Thank you, NetGalley!
I wish this book had more "flashbacks" from the first book. I forgot some of the first book's plot lines, so my reading experience wasn't as enjoyable as it would have been if I read them back to back. But overall I enjoyed this sequel and audiobook. The story was solid and I liked the continuation of the story.

The second book in the Dr. Wren series takes readers on another journey into the mind of a ruthless serial killer, Jeremy Rose, the Bayou Butcher, and the forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller. Wren has escaped him twice. Wren's last encounter amplifies the story, leaving her vulnerable and fueling her desire for justice. The dynamic between Wren and Jeremy is terrifying, as his fixation on her grows to an obsession, which shifts the narrative into a game of cat and mouse.

The setting transitions from the first book, adding a fresh yet equally eerie backdrop to the chase- IYKYK. The novel plays with themes of trauma, vengeance, and the thin line between hunter and prey. The pacing is rapid, with the action and suspense escalating as the story progresses. The book ends on another cliffhanger. Overall, the book weaves a high-stakes, dark, relentless story that keeps the reader guessing and haunted.

I received an ARC audiobook for my honest review. Thank you, NetGalley and Dreamscape Select, Zando.

3.5⭐️
I am thankful to have gotten the ALC for free from Netgalley and Dreamscape so I can leave my voluntary review.

I’ll admit I did not read the first book in the series and I requested this after seeing it advertised on Fabled as folks raved about the first one.

Usually I have never had an issue picking up a book as a book two as the writing makes it that it can be read by itself. This should have been that way due to the nature of it but that was not the case. I felt like I was missing a whole lot throughout the entire book.

I listened to this and that’s what I was tasked to review . The narrators were fine. The book is a duel M/F POV so there were 2 narrators which I appreciated. They didn’t add nor take away from the story which is a positive! I will say that I enjoyed the women, Sophie Amoss and both more than Joe Knezevich speaking voice. I did increase the rate to 1.25x to make it easier to listen to.

So over all the book was “ok”. It wasn’t anything I would shout from the roof tops but i wouldn’t knock it either. If you read the first book o think you would enjoy this way more than if you didn’t the book is out now!
My rating system since GoodReads doesn’t have partial stars and I rarely round up.

⭐️ Hated it
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, really not my cup of tea (potentially DNF’d or thought about it)
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but nothing special
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Really enjoyed it! Would recommend to others
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! Will circle back and read again

Wren and Jeremy have been playing a cat and mouse game since the previous book and it continues on in this one.
Jeremy is setting up a new group of crime scenes for Wren and LaRue to follow, but this time we’re in Massachusetts, where Jeremy grew up. We get some insight into what started him as a serial killer and even better, we get new twists and turns! I can’t wait for the next one!
The narrators did a great job and I was intrigued the whole time!

Thank you NetGalley and Zando Audio for this ARC!

This was a great second book to the series. It was better than the first, you can tell the author is really improving her writing. The narration was great. I love when there are two for the dual povs. Thank you for the chance to listen early.

This is a police procedural that reads like a horror novel! It’s brutal and terrifying and I absolutely could not stop listening to it.

This is book 2 of the Dr. Wren Muller series. If you have not read or listened to The Butcher and The Wren , I highly recommend doing that first. Alaina Urquhart is a brilliant story teller and I had zero doubts that she would totally bring it for book 2 , and she did not disappoint!!

The audiobook for The Butcher Game is top tier. Sophie Amos did a spectacular job of bringing Wren to life and making me feel every emotion the character was experiencing! Joe Knezevich chilled me to my bones! His narration had me completely horrified , yet one hundred percent intrigued.

I would definitely recommend making sure you can handle graphic violence before reading it. But for readers who enjoy crime fiction and don’t mind a story that’s brutal and haunting , this one checks all the boxes!

The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart
🌟🌟🌟🌟
This is an intense and exciting thriller/crime story! It’s the 2nd book in the Dr Wren Muller series.
I actually didn’t realize it was a continuation of the first story, The Butcher and The Wren, so I wasn’t as caught up with the story, as if I had read the first book. It would have come together a bit better for me. However, the book is well written and the characters are well developed. It’s got lots of graphic and gory parts in the story.
This book is told from the point of view of Wren, the detective and from the serial killer, as well. It’s a fast paced and exciting read!
I listened to the audio version of the book and the narrators did an excellent job!

