The #Bookvent Calendar 2022 – Day Eighteen

#Bookvent – Celebrating my top reads of 2022

My day eighteen #bookvent selection is one which came as a little bit of a surprise. It was an ARC I was offered by a publisher and to be honest, perhaps not a book I’d have gravitated towards of my own accord. No for any particular reason other than I have a very full reading list and this book wasn’t on my radar. I’m so glad I said yes, as this book drew me in from the very beginning, a dark and twisted tale that had me turning the pages well into the night – almost the dictionary definition of unputdownable. Addictive fiction from a true-crime podcaster, my eighteenth pick is …

The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

WREN WAS NEVER AFRAID OF THE DARK. UNTIL SHE LEARNED THAT SOME MONSTERS ARE REAL . . .
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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.

With her encyclopaedic 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.

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.

How far is Wren willing to go to draw the Butcher into the light . . .?

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.

This was a one sitting read for me. I had every intention of reading maybe half the book, then saving the rest for the following day but the chapters are so fast paced and addictive that I just didn’t want to stop. So I didn’t, devouring the 250 pages in a few short but turbulent hours. It may be a short book but it packs a punch, the tension high and the pacing fever pitched. It’s a serial killer thriller than draws you in and leaves you feeling bruised but, for me, in a good way. The violence is left mostly off the page, not gratuitous but nit shying away from the dark side either. Told from various points of view, including that of the killer, we feel almost first hand some of the threat and fear that the victims experience and we are privy to the though process of a very warped mind. I feel that this is where the author’s experience as a true crime podcaster comes into play, keeping everything blasting along and maintaining our focus in just the right places. As for the second key character, Pathologist Wren Muller, we don’t meet her immediately but when we do, the nature of her involvement in the case may well surprise you. I really liked Wren, her determination, the strength of her character, and yet with an innate sense of empathy towards the victims. As for ‘The Butcher’, he’s a character that the author tries to help us understand, even if we cannot ever forgive.

A fantastic, fast paced, suck you in and spit you out kind of a read that in spite of its slight appearance packs one hell of a punch. I loved it.

You can read my full review right here.

Happy #bookvent reading all

Jen