The Cuts that Cure by Arthur Herbert

The Bones of Amoret Review HERE!

Synopsis -

Alex Brantley is a 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.

Review - 

This book is a dark thriller and, while the author avoids going into detail, seriously disturbing things happen. For me, this book was a look at evil - the fine line between being evil and doing evil, and how it affects two very different individuals - a sadist and a regular person.  

The story opens with a look at Alex Brantley the day he closed the door on being a surgeon. Despite the fact it was something he excelled at, he found it soul-destroying. The problem - a HUGE student loan debt that he cannot pay off in his new profession of teaching high school. Then we learn the back story of Henry Wallis.  Did an accident in his childhood damage his brain, or was he born this way? We don't know. We only become aware of the evil that lurks in his brain, trying to find a way out. 

Alex thrives in his new roll as a teacher, while worrying about his efforts to be released from the massive burden of his debt - efforts that are failing.  His budding friendship with a local businessman connects him with a Mexican crime boss who offers him a shot at starting over, but by doing something against all he believes in. Something evil. Can he as a moral man set that aside to guarantee a better future?  Henry finally acts out on his impulses, taking the life of a vagrant. Sure he has done everything right, he feels untouchable. Then a policeman starts to zero in. What will he do?

The book ends on an interesting note that looks at the idea of whether, after doing evil, can redemption be found?  No answer is offered.  Well written, I have only one reservation. I'm not sure the story of Henry actually needed to be there other than as a comparison between the two men. Just my opinion. 

Buy the book - Amazon

Meet the Author - 

Fab author interview HERE!

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 eighteen 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's won multiple awards for his scientific writing, and his first novel, The Cuts that Cure, spent ten days as an Amazon #1 Best Seller. His second novel, The Bones of Amoret, will be released on April 1, 2022 through Stitched Smile Publishers. Arthur currently lives in New Orleans, with his wife Amy and their dogs.

connect with the author: website ~ twitter ~ facebook ~ goodreads