Author:Alaina Urquhart
THE CHILLING SERIAL KILLER THRILLER FROM THE CO-HOST OF CHART-TOPPING PODCAST MORBID
'AMAZING TWISTS. UNPUTDOWNABLE' SAMANTHA DOWNING
'CAPTIVATING. The reader might want to shut their eyes, but the joust between the killer and the pathologist makes that impossible' DAILY MAIL
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.
'Can a medical examiner outsmart a serial killer? The Butcher and the Wren will keep you waiting for an answer until the last bloody page. Prepare to be disturbed. A deliciously dark debut' REA FREY, bestselling author for Not Her Daughter and Secrets of Our House
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 AuthorCan a medical examiner outsmart a serial killer? The Butcher and the Wren will keep you waiting for an answer until the last bloody page. Prepare to be disturbed. A deliciously dark debut
—— REA FREY, bestselling author for Not Her Daughter and Secrets of Our HouseImpressively 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 MailA chilling page-turner with a massive twist in the middle that's sure to give you goosebumps
—— Woman's WeeklyThe Butcher and the Wren is perfect for fans of Dexter. Pitting a brutal serial killer against a determined medical examiner, the story is a pulsepounding race against time. And the details the author weaves in due to her unique background as an autopsy tech heighten the realism and the suspense. Fans of Morbid will love the host's debut novel
—— KAIRA ROUDAUrquhart 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 seriesDark and twisted, The Butcher And The Wren is a gripping game of cat and mouse in the Louisiana bayou that will leave you wanting for more! Alaina Urquhart is a fresh new voice in crime fiction and I can't wait to read what she writes next
—— LAURE VAN RENSBURG, author of Nobody But UsNot for the faint-hearted
—— HeatA read-in-one-sitting kind of book
—— Sarah Gelman , CBS MorningsLooking for the perfect way to kick off your spooky season? Well, you can end your search now as the co-host of the wildly popular true-crime podcast Morbid, who is also an autopsy technician, is offering up a twisted tale of a serial killer terrorizing the Louisiana bayou. Told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious murderer and the medical examiner who is desperate to catch him, this cat-and-mouse thriller will give your goosebumps chills
—— Tierney Bricker , E! NewsTrue-crime podcast co-host Alaina Urquhart showcases her propensity for the macabre in chilling cat-and-mouse thriller
—— Sabienna Bowman , PopsugarAnother true crime podcaster brings their flair for the macabre to the page with The Butcher and the Wren. Co-host of the chart-topping Morbid podcast, Alaina Urquhart treats fans of pulse-pounding novels to a thrill ride pitting a notorious serial killer in a battle of wits against the medical examiner determined to bring him down
—— Books-A-Million, “Our Favorite Debut Authors” , -A psychic thriller that will have readers on edge from the first page to the last . . . Perfect for those who love: watching Silence of the Lambs
—— Ashley McLellan , Louisiana LifeSet in the ever-moody and hauntingly beautiful city of New Orleans, The Butcher and the Wren tells the story of a meticulous serial killer and the distinguished forensic pathologist, Dr. Wren Muller, set out to stop him. After researching countless horrific true crime cases over the last several years, we have no doubt Urquhart will knock it out of the park with this one. This is the perfect book to pick up if you want to 'Keep it weird.'
—— Brett Nicole Hayden, The Everygirl , -A serial killer novel like none you have ever read, The Butcher and the Wren takes a cat-and-mouse chase between two instantly memorable antagonists and turns all the conventions of the genre upside down. Dark, twisty, full of authentic detail, it'll have you listening to the night in an entirely different way
—— Neil Nyren, Booktrib , -If you've ever wanted to actually get inside the mind of a serial killer, look no further
—— Paste MagazineJaw-droppingly good
—— Sun on SundayThat. Twist. You will gasp out loud and question everything you've read so far... with Just Another Missing Person, Gillian McAllister has secured her crown as the queen of the mind-bending plot twist.
—— HOLLY SEDDONIngenuously plotted
—— GuardianPraise for Wrong Place, Wrong Time
—— -It's perfection, every word, every moment. A masterpiece . . . I had my mind blown apart. After I finished it I sat with my mouth hanging open in awe. One of the best books I've ever read
—— Lisa JewellA spellbinding 'whydunnit'. A novel with a difference. Richly layered
—— Sunday TimesIt's absolutely AMAZING. The plot is astonishing - original and ingenious
—— Marian KeyesExtraordinary and Sinister. The mystery overlaps with blackmail and revenge in a dark and convoluted plot that takes the breath away.
—— Daily MailA stunning, clever and ingeniously plotted thriller with jaw-dropping gasp out loud twists
—— The Sunday ExpressIn his new thriller, Robert Harris wrests [a] fascinating period back from its unjust oblivion, showing how closely its complex landscape of constitutional crises and Puritan politics played out in new unregulated media resonates with us today
—— The CriticHarris, deft as ever, weaves a hefty amount of historical fact into the narrative, politics, religion, colonial life, family ties - as well as themes of forgiveness and reconciliation. Underneath it all though is the remorseless and building propulsion of hunter and prey
—— New StatesmanA drama so involving and nerve-wracking, you can barely turn the pages fast enough. Historic!
—— Saga MagazineAnother fantastic piece of historical fiction from Robert Harris, immaculately researched and utterly believable
—— IPU ReviewA gripping thriller and a timely reminder of the dangers of a deeply divided and intolerant society
—— The Shropshire MagazineThe book excels in its stunning recreation of the landscape of America... Harris proves himself to be masterful at this and it gives the book a vibrant memorability
—— New StatesmanFew writers combine history, politics and excitement of a thriller as enthrallingly as Robert Harris does.
—— Sunday TimesWhat Harris does here is nothing short of masterful.
—— Irish TimesHarris displays an impressive grasp of the historical context without taxing his readers by showing his 'workings'.
—— Church TimesBased on real and fascinating history, this is Robert Harris's best since An Officer and a Spy
—— The TimesPacy and tense, and the pungently evoked past offers up some shrewd present-day parallels
—— Mail on SundayAn absolutely stunning historical novel and a ripping crime thriller at the same time. I've been recommending it far and wide and buying it for people for Christmas!
—— Dead GoodThe best historical fiction combines a gripping plot with meticulous research - leaving the reader inspired to learn more about the real-life protagonists. And the latest release from Robert Harris once more proves his mastery of the genre
—— SoldierI loved Act of Oblivion by Robert Harris, which achieves the astonishing feat of taking 17th-century events and people and telling their stories in 21st-century language without a single seam showing
—— Ben Macintyre , The TimesThrilling
—— Gregory Doran , The TimesThis is a novel that asks big historical questions. You could read it as a pure thriller, and it is one of Harris's most compellingly paced to date. You could read it as a piece of intelligent historical immersion. I think it is more; I think it is his best novel since Fatherland.
—— Sunday TimesIt's a belter.
—— The TimesIf only all historical thrillers could be this entertaining.
—— ObserverIn this tense and beautifully written account of the ensuing manhunt, Harris brings sympathy to characters on either side of the civil war that divided a nation.
—— Daily MailA brainy, compulsive page-turner.
—— Daily TelegraphA violent, gripping, globetrotting chase thriller
—— Daily MirrorHe’s my go-to person that I know will keep me entertained
—— Jane Garvey[A] rich, propulsive novel
—— Sunday Times