Book Review of Cruel Cuts by J. R. Lindermuth

Trade Paperback, Whiskey Creek Press, 2007

ISBN#1-59374-910-4

In her review, Anne K. Edwards, author of Death on Delivery, says, "John R. Lindermuth doesn't write fiction. He writes life." She hit the proverbial nail on the head with that statement. In his fourth novel, Cruel Cuts, Lindermuth writes of life in a small rural town of Swatera, Pennsylvania. On the surface, all is quiet, peaceful and just peachy keen. However, you only have to go peel back the layers to see that things aren't as rosy as they appear.

Poison pen letters, animal mutilations, wife beating, infidelity, financial manipulations...secrets. Lindermuth weaves the day-to-day trials and tribulations of small town America into the darkness that some of its citizens have wrought upon their fellow townfolk.

Retired police chief, "Sticks" Hetrick, and rookie police officer, Flora Vastine, work to determine how, and if, the mutilations, missing school board funds, an alleged suicide and two murders all fit together. When they do unravel the mystery, things will never again be the same in Swatera,

My only complaint about the novel is that, mid story, certain information is presented to the reader that the investigators do not find out until the very end. To me, it would have been more satisfying if the reader had also been kept in the dark. Nevertheless, make no mistake, J. R. Lindermuth is an excellent writer and story teller. His writing style is smooth and easy to read. His characters are memorable and his descriptions of life in rural central Pennsylvania is highly satisfying. If the rest of his work is as good a read as Cruel Cuts, it may be worth taking a look at his web site at http://jlind11,tripod.com and finding out what else he has to offer.