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

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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. If you like Patricia Cornwell and have watched Dexter with undisguised glee (and a sped-up heart rate), this one is for you.” —Belfast Telegraph 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.” the alternating view points: yes, I just said that I liked that but I also disliked it. Because we learn about him as we go along, there was no real character surprise at the end like other books. It's been years since the Gray Man's first mission, but the trouble's just getting started in the latest entry in the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

This was a book I didn't know about until I stumbled across it at Walmart (of all places!), but the synopsis immediately caught my attention. Add the fact that the cover is absolutely beautiful, and I was ready to start reading this one ASAP. I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed this one, and might actually have found my very first book series (which I normally hate) I'm prepared to invest some time into! Dignity is key in both my work as a true crime podcaster and as an autopsy technician. For example, I always try to part the victim’s hair in a way that allows me to make the necessary cuts without damaging their hair. Just like the person on my autopsy table is a human being who has people who love them, the people we discuss on Morbid are mothers, fathers, daughters, sons, and friends. Gallows humor has a place in the death industry, to allow workers to cope with the sometimes suffocating sadness that comes with the job, but it can never be in relation to the victim. While on the podcast, I maintain a more fact-based/clinical tone to avoid having the stories of real victims feel like exploitative entertainment, in my fiction, I allow myself a bit more creativity in my narrative style. AU: I love watching autopsies in television shows and movies. Though I’m a firm believer in suspending my disbelief for the sake of storytelling, I can’t help myself from occasionally yelling out, “That’s not how they really do that!!”Urquhart] 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. 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! it deserves. With your contribution, you'll gain access to exclusive newsletters, editors' recommendations,

While Wren usually has a genial relationship with Police Detective John Leroux, she is a bit annoyed when he laughs off this observation. Frustrated, she tells him: The only thing that defines Wren is that she’s a medical examiner and a workaholic. I wasn’t particularly rooting for her. Lobotomies were mentioned so many times as Jeremy's interest but the potential to build up on this was lost. IMO if his whole MO was attempting a successful lobotomy, this whole book would make much more sense. That would be why he was going to medical school, why he tried to paralyze Emily and other victim and why there was a body with a botched lobotomy in his freezer. Try and tell me that isn't a stronger plot?! The downfalls for me were the ending and flaws in the writing that probably should have been patched up during the editing stage. The Butcher and the Wren is already one of the buzziest titles of the Fall. If you somehow haven’t already heard about what the big twists of the story are already, do your best not to find out until you get the chance to experience Alaina Urquhart’s debut for yourself.” - Lacy Baugher Milas, Paste MagazineMolly Odintz: You’re an autopsy technician. Tell us a bit about your job and how it intersects with your life as a podcaster and writer. If you like Patricia Cornwell and have watched Dexter with undisguised glee (and a sped up heart rate), this one is for you.” - Belfast Telegraph As a true crime podcast fan I have, of course, listened to the author on Morbid and she brings her trademark insight to this clever and absorbing novel. I enjoyed the duel POVs. The killer was cold and methodical and I still have questions about him. Especially with that ending.

Set in the alluring and sultry Louisiana, New Orleans, surrounded by the swamps and bayous, historic landmarks, jazz, music, food, heat and humidity, tarot card readings, and of course, ghosts, the dead, the cemetery, and a serial killer, all set the mood. On top of that, for a book set in New Orleans, written by someone 'supposedly' obsessed with New Orleans - it's painfully apparent she's never been and didn't even bother to research the basics. It's so full of stereotypes and clichés i.e Bourbon Street, French Quarter, jazz, Mardis Gras, tarot readers, spooky cemeteries etc. to the point it reads like parody. An addictive read with straight-from-the-morgue details only an autopsy technician could provide, The Butcher and the Wren promises to ensnare all who enter. 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.The ending is incredibly abrupt but still manages to set things up for more books with The Butcher and The Wren. I can only hope that the publishers don’t allow more of this juvenile writing to be published.