Thank you to NetGalley for an audio copy of this book.

Destruction follows the ruthless serial killer, Jeremy Rose, the Bayou Butcher, as he heads north to evade capture for his horrific crimes. As he seeks safe harbor with a former friend, he remains focused on unfinished business with forensic pathologist Dr. Wren Muller, the only target who’s ever escaped him—twice. But not this time. He’s determined to make Wren suffer, and he’s promised to make her play by his own twisted rules.

Wow, this one was a fast paced, heart pounding ride! I think I liked this one even more than the first book in the series. A perfect read for Spooky Season, murder, mayhem and a little bit of gore. As always, Alaina throws in such great details from her personal autopsy experience. I think she's definitely honing her writing craft and can't wait for the next one! Especially since she left us on such a cliffhanger!!!!! The audiobook was also really well done, I enjoyed the alternating between the male and female narrators.

Thank you to @netalley, @dreamscapselect and @alainaurquhart for this advanced audio copy in exchange for my honest review.

Another 5 star review for Alaina Urquhart and the next book in the Dr. Wren Mueller series. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Thank you to NetGalley, Dreamscape Audio, and Alaina Urquhart for this audiobook ARC of The Butcher Game.
I listened to this book in less than hours! It was written exceptionally well with imagery that will blow you away (and scare you too). The Butcher Game was a face paced, nail biting, thriller that will leave you speechless after reading/listening to the last page. Very well done.

The Butcher and the Wren leaves you with a completely wrecked Wren after she and her team let serial killer Jeremy Rose escape capture and disappear into the forest. We find out that Wren, or "Emily" has a complicated past with Jeremy, or as she knew him in a previous life, "Cal". Being a psychopath he was able to insert himself into her life and abduct her into his sick game. She escaped with her life but she is still haunted with /the events of her past. An important d/etail to remember is this: on the last body found in the woods, there was a library card left. Remember the name on that card: Philip Trudeau

The Butcher game picks up with Wren and her partner John mutually deciding that they aren't going to wait for Jeremy to come out of hiding, instead, they are going to hunt him down. The "hunt" takes them to Salem, Massachusetts, where a handful of bodies are dropping that seems to match Jeremy's MO. Unfortunately, RIchard, Wren's husband, decides to tag along for the trip in hopes of making light and bringing fun into a morbid trip.

They arrive in Salem to find a less than enthusiastic police force with bad jokes and a chip on their shoulder. While the pissing match ensues Jeremy Rose is up to his old games - luring women with his Ted Bundy looks and charm, Bodies continue to hit the ground and it seems that no one really sees the full picture until it's too late and the tragedy once again hits Dr. Wren a little too close to home.

The Butcher Game was published on 9/17/2024 and I would highly recommend it to all my friends! I would LOVE someone to pick up this series and create SE or collector editions. I would love to add them to my shelf.

This was an excellent follow up to The Butcher and the Wren. It didn't quite have as much intensity for me, but I still really enjoyed it. I love the dual POVs and I think both narrators do an excellent job of bringing Jeremy and Wren to life. I look forward to seeing what happens next in this continuing game of cat and mouse.

The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart is absolute excellence in the suspense/thriller genre. With only the second book in this Dr. Wren Muller series, I am hooked and left wanting more of the story. I love the strong lead female character and am horrified by The Butcher. I highly recommend this book.

thanks NetGalley for the great listen! This series is so well written, but a bit much for me. I think it is a great mix of mystery, horror and thriller, and I appreciate that.

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook!

Goodness. I thought I loved the book before, but listening to it put it on a whole new level I didn’t know existed. HEARING about Jeremy’s horrible, gruesome acts had my heart pounding. And the end and the disappointment, fear, everything Wren felt… the narrator did such a great job conveying the feelings in her voice.
I was very very impressed with this one. Sometimes audiobooks can lack the emotion needed to make the story amazing. But this one did not disappoint at all.
Again, thank you NetGalley!

I just finished The Butcher Game by Alaina Urquhart in 24 hours by switching between the audiobook and physical book. It is such a creepy sequel to The Butcher And The Wren. The setting has changed from New Orleans to the Berkshires, but Dr. Wren Muller is still on the hunt to take down The Bayou Butcher serial killer, Jeremy Rose. Like the first book, this story is full of twists and you will not want to put it down.

