Life has been a chaotic mess lately. It was a welcome relief to lose myself in a book so effortlessly. I found myself so excited to finish this one that I actually went out and bought myself the literally cheapest Kindle (this is what I asked the Best Buy guy for) I could find so that I could have that little robotic voice read the book to me while I went about the unfortunate things we have to do between reading sessions. To say I was hooked would be an understatement.
We pick up The Butcher Game, where The Butcher and the Wren left off. Brutal serial killer, Jeremy, has escaped and is continuing his chaotic killing spree, desperate to gain Wren’s attention. Take note, most women prefer snacks. After her harrowing and near-fatal experience in Jeremy’s clutches, Wren is taking some time off to heal. Of course, she isn’t made for the quiet life, and Jeremy’s continued freedom haunts her. Wren is drawn back into the field when victims bearing the unmistakable marks of his work are found in a small town.
Wren is an incredibly interesting character. I suspect she has a lot of Morbid Podcast host Alaina in her, and that’s probably part of why she feels so multi-dimensional and realistic. In fact, I read her parts in Alaina’s voice often. I know, I know, often a criticism of authors is that they put too much of themselves in their main characters, but I don’t mind. Write what you know. I love Stephen King and his brilliant but misunderstood writer characters. The relationship between Wren and her husband Richard is beautifully portrayed. A rare literary depiction of an actually healthy relationship. I found myself smiling at their interactions and thinking of my husband. Wren once again works with her cop friend John and we get more of his background as well.
In juxtaposition to Wren and her community of friends, we also read from Jeremy’s point of view. He is alone, trusting no one, and having no positive social interactions. His background is expanded upon more and we start to understand his character and motivations. The back and forth between Wren’s viewpoint and Jeremy’s can be jarring at times. Forcing us, as readers, into mini cliff-hanger moments through the novel.
Spoilers for The Butcher Game
I had intended to expand more on how I loved the relationship between Wren and her husband Richard. It is so unusual to see a normal, healthy relationship in books since that aren’t really that interesting to read about. Since their relationship was just a side story, it didn’t need to be dramatic and could just be. They she FREAKING KILLED HIM. I was devastated. I kept thing no no no no. He is gonna be totally fine. But nope. He’s dead. How dare she!?
Also, Jeremey is an efficient dude. Every time you turn around, he is out killing someone else. It’s a little unrealistic since most serial killers do have a cooling-off period. Not Jeremy. I was in the store buying creaming and listening to one scene at a party, I like a little coffee flavored creamer in the am, and rolled my eyes as he was trolling for another victim. He needs to take all the chill pills.
This was a great book. You absolutely need to read The Butcher and the Wren first, but this was a worthy sequel and I suspect we will see more from Wren in the near future.
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