Wow!!! Another great one by Alaina Urquhart. Now, this is how you do a sequel.

The Butcher Game picks up right where The Butcher and the Wren left off and takes you on another crazy cat-and-mouse game with Wren and Jeremy. With this book set in Salem, you get a dark, creepy, and twisted vibe, which makes it the perfect setting for this story.

It's a great series that will keep you on the edge of your seat the entire time. I can't wait to read the 3rd book!

This was everything I had hoped for and more in the sequel to The Butcher and then Wren. While reading I could not put this down it was a page turner that kept me wanting more! This picked up right where they left off in the first book, which was nice! This is in dual POV from Wren and the Butcher and there is so much detail that really paints the story for you! This was an excellent thriller and I cannot wait to see what Alaina will come up with in her next book!!

Wren and Jeremy’s game of cat and mouse continues in The Butcher Game and Jeremy is just as twisted and evil as ever before. A new character comes into play and I was pretty shocked at the plot twist. Some chapters got a bit wordy for me, but I was very entertained anyway. The ending has a perfect lead in to (hopefully) book three. I can’t wait for more!

Thank you to Alaina Urquhart, Zando, and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange of my honest review.

As a direct continuation of the first book, The Butcher Game picks up where its predecessor left off, diving right back into the story. While I enjoyed revisiting the characters and world, I couldn’t help but feel that this could have been merged into one longer book, rather than being split into two.

Some of the suspenseful moments felt predictable, and I found myself guessing the twists before they unfolded. That being said, the pacing was steady enough to keep me reading, and I still enjoyed the ride overall. If you loved the first book, I’d say give this one a try—you’ll find familiar elements and a satisfying continuation, even if it doesn’t quite reach the same heights.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

This book was excellent! Dark, graphic, gruesome and sooo good. It was nearly impossible to put down. I highly recommend reading the first book in this series and then this one. I’ve seen people mention the second as a standalone and it coooould work but in order to fully understand the events and Wren’s PTSD, you really need to read the first one.

I truly hope there’s another book by Alaina, she knows how to write that’s for sure!

Dr. Wren Muller returns in The Butcher Game, the sequel to the Butcher and the Wren. This book should be read after the first and not as a standalone.
Like the first, the book follows the pursuit of serial killer Jeremy and is told from both him and Wren's perspective. It's a quick and tense read, with some very gory murder scenes. The murder and torture descriptions certainly paint a picture of who Jeremy is as a killer, but did seem to be repetitive after a while. The story ends on a cliffhanger and sets up for the third book. I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first book but will still definitely read the third.
Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

I didn’t realize there was a book before this so I haven’t read it yet BUT HOLY CRAP

I am in no way shape or form a crime or thriller reader normally but lately I’ve been getting more into them and this one was just nothing but a heart pounding cat and mouse chase. I will be reading the first one because I feel like I missed quite a bit but I was still able to read this one just fine with context clues and my good friend Google.

This is shocking, graphic, and disturbing. But I could not put it down! The story is very well written and kept my attention.  Like the first book, this is from Jeremy and Wren's POV'S. I love Wren. She's a strong woman, but she's only human like the rest of us. Jeremy is every bit of the word "monster" and then some. If you think Jeremy was horrible in the first book, we'll buckle your seat belts because it's going to be a wild ride. If you love a good serial killer story like I do, this is definitely one to get your hands on asap.

If I could give this a 6⭐️ I would. But for the sake of the rating system, it's a solid 5⭐️

Thank you, NetGalley and Zando, for the opportunity to read this book.

The Butcher Game will be available on September 17, 2024

I really enjoyed this sequel to The Butcher and The Wren. If you haven’t read that one please read it first!!! This book pretty much picks up where the first book ended. Jeremy is in the wind and they need to find him before he hurts others again. The book is told in the POV of Wren who was Jeremy’s victim that survived his attack years before and the other POV is from Jeremy.
I really enjoyed both POVs but Jeremy’s was definitely very sinister.
The book was a page turner and I kept wanting to read more and more! I highly recommend this book for anyone who likes thriller/crime books. Thank you Netgalley and Zando. All opinions are my own.

The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Thank you so much to @zandoprojects for sending me this gifted copy of the Butcher Game! I was so excited to read this one since I liked The Butcher and the Wren. I wanted to know what happens next.

