The Butcher and the Wren: A chilling debut thriller from the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast MORBID

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Lobotomies were mentioned so many times as Jeremy's interest but the potential to build up on this was lost. IMO if his whole MO was attempting a successful lobotomy, this whole book would make much more sense. That would be why he was going to medical school, why he tried to paralyze Emily and other victim and why there was a body with a botched lobotomy in his freezer. Try and tell me that isn't a stronger plot?! Perfect for fans of Dexter, a cat-and-mouse game battle of wits, told from the POVs of a notorious evil serial killer and a determined medical examiner on a mission to bring him down. Impressively detailed in its analysis, as you might expect from someone who spends their life conducting autopsies, it leaves little to the imagination, but is captivating, with lacings of the occult amid the deaths. 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 Mail

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.While Wren usually has a genial relationship with Police Detective John Leroux, she is a bit annoyed when he laughs off this observation. Frustrated, she tells him: The stereotypes don’t stop with the setting either – the characters are also walking cliches. And it’s all the characters. They’re all cardboard cutouts which evoke no empathy in the reader at all. There is some attempt at giving us insight into why the killer behaves as he does but I found this heavy handed. One sequence in particular is undoubtedly meant to horrify the reader and although it is longwinded, what actually happens is fairly common in rural/hunting communities. However these efforts are fruitless since by the end of the book the killer is just ‘evil’. We don’t get any understanding of the motives of the killer, especially in relation to Wren, and overall the character is underdeveloped. Nor do we really get any insight into Wren herself, despite being the main character. We get a series of neurotic aspects to her personality but it’s never really explained why she’s even involved in the case, other than doing the autopsies which is her job. The police officers are portrayed as fairly useless unless Wren needs someone to converse with to move the story along. Urquhart does a fantastic job distinguishing between the voices of her two narrators, in both their tone and style of language. The fast-paced story and constant suspense keep you hooked, making it very difficult to put the novel down once you start reading it.” - Alexis Enderle, The Tufts Daily

But something will occur mid-story that will flip this one on a dime. And the hunter may well turn out to be the hunted. But is it enough to stub out the serial cigarette? Wait and see.This reads like a tv episode rather than a novel - short and superficial - and it breaks my heart to write this because I know from the podcast that Alaina poured everything into this. She is a wonderful person and I think could benefit from a stronger editor who could push her to develop her thoughts more fully. The concept and plot of the book would have been five stars if more time and attention was spent with the characters to develop the plot.

We got to see a lot of his quirks come through in this book, and I only wish the other characters were as developed as he was :( One thing I did like was how Jeremy was all for the chase. In most of the horror books I read (not many), the killer takes his time, sure, but he is more eager and sloppy than Jeremy is. So I appreciated reading the meticulous planning and thought that goes into Jeremey's actions in every chapter. 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.

Dark 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 Us If I had to draw comparisons, I'd say this one definitely gave me the spine-tingling vibes of Silence of the Lambs, one of my all-time favorites! AU: Thank you for saying that! I have been writing The Butcher and the Wren for years and the cat-and-mouse structure has always been central to the narrative. Nothing is scarier to me than a killer who brazenly communicates with those investigating their case. It’s a weirdly bold move that in real life, usually ends up being the killer’s downfall, but I’ve always wondered what would happen if these calling cards didn’t bring them down right away. Molly Odintz: You’re an autopsy technician. Tell us a bit about your job and how it intersects with your life as a podcaster and writer.