The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart
★★★☆☆
A serial killer with an interest in medical experimentation, a badass forensic pathologist trying to stop him, all set against the backdrop of New Orleans – The Butcher and the Wren sounded like the perfect choice for spooky season at Brunch Book Club!
Renowned storyteller and Morbid podcast co-host, Alaina Urquhart further develops her worldbuilding and storytelling skills in this debut novel, showing off her extensive knowledge of serial killers and forensic science.
First, let’s talk about the things that really work. The antagonist of the story is well developed and really shows Urquhart’s knowledge of true crime. There are lots of obvious inspirations for the character such as Ted Bundy, Robert Hansen, and Richard Ramierz, but he feels like an original character. There were also some truly chilling scenes that had us all checking our locks multiple times before going to bed, not to mention looking out of our windows repeatedly to ensure no one was there. The setting of New Orleans made the story feel very atmospheric, which could have been developed in greater depth, but was still very intriguing and made us all want to visit the “Big Easy”.
On the other hand, there were some aspects of the book that do not work – the character of Wren felt really underdeveloped and her relationship to the characters around her was surface-level only. The dialogue felt quite clunky at times, and although that can be understandable for a first-time writer, the editor should have known better. There were some parts of the mystery that made absolutely no sense. It gave the impression that Urquhart worked backwards from the main plot twist, forcing the pieces to fit together when they really didn’t. The ending left more questions than most readers would feel comfortable with and didn’t pack the punch we were hoping for.
While this is not the most accomplished crime/thriller book out there, it has some great ideas and if you are a fan of Morbid, you should check it out and undoubtedly prepare yourself for a sequel.
Review by Pia