I found it so fascinating to read the POV of the K! ller, such a dark mind to delve into. Yet, Intriguing. The entire book was graphic and disturbing much like the first.
And I highly recommend reading the first to grasp the second or else you'll feel like you missed something important.

The perfect cat-and-mouse thriller to appease a true crime buff, readying for the spooky season

#qotd What's your favorite part of a book?

#thebutcherandthewren #thebutchergame #alainaurquhart #zando #zando

This is the second book in the Dr Wren series, with the first book being The Butcher and The Wren. I loved that book and I loved this one too. Once again we have Wren and Jeremy is a nail biting cat and mouse game, though not as much as the first book. Dual perspectives are done with a chefs kiss! This is an edge of your seat read with no lulls or slow burns to be found. Jeremy is even more twisted than we could imagine so beware of a lot of violence in this one. The tension builds with each page until you feel like you cannot take the suspense anymore, and once again you're with a twist that makes you crave the next book immediately.
My only complaint is a few things I felt like I couldn't suspend my belief for, but I can't mention them without it being a spoiler.

Overall, I highly recommend. Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC.

I missed the first book and I think if I'd read it I would have appreciated this more, That said it's an interesting and gruesome at times tale of a cat and mouse sort of chase between Dr. Wren Muller and Jeremy Rose, the Butcher serial killer. There's some hopscotching around as these two circle one another. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. While it wasn't for me, I think Urquhart's fans will enjoy it.

ARC 📖 Review: The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️💫 (4.5 stars)

Pub Date: 9/17/24

I loved The Butcher and the Wren so when I saw The Butcher Game on @netgalley I HAD to request it. I’m all about a serial killer story and this one did not disappoint! Highly recommend if serial killers are your vibe too (sounds messed up to say that but you know what I mean 😅).

Thank you @netgalley and @zandoprojects for this eARC in exchange for an honest review!

💀🔪🚤

From the New York Times bestselling author and co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast Morbid comes the thrilling book two in her national bestselling series, told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and a medical examiner seeking justice.

#thebutchergame #alainaurquhart #reading #read #reader #bookreview #bookstagram #booksbooksbooks #booklover #booknerd #bookaddict #arcreader #bookstagrammer

Alaina, I say this with so so SO much love and affection… WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO ME 😭 I’m fkn unwell. NOT WELL. IM NOT WELLLLLLLLLLL. God you were born to be an author. I love you so much and just because you crushed my entire being with the ending of this book, I fear my love has only grown. Please never stop writing, I need SO MUCH MORE FROM YOU!!

I also got through the authors note up until you got to Ash. I sobbed. Thank god I cried on my phone and not on a pretty new book because there were in fact snot bubbles. I love you girls so much.

Okay no more emotions, here is my full and final review.

In the sequel to The Butcher and the Wren, you’ll follow Dr. Wren Muller and Detective Leroux on their search for the notorious bayou butcher. Leaving their home in New Orleans, they’re off to Salem, Massachusetts; following the trail of bodies the butcher is leaving for Wren.

This was TWISTY TURNY SPOOKY DOOKIE I LOVED IT AND I CANNOT WAITTTTTTYY to get my hands on a physical copy.

Thank you so much to Alaina, @zandoprojects and @netgalley for the ARC 🫶
This review is my own thoughts and opinions and has been given voluntarily!

The Butcher Games
Alana Urquhart freaking did it again! I’m always nervous about a sequel when A) I loved the first book and B) I love the author. But this one did NOT disappoint: We pick up right where we left off in the first book and waste no time diving back into the twisted mind of Jeremy Rose… which is a scary place indeed. And the ending… well let’s just say I’m fully expecting a third book 👀
Go grab a copy on pub day and, Alana would say, hold onto your butts, weirdos!

Thank you to Zando and Netgalley for the ARC!

“Wren still runs,” he says with a wheeze. “You don’t matter.” The last words rasp out but they register, taunting Jeremy…”

If I could sum up this book with one quote, it would be that. After all Wren has gone through (and continues to go through), she keeps moving forward. She is shaken, scared but she keeps going, no matter what.

