#Spooktober ‘The Butcher And The Wren’ by Alaina Urquhart

About the book…

Something dark is lurking in the Louisiana bayou. A methodical killer with a taste for medical experimentation is hard at work completing his most harrowing crime yet, while the authorities desperately try to catch up.

Forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller is the best there is. Armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes, and years of experience working in the Medical Examiner’s office, she’s never encountered a case she couldn’t solve.

Until now.

As case after case is piles up on Wren’s examination table, she is sucked into an all-consuming cat-and-mouse chase – led by a brutal murderer, who is getting more brazen by the day…

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.

My thanks to publishers Michael Joseph for approving my request on Netgalley to read ‘The Butcher And The Wren’ by Alainna Urquhart, I had already pre-ordered it in hardcover but was too desperate to wait and read it !

This is a psychological horror novel par excellence, from the very title you think of the killer, the Butcher, as something heavy, solid and very much flesh and blood.

His name is ascribed by the newspapers, making him an unknown quantity to Wren,creating an aura of myth and fear even beyond the murders he is committing.

As readers, we are permitted an insight into his psyche and I felt tainted by the experience, becoming more agitated by the worry you feel for his ‘guests’,drugged and kidnapped women and men who he then hunts,kills and displays in the Louisiana region.

Wren implies someone flighty and little without substance , a small bird easily crushed and in this David vs Goliath pitch it is her unique skill set, empathy for the victims and dogged determination that makes her the heart of the story.

The two intersecting narratives drive the suspense as the chapters are short and swap between killer and hunter.

I love the notion of a medical examin34 with criminology chops who will not let those who come to her table rest nameless and unremembered.

Wren’s entire focus is on restorative justice and the environs of Louisiana not only provide the wide open spaces where the Butcher can hunt,they provide the markings which will, we hope, lead her to her quarry.

You feel almost like a voyeur following this mystery with deep horror layers of how easy it is for someone to disappear. The dedicated police forces whose team work drives the hunt is so good, the darkness and despair that is felt when they find a victim against a clock and agenda that they are putting together like those blind men,with parts of an elephant, is just the perfect counterpart to the bone deep coldness of the Butcher for whom people exist as a plaything.

So well plotted that I am eager for more,I really enjoyed this thrilling and relatively quick read , Wren is a nre leading character who I hope to see more of in the future!

About the author…

Alaina Urquhart is the science-loving co-host of the chart-topping show ‘Morbid: A True Crime Podcast. As an autopsy technician by trade, she offers a unique perspective from deep inside the morgue. Alaina hails from Boston, where she lives with her wonderful husband, John, their three amazing daughters, and a ghost Puggle named Bailey. She is about 75 percent coffee, and truly believes she and Agent Clarice Starling could be friends.

Before writing her first psychological horror novel, she received degrees in criminal justice, psychology, and biology. When she isn’t hosting Morbid, she hosts the Parcast original show Crime Countdown, and a horror movie podcast called Scream!. Her days are usually spent either recording or eviscerating. The way she sees it, when she hangs up her microphone for the day, it’s time to let the dead speak.