DI Ryan McNally stands in the dock at Southwark Crown Court accused of a vicious assault; he awaits the jury’s verdict. A guilty decision would be career-ending and might send him to prison.

The British Transport Police’s Major Investigations Team are called in to investigate the discovery of human remains deposited in a left luggage facility at Liverpool Street Station and on the backseat of a London black cab at Victoria’s busy bus terminal.

The team’s priority is the identification of the victim. Their only clues are a wedding band and a tattoo. McNally’s detectives have proven they can work under the most stressful of circumstances in Britain’s most unique policing environment; but with ever-growing tensions between some of its members reaching boiling point they need to come together quickly to meet their toughest challenge yet.

The Cutting Room offers a fast-paced relentless narrative taking the reader on a very dark journey of shocking twists and turns with very little light at the end of the tunnel.

Gary Powell is a retired London police officer and now resides in North Norfolk. He has published five books to date, mainly on true crime and London History with his first crime fiction novel being released in January 2024. He is a guide at St Paul’s Cathedral, a public speaker and a member of the Crime Writers Association.