The audiobook is well narrated and I loved how there is a discussion about the book at the end between the two Morbid cohosts.

I highly recommend this book and series if you love reading crime fiction from a forensic pathologist point of view.

(This same review was shared on the Barnes & Noble website)

4.5⭐️
This sequel is perfect!! I really enjoyed book 1 and after the cliffhanger it ended on I needed to know what happened. Book 2 is even better! I ate this book up in one day. It is so fast paced, but with so many twist and turns. I loved the dual point of views that this story is told from, the killer’s perspective and the former victim/M.E..
If you like thriller/suspense you definitely need to check this out. I never found myself bored and I did often find myself saying “no way” as I read.
Thank you to NetGalley and dreamscape select for the opportunity to read this book for an honest review.

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and Alaina for allowing me a copy of this audiobook for an honest review! Dr. Wren Muller is back again and facing an even more harrowing time with serial killer Jeremy. New faces, back stories, and of course, deaths are brought to light and told in a way that will leave you on the edge of your seat! It is a typical kind if cat and mouse trope, but I had a great time reading it and cannot wait to see what else Alaina has in store for us!

A major miss for me! The dual POVs were unnecessary and the villain was so cartoonish that it took me out of the story a lot. The ending left a LOT to be desired and was messy. I feel like I can predict how the 3rd book will go based on the ending and I know I won’t enjoy that dynamic.

Thank you to Netgalley and Dreamscape Select for the advanced audiobook access!

Ever since I read the first book, The Butcher and the Wren, I knew I HAD to read this book as soon as it was published. Urquhart had a good way of telling a story that was just chilling but also so engaging. This book was no different.

It picked up where the huge cliffhanger happened at the end of the first book. Wren was healing from everything that occurred and Jeremy is unaccounted for and on the run.

The story is a cat and mouse game of them trying to find him before more people were hurt. You learn more about how Jeremy was as a teenager. And we were told his history with Phillip, who was mentioned in book one.

I was so engrossed in the story, it was such a quick and fun listen. Listening to it on audio was so much more intense. I felt the narrators did an amazing job of showing the emotions of each character and their voices just went so well together. I felt as though they were a wonderful pick for narrators.

As captivating as this story was, Urquhart left me with another cliffhanger…I suppose that means there will be a book 3 in our future? 🤞🏻 I need answers.

I highly recommend these books to someone who loves a fast paced, engaging story with the twists and turns to keep you turning the pages.

Buckle up buttercups, The Butcher Game is a twistedw, wild ride.

I love the @morbidpodcast. Ash and Alaina are the freaking best and I have been a Weirdo for years. When Alaina published her first book, The Butcher and the Wren, two years ago I knew I had to read it. Even though I listen to true crime I’m not the biggest thriller reader, but holy crow was her book good. It was so demented in the best of ways and had me literally biting my nails. I couldn’t wait for the sequel and thankfully it’s finally here! @netgalley was kind enough to approve me for the audio and I just finished. Friends, I am shooketh! This is so insane and I loved every second.

The Butcher is back and has traded the bayou for Massachusetts. While Jeremy hunts (I do mean that literally 😱) new victims Wren is unable to rest and heal without knowing if he is still out there. When word gets out of murders that specifically point to him Wren heads up to New England with her husband, Richard, and friend, Detective Leroux, to help end the murders for good. This is an edge of your seat, mind of a killer, intense book. Dual POV with insight into Wren and Jeremy’s stories. There is no softness here, it gets gory and psychologically messed up and Urquhart unforgivably kills a character I loved so much, but it is written so dang well. This is my favorite thriller series to date, if you like the genre I highly recommend! You 100% have to read The Butcher and The Wren first though, these books are very closely linked.

If you like gory dual pov thrillers that one pov is the mind of a killer and the other is the mind of the person trying to catch them this series is for you!

I would recommend reading the first one before this one as you really do need it as this one continues from that first book and wouldn’t make sense without reading the prior book.

This is also a great thriller for cat and mouse if you really love that vibe!

Thank you so much to the publisher for my ARC and gifted audiobook in exchange for my review!