I absolutely devoured “The Butcher and the Wren” last year, so this sequel was one of my most anticipated reads! It picks up almost exactly where the last book left off, so I suggest reading them in order (you also get a lot of background info on Wren and her life in the first book). Told from dual points of view, this book alternates between Wren’s point of view and Jeremy’s. I spent the majority of the book terrified, on pins and needles to see how it was going to play out. Jeremy is exactly the kind of “bad guy” that scares the crap out of me - he has nothing to lose and is just so evil. His adventures were so deeply disturbing that I had to remind myself I was reading a story and not a real life true crime account. There was one part in this book that absolutely gutted me - I won’t say much more about that except I kept thinking it couldn’t actually be happening. I may have shed a tear or two while reading this one! Alaina Urquhart very skillfully laid the groundwork for another book in the series and I hope it comes soon!

”The Butcher Game” releases September 17, 2024. This review will be shared to my instagram blog (@books_by_the_bottle) shortly :)

Thanks to NetGalley and Zando for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

The Butcher Game takes place shortly after the events of the first novel, The Butcher and the Wren. Wren is taking time off of work after her encounter with Jeremy Rose. In the first novel, readers discover that she was one of his victims years prior, and she had actually escaped and created a new life for herself. Now that his secret was discovered and he is on the run, he wants to make Wren suffer, all the while more people fall victim to his ruthlessness. It's a race against the clock for Wren to capture Jeremy and have him face justice once and for all.

While I enjoyed the first book, I did feel that Wren's character was missing something. She seemed to cold and emotionless after everything she had gone through, even after she discovered that Jeremy Rose was back and taking the lives of more innocent people. I was very happy with how she progressed in this novel, she felt like more of a realistic, relatable character. Some of the plot twists/events in the story had to do with that progression, which I won't discuss as they would spoil the ending of the novel.

I didn't see any of the twists coming, and they were actually really great. I think this story progressed a lot more slowly than the first novel, but the characters were built up better and there was a lot more relevant background information. The ending was pretty shocking as well, and I'm really interested in seeing where this story goes next.

The writing style also improved for me, particularly the conversations amongst the characters. I've noticed that authors who work in the forensic field that transition to create writing start out somewhat clunky, which I think is because the scientific style of report writing is vastly different from creative writing. Alaina is growing quickly as a fiction writer, which is great to see. I bet the next installment will continue to improve, and I can't wait to see what she comes up with next.

What a wonderful sequel and this isn’t any “sophomore slump”! I enjoyed The Butcher and the Wren but have to agree that The Butcher Game might be even better. I appreciate Alaina’s expertise and background informing the story. It’s like Bones, Silence of the Lambs, and all my favorite fictional crime shows. It even reminded me of several Morbid episodes, not necessarily in content, but at the level of description and I really enjoyed that continuity as a fan of the podcast as well. Absolutely will be recommending this to all my true crime/mystery girlies and can’t wait to see Alaina on her book tour!

A thrilling sequel to The Butcher and the Wren! There is plenty of horror, vivid descriptions, and hold your breath moments. The plot line over all was a little bit odd to me. It read like a crime tv series, with overreaching coincidences/scenarios. I did read it to the end, but it’s not quite the sequel I was hoping for. I will continue to read what Alaina releases, as I like her dark, twisted mind.

Another heart thumping page turner from Alaina Urquhart!

First of all, you CAN read this as a stand alone but I highly recommend reading The Butcher and the Wren before reading this one to get the full background and full enjoyment of the storyline. Secondly, trigger warnings: This is a serial killer story and there are some very difficult scenes of serial killer type activity. I have a hard time with that so I simply skim the most graphic scenes. Thirdly, I cannot recommend this book highly enough! This author is like a fine wine, her writing became even better in this sophomore book and I LOVED her debut!

In this installment ( I say that because I am WISHING AND HOPING there will be a third book) our despicable villain, Jeremy Rose, is on the run from Louisiana where he made a narrow escape. Wren Muller is still recovering from her last encounter with Jeremy. But when there are some horrific deaths occurring near the Boston area that have Jeremy’s signature, she has to go investigate with her steady sidekick investigator, John Leroux. Will Jeremy ever be caught and stopped from his heinous crimes or will he slip through the law’s fingers again?

I was captivated by this story and the flawless writing from the first page and on the edge of my seat for much of it. If you loved J.D. Barker’s Fourth Monkey trilogy you will devour this one, don’t miss out!

Thank you Netgalley, Zando publishing and the author for this eARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be available for purchase on September 17, 2024