The Cutout

By: Francine Mathews

Narrated by: Trini Alvarado

CUTOUT: A third person used to conceal the contact between two people. A pawn.

They were partners — lovers in a business where betrayal is a heartbeat away. CIA analyst Caroline Carmichael lost her husband Eric when his plane was blown out of the sky by an elite group of terrorists known as 30 April.

Now her dead husband has surfaced among those responsible for an explosion that rocks Berlin — and the brutal kidnapping of the U.S. Vice President. Uncertain of Eric’s motives and loyalties, the Agency plays its last, best card: Eric’s wife — the Cutout.

Is Eric a rogue agent gone bad? Or has he thrown himself under deep cover to terminate a ruthless psychopath? Caroline is drawn into a dizzying maze where one wrong turn will mean certain death ... and in which the Cutout will be the first to fall.©2001 Francine Mathews; (P)2001 Random House, Inc.; Bantam Doubleday Dell Audio Publishing Group, a Division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

“A high-action thriller.”
— USA Today

“Fascinating, harrowing, page-flipping intrigue ... A vivid tale of seduction, betrayal,revenge, and international political intrigue.”
— The Christian Science Monitor

“Fast moving. Mathews has no shortage of imagination.”
— People

“Thrills you with the CIA, a kidnapping and the hunt. Starts with a bang.”
— The Denver Post

“A brilliantly intelligent and thrilling read.”
— Liz Smith, Newsday


And coming soon in hardcover from Bantam Books:

The Secret Agent

By Francine Mathews

Talented Writer

Francine Mathews is a telented writer who has written about the field of espionage, something she has personal knowledge of.This book is full of clues, bluffs and a myriad of characters designed to show how a person can lose their own identity when caught up in this convoluted international world.Hope you select this one to listen and enjoy.

Gripping Suspense, great characters

The Cutcut was the novel that really introduced me to the espionage suspense genre, and it is a great one. It has a great suspenseful story but also we see a character, Caroline, who is torn between her husband and duty to her country. I loved this book when I first read it several years ago and loved listening to it, even though it is abridged. It was a great review to prepare me to listen to the sequal "Blown."