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Ballsy female police protagonists may be two a penny nowadays - Jane Tennison has a lot to answer for - but Leigh Russell's debut novel Cut Short features one of the more interesting specimens of the genre. Geraldine Steel is a DI on the Murder Investigation Team in the seemingly quiet village of Woolsmarsh (in crime fiction, village are always 'seemingly' quiet). This one happens to be plagued by a serial killer who is targeting young women. Cue tense scenes of defenceless females in out-of-the-way places.

The prose is sharp and eminently readable. The chapters are short, encouraging the reader to sample just one more before bedtime, and the characterization - although nothing out of the ordinary - is pithy and believable. Steel herself is a likeable central character, and the fact that women are in danger adds piquancy to the plot and heightens the drama. Dumped by a long-term boyfriend before the story opens, her faltering dates with a forgiving young man called Craig are amusingly played; they also add a much-needed lightness to what could otherwise be a rather heavy read.

Cut Short may not be doing anything new, but it's nonetheless an excellent debut. If Russell can build on it for her next Steel book, Road Closed, this will be a series well worth keeping tabs on.

Mark Campbell

Cut Short

Leigh Russell

No Exit Press