches critical levels. 

The pace of Cut & Run ebbs and flows along with Zane and Ty's relationship. There are times when the story speeds along, and other times when it sort of stalls a bit - almost like the book is taking a breather before gearing up for something big. There's no doubt that the ending was crazy exciting as the serial killer is revealed and Zane and Ty fight for their lives for the hundredth time. 

The audio version of Cut & Run wasn't my favorite that I've listened to. I thought that the narrator, Sawyer Allerde, sounded a bit like a newscaster. He read mostly in a monotone voice and there wasn't much inflection in his voicing of different characters. Although his performance wasn't what I would've liked, Cut & Run was a long book, so I had plenty of time to get used to it. And I did. Although, I think that when I get into the next book in this series, I may just read it instead of listen to it. And I do intend to continue with the series - something tells me that although Zane and Ty aren't even close to romantically inclined, I have a feeling there's a lot more coming for them, and I want to see where it goes.