They're Supposed to Be Green!

 

TITLE: The Cut

AUTHOR: C.J. Dotson

PUBLISHER: St. Martin's Press

PUBLISHING DATE: April 8, 2025

PAGES: 304   

SOURCE: ARC

FROM GOODREADS: In this chilling supernatural horror novel set in a mysterious hotel, a woman fleeing her abusive ex finds herself running from more than just her past. 

 A historic hotel long past its prime and huddled along The Cut, a questionable Lake Erie beach, isn’t Sadie Miles’ ideal place to raise a toddler while also navigating her second pregnancy. After finally fleeing her abusive ex-fiancé, though, Sadie’s new housekeeping position and free room at L’Arpin Hotel are the best she can manage. 

On her first night, Sadie runs to help a guest struggling in the hotel’s pool only to find the water calm and empty when she gets there, leaving her with a lingering unease. When a guest then goes missing and her manager insists they simply left without checking out, Sadie suspects he’s covering up darker goings-on in the hotel. 

After her ex, Sadie won't let anyone convince her that what she’s experiencing isn’t real again. So, she keeps digging, quickly uncovering suspicious interactions with the staff, mysteriously vanishing security cameras, more missing guests, and things that go bump in the night...and drip in the walls, slither in the tub, and squirm in the halls. Everything isn't as it seems within the dim hallways of L’Arpin. Sadie has nowhere to go and nowhere to hide; she'll need to keep her wits about her to survive and keep her toddler and unborn child safe from whatever lurks nearby.

MY THOUGHTS: Let's get this out of the way before I say more.  This book is what I would call a creature-feature, one of my favorite horror sub-genres.  But the creatures in this book are GREEN people!  Did this cover designer even read the book?  Moving on.

Sadie and her three-year-old daughter, Izzy, are running away from Sadie's abusive fiancé and land in a small town on Lake Erie, Ohio.  Sadie interviews and get a job at a historic hotel, L'Arpin, which works out well because the manager/owner allows Sadie to live there as well. Soon after her arrival she begins to hear strange water sounds coming from the hallways and a trail of water left behind.  In addition, people are coming up missing and no one at the hotel seems to care.  The man who runs the power plant next door keeps accusing the hotel employees of sabotaging his building and the old lady, Gertie, who has lived at the hotel for what seems like forever keeps finding more and more reasons to be around Izzy.

This book started out kind of slow.  I was about 40% in when it eventually picked up.  It wasn't that I ever thought about DNF'ing, but I just found myself putting it aside and not in any real hurry to pick it back up.  However, once I reached the last 30%, I couldn't put the book down.  I also found the setting and some of the characters pretty creepy, even though Sadie was annoying most of the time.  That being said, it is also clear she is a victim of domestic violence, and the past abuse was the root of many of her actions and poor decisions, so I completely get it. I found the ending somewhat over-the-top but it was dramatic and fit the creature-feature Modis Operandi.

Overall, The Cut was exactly what I expected, except for the red creatures.  It wasn't perfect but it ended up being fun and sometimes that's all you need from your horror. If you are even slightly curious about this one, I recommend you give it a try. 

MY RATING: 4 Paws