Elliott is a survivor of an abusive family. She has escaped them, but what she went through growing up has ‘resulted in the gutted, empty state I lived in on a daily basis.’ When she meets the enigmatic Jason one sleepless night at the all-night diner, there’s an immediate connection. Learning about Jason’s murderous past (he thinks the term ‘serial killer’ is unimaginative) doesn’t stop her from pursuing their relationship, but as that past becomes present, Elliott has to decide what she can live with, and what she is prepared to do.

Elliott’s voice is an effective one, delivering the unusual story effectively. The portrayal of the almost hypnotic quality of Jason’s attraction for her was particularly well-done: you could really feel how she was pulled into the relationship. She isn’t always an especially sympathetic character, sometimes coming across as self-pitying and as rather unconcerned about the moral issues with Jason’s behaviour, but she is consistently an interesting narrator.

The only downside I found to Gutted was the rather sudden ending. I am as much of a fan of an inconclusive ending as the next person (Daphne du Maurier’s My Cousin Rachel is a favourite), so the way that Madorsky avoids wrapping everything up in a neat, Dickensian bow isn’t the problem. My issue with the ending is that it leaves major issues unexplored, not least the interesting question of how far Jason’s account of his rules for murder is actually true. Is he less principled in his selection of victims than he makes out? And if so, does that mean we can trust any of the story he has told Elliott about his past?

Madorsky’s decision to leave the reader hanging on these points left me feeling disappointed as well as intrigued, but it was the only flaw in what was otherwise a compelling and elegantly told story.

Note: I've subsequently been told that this is the first in a series, so hopefully these loose ends will be addressed in the next book. I still feel though that even the first in a series should leave the reader feeling satisfied with the ending so far, as well as gagging for the next installment.