The Cutting Edge

They say beauty is only skin deep, but is it really? Does anyone ever really bother to get beneath the skin and find the real person inside? Perfection was a look and that was it. So many "beautiful" girls look in the mirror and suddenly become dissatisfied with the way they looked. Many begin to dwell on one feature or another as the reason they hadn't become the latest cover girl. The end result is usually an appointment with a cosmetic surgeon and an attempt to improve on what most people would have thought of was perfection. Of course, rather did these fixes lead to bigger jobs, only bigger disappointments and lower self esteem. The fact was, a "look" couldn't be manufactured; it had to be a gift of birth.

That is just what Leslie Rhoads had, the looks that most would die to have. No cosmetic surgery was necessary and a true moment of opportunity sat literally right in front of her. The opportunity most models wait a lifetime to get and only rarely do few ever find. Now on the cusp of making a decision that might change her career, Leslie begins to count just what the cost is for great beauty and looks. Passion Nights, a perfume company wants her to be their spokesmodel but the photographs and ads leave very little left to the imagination. Raised as the proverbial girl next door, she wonders just what kind of message would she be sending taking on this project and signing a multi-million dollar contract. Her agent Carlee Middleton, reminds her that this doesn't come around too often and it is a guarantee to launch her career as a model to heights she had never dreamed before. No more struggling to make rent or live in less than desirable areas, this would literally be a life changing. But she can't accept without talking to her parents, the voice of reason in her life. What would God tell her to do?

When she arrives home from a late night flight from New York into Springfield, Illinois, the airport is mostly closed. Without wanting to wake her parents, she opts to call for a cab but since it's so late the cab will take awhile to get there since the driver is out on another call. When twenty minutes pass, Leslie sees an approaching unmarked car and believes that such a small town company has opted to send whatever they have left. Without thinking she opens the car door, only to be abducted from the airport by men she can't see. The only people who even know she is arriving home is her agent and it seems like that might be the last person who will ever know just where she went.

The men who have abducted Leslie have no idea who she is, and had hoped merely to gain whatever money and items of worth from her before abandoning her at the side of a dark road. But when a search of her baggage reveals her face on the cover of a magazine, the men realize Leslie might be worth a whole lot more. When she fails to give them what they want, they decide to take it out on her in a dark alley, cutting her beautiful face with a broken bottle and leaving her for dead. What will her beauty be worth now?

In the latest novel by best selling author Ace Collins, The Cutting Edge is one of those novels that once you pick up will embed its way into your soul. I literally inhaled this one and didn't realize that this novel is the sequel from Darkness Before Dawn. I remember reading a similar story that happened many years ago about a model who had her face viciously damaged and she was left for dead as well. I can't imagine the horrors she had to deal with much like Leslie's character whose whole life has been defined by her looks. Now she is left with nothing more but scars but it's the ones inside that may never heal. Can she find the beauty that lies within all of us before it's too late?

I received The Cutting Edge by Ace Collins compliments of Abingdon Press for my honest review. I did not receive any monetary compensation for a favorable review and the opinions expressed in this review are mine. I easily rate this one a 5 out of 5 stars because I believe it delivers more than just a great suspense filled story. There is a great message behind this story that is revealed by the time you get to the end, the one of what the true definition of beauty really is. Once again I feel that Ace Collins is definitely a "one to watch" author because everything he seems to do, turns to gold. He is utilizing his true God given gift of writing to transport us inside the story. It's compelling, believable and one that will stay with you long after you turn the final page. I simply can't wait to see what masterpiece he will create next.

For more information about The Cutting Edge, Ace Collins or where you can pick up a copy of this novel today, please click on the links below:

The Cutting Edge by Ace Collins

You can also find Ace Collins on Facebook to stay up to date on all his latest novels.

To read more reviews on The Cutting Edge, please visit Abingdon Press' website.

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (October 15, 2013)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1426714661
• ISBN-13: 978-1426714665
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches