The Butcher and the Wren: A chilling debut thriller from the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast MORBID

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On a more personal level, she differs from me in her ability to let herself feel her emotions and feel them hard. I tend to push emotions away immediately while in work-mode, and it was important to me that she be strong, but real as well. I love how she can both experience her emotions authentically and focus on her bigger picture of speaking for the dead.

Urquhart paints a tense and dangerous world for us right from the start and delivers it all with a skilled and evocative hand.” - Aaron Mahnke, creator of the Lore podcast and author of The World of Lore seriesUrquhart] uses all aspects of her familiarity with crime, corpses and the practices of forensic pathology to write convincingly about the showdown between a serial killer and an ME. Her setting is especially absorbing, from the haunting darkness of the bayou at night to the rising fears of the characters’ fellow parishioners…. I found that mid-book twist delightfully astonishing—and I’m hoping to read more from her.” - Doreen Sheridan, Criminal Element Perfect for fans of Dexter, a cat-and-mouse game battle of wits, told from the POVs of a notorious evil serial killer and a determined medical examiner on a mission to bring him down. However, this book was an insane let down for me. I rate it 2.5 stars, but am rounding up to 3 in the name of Goodreads. Urquhart has crafted a thriller that is necessarily graphic but not exploitative. The crisp detail, the narrative brevity and the blade-sharp connections between the pathologist and the killer all bode well for future installments.” - Sarah Weinman, New York Times Impressively detailed in its analysis, as you might expect from someone who spends their life conducting autopsies, it leaves little to the imagination, but is captivating, with lacings of the occult amid the deaths. There may be moments when the reader might want to shut their eyes, but the joust between the killer and the pathologist makes that impossible.” - Daily Mail

Wren is a forensic pathologist whose knowledge of prolific serial killers aids in her day to day. I had a hard time with her. I cannot pinpoint who Wren is as a person. There are no distinguishable aspects of her personality to round out her character. What are her quirks? What are her hobbies outside of work? It doesn't help that Wren has no real agency throughout the book and no character arc to speak of. What are her goals? What does she need to overcome? What is something the reader can relate to root for her? If she was a victim of Cal, what happened with the investigation? Why didn't she see the similarities with these new killings? Also, did The Butcher take time off and started up again? I may have missed that bit. I absolutely loved the short chapters which helped to keep the pace up. I also really enjoyed the twist which I did not see coming. It took me a while to wrap my head around it because it completely blindsided me! However, after the twist I felt things slipping a little. The ending felt really abrupt and came out of nowhere. It is clear it was setting up for a sequel but I was left feeling a little unsatisfied. That being said, I loved the sprinkling of true crime facts throughout and will definitely be reading the sequel if there is one! I think this was an impressive debut that shows a lot of promise! The entertainment industry is hell-bent on convincing viewers that morgues are high-tech space labs with touchscreen computer walls. They are not. Sure, they all have that classic stainless steel and clinical white clinical aesthetic, but the reality is far messier and lower tech than shown onscreen. Remember, the morgue is a place where body fluids spray around, especially while opening a skull or severing a spinal column. I think Silence of the Lambs did a nice job of striking this balance—and especially portraying the solemn feeling of an autopsy.

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In deep Louisiana, a serial killer with a taste for medical experimentation is completing his most ambitious project yet. The media call him 'The Butcher' - and, so far, he's proved impossible to catch. If I had to draw comparisons, I'd say this one definitely gave me the spine-tingling vibes of Silence of the Lambs, one of my all-time favorites! If you've ever wanted to actually get inside the mind of a serial killer, look no further Paste Magazine As body after body piles up on Wren's examination table, her obsession grows. Pressure to put an end to the slaughter mounts. And her enemy becomes more brazen.

