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“Sometimes the devil is just a human who wants to inflict pain.”

Author: Alaina Urquhart

Dr. Wren Muller still remembers the woods. The terror. The serial killer who nearly ended her life. Right now, she’s taking some forced time off and trying to recalibrate her mind, but she knows that he’s still out there – the Bayou Butcher, otherwise known as Jeremy Rose. And she knows him. His sick game isn’t over. Sooner or later, he’ll come for the one that got away.

The Butcher Game is the second in the Dr. Wren Muller series, and my introduction to the writing of famed podcast host and autopsy technician Alaina Urquhart. The book opens where the first in the series, The Wren and the Butcher, left off, making me desperately wish I had started at the beginning. I should have stopped (I got this book as a gift) and gone back to the first in the series, but by the time I realized my mistake, I was already deeply involved. The writing captured me, and while the author didn’t waste time catching up newbies (something I actually appreciated) I was able to parcel out the important points. I was tantalized by Wren’s memories, fears, and desires for justice. I’ve already bought the first book in the series, and I plan to read the third when it drops. That being said . . .  don’t be like me. Start from the beginning.

And now, back to the gushing review. The Butcher Game is told through two alternating POV’s: Wren’s and the killer’s. Occasionally we hear from an important side character as well . . . but more on that later.

As Wren tries to recover, work calls her back. There has been a string of murders, leading from New Orleans to Massachusetts that fit Jeremy’s MO. No one knows him better than Wren – she was his captive, his torture object – after all. And the police believe he is using these killings to call her. It’s a game, for sure, but one that she has to play. He must be stopped – but this time, he just might win.

As the story continues, Jeremy picks off victims, one at a time, showing us his sadistic and brilliant brutality. These are no simple murders but elaborately structed games with a bloody finale. Of course, no one plays correctly. No one escapes. And Jeremy continues to make his way to his final destination, to his best laid plans.

Image by Etienne Marais from Pixabay

The tension enthralled me, and the writing style was so descriptive and inviting. I saw the world around the characters, felt the brutal flashes of memory, the fear in the moment, the tension, the clouds and trees scraping exposed flesh, the tearing of gasping breath, the pounding of hearts, the last minute cleverness and false relief. While there aren’t many main characters in the story, they all shine, and the victims, as well, come alive. It’s mesmerizing and addictive, and the build-up keeps us invested in The Butcher’s ultimate plans; we are afraid for Wren, and yet also captivated by the “why” behind the Butcher’s story.

Here, we get to see the beginnings, to watch the buildup, and to see how such a monster was made and hidden. Innocence cannot be perceived through a profession, through a supposedly clean track record, through a mild face. This is where the third person comes into play – the key for the entire narrative – and where we move from the sheer thrill of it all to thinking deeper thoughts about how such men as The Butcher come to exist and how, allegedly, “no one knows” about their tendencies.

I suspect that I would have been even more breathlessly captivated had I read the first book and got to know Wren before her unraveling. As it was, without context, I still felt for the characters and was involved, turning pages wide eyed, wishing I’d started at the beginning but unable to stop and go back.

I think I’ve found another author for my mystery/crime kick, and I know that I’ve definitely found another series. I can’t wait to start at the beginning now and do this entire serial killer cat-and-mouse game right. Highly recommended.

– Frances Carden

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Frances Carden
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