The author brilliantly crafts a darkly, intelligent, addictive, and twisty unputdownable (hopefully a new series) psychological crime thriller mixed with humor, keeping you on the edge of your seat. This reads like a tv episode rather than a novel - short and superficial - and it breaks my heart to write this because I know from the podcast that Alaina poured everything into this. She is a wonderful person and I think could benefit from a stronger editor who could push her to develop her thoughts more fully. The concept and plot of the book would have been five stars if more time and attention was spent with the characters to develop the plot. I don’t see this trend going away, but I do see it evolving. People who are in it for the right reasons share these stories to offer respect and exposure to victims who can’t do it for themselves. I think great things can happen for cases that need it, and it’s something I am happy to be part of. The Butcher and the Wren comes from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and the medical examiner following his trail of victims, leveraging her encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes to try to stop him as he gets more brazen by the day.

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The only thing that defines Wren is that she’s a medical examiner and a workaholic. I wasn’t particularly rooting for her. To sum this one up, it was a true cat and mouse thriller providing interweaving perspectives between a serial killer dubbed 'The Bayou Butcher,' and a forensic pathologist named Dr. Wren Muller. At the beginning of this extremely fast-paced novel, we meet our killer, who is on the hunt for his next victim. I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of the Butcher, which had me captivated immediately - his thoughts provided nonstop entertainment, in more ways than one! The next chapter we meet Wren, who is a no-nonsense kind of gal, with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes such as this current case, and dead set on stopping the murders, at all costs. As the chapters fly by, we eventually learn this is in fact not her first run-in with him, the previous encounter occurring years earlier while she was still a student, providing insight into why Wren is so intent on catching the Butcher, who has hunted the Bayou for years. If I wasn't already invested in the chase, I definitely was at that point! As the bodies pile up, Wren and her team begin the piece together clues, and when a victim finally survives, they are closer than ever to finally discovering the true identity of The Butcher....or are they?? To me, this felt more like a beta read. Which would make for a GREAT novel because the bones are there and there is SO much to work with/ add on. But since this almost the final copy, I am not sure how these plot holes, flat characters, and underdeveloped storylines will be fixed in time of pub date?

Impressively detailed in its analysis . . . Captivating, with lacings of the occult. There may be moments when the reader might want to shut their eyes, but the joust between the killer and the pathologist makes that impossible Daily Mail With her encyclopedic knowledge of humanity's darkest minds, and years of experience examining their victims, forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is the best there is. The longer the Butcher's killing spree continues, the more determined she is to bring him to justice. And yet, he continues to elude her. I never said it was his sole intention. I just don’t like my abilities being tested by some gutless asshole who thinks he’s Hannibal Lecter or something.” Urquhart paints a tense and dangerous world for us right from the start and delivers it all with a skilled and evocative hand AARON MAHNKE, creator of the Lore podcast and author of The World of Lore series Sister is also behind series such as BBC/AMC’s This Is Going To Hurt, Sky/HBO’s The Baby and Landscapers and Sky/AMC series Gangs of London.

I know some people have issues with her descriptions of Louisiana. Having family there and being very familiar with the state, I do see these points. BUT it's really hard to write in a climate that's not your own, so I do give her props to writing in a setting she is not familiar with). Moving on... AU: Thank you for saying that! I have been writing The Butcher and the Wren for years and the cat-and-mouse structure has always been central to the narrative. Nothing is scarier to me than a killer who brazenly communicates with those investigating their case. It’s a weirdly bold move that in real life, usually ends up being the killer’s downfall, but I’ve always wondered what would happen if these calling cards didn’t bring them down right away. Alaina Urquhart's debut novel is incredibly accomplished. Set deep in Louisiana, you can almost feel the heat and humidity. A grisly serial killer, a tenacious medical examiner, and a few amazing twists make this a searing, unputdownable book Samantha Downing, Sunday Times Bestselling Author We got to see a lot of his quirks come through in this book, and I only wish the other characters were as developed as he was :( One thing I did like was how Jeremy was all for the chase. In most of the horror books I read (not many), the killer takes his time, sure, but he is more eager and sloppy than Jeremy is. So I appreciated reading the meticulous planning and thought that goes into Jeremey's actions in every chapter. The MC, Jeremy, is the serial killer. I actually really enjoyed his character because he had a funny personality and we got to see him go through a range of emotions in almost every chapter. We also got a tiny tiny glimpse into his childhood, which of course helped his character arc.