True-crime podcast co-host Alaina Urquhart showcases her propensity for the macabre in chilling cat-and-mouse thriller Sabienna Bowman, Popsugar 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. The only thing that defines Wren is that she’s a medical examiner and a workaholic. I wasn’t particularly rooting for her. He blends in. Based on his profile Wren believes he was able to convince most of his victims to leave with him willingly. He is interested in causing chaos from afar, not becoming entrenched in it himself. Urquhart] uses all aspects of her familiarity with crime, corpses and the practices of forensic pathology to write convincingly about the showdown between a serial killer and an ME. Her setting is especially absorbing, from the haunting darkness of the bayou at night to the rising fears of the characters’ fellow parishioners…. I found that mid-book twist delightfully astonishing—and I’m hoping to read more from her.” - Doreen Sheridan, Criminal Element

Urquhart has crafted a thriller that is necessarily graphic but not exploitative. The crisp detail, the narrative brevity and the blade-sharp connections between the pathologist and the killer all bode well for future installments.” - Sarah Weinman, New York Times Not only that, but she embarrassingly didn't read enough about the city on Wikipedia to know they don't bury bodies there as it's below sea level. Dig too far down, graves become soggy and fill with water, resulting in floating caskets. This is why cemeteries in NOLA have above ground tombs - it's legit part of why the city is so darn spooky!!!If you've ever wanted to actually get inside the mind of a serial killer, look no further Paste Magazine

Wren is a fascinating character, You will root for her to the end. The serial killer is evil, ruthless, and chilling. Move over, Joe there is a new psycho in town. A short book, which I read in one sitting. Morbid podcast fans and crime junkies will devour! A mix of crime, psychic, and medical thrillers. 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. On a more personal level, she differs from me in her ability to let herself feel her emotions and feel them hard. I tend to push emotions away immediately while in work-mode, and it was important to me that she be strong, but real as well. I love how she can both experience her emotions authentically and focus on her bigger picture of speaking for the dead.People look for patterns that aren’t there because they are scared shitless. They can’t handle that they are just as likely to be scooped up by a totally normal-looking psychopath as the victims were, so they make this crap up instead.”

The MC, Jeremy, is the serial killer. I actually really enjoyed his character because he had a funny personality and we got to see him go through a range of emotions in almost every chapter. We also got a tiny tiny glimpse into his childhood, which of course helped his character arc.

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In one of the episodes of the podcast, either Alaina or her cohost, Ashleigh, talks about seeing a ghost woman who 'didn't have a body; she was just made of bones,' and oddly enough, I feel like that is the perfect description of The Butcher and the Wren. The story is there, but it desperately needs to be fleshed out to be a real winner. The characters don't have any depth, and I have no idea of their motivations for 95% of their actions. I didn't connect with any of them because there wasn't really anything with which to relate; Wren, the main character, has her work as a forensic pathologist, and that's about it. There are a bare minimum of scenes with her doing anything outside of work, and even those scenes have her talking about her work. We do eventually get more of her story with the twist--which is actually really good--but even that isn't enough to make her feel like a real character. Likewise with the serial killer; his actions are explained by the basic "he wanted to know what it felt like for things to die" motivation, which wasn't enough for me. The setting feels generic as well. The story is meant to be set in New Orleans, but other than visiting St. Louis Cemetery No. 1, the setting could be any hot, swampy place near a big city with music festivals, bars, and tarot card readers. If I could give one big mark, it's definitely that the readers would LOVE to see Wren develop, or do anything outside of work. Since we don't see Wren as an actual person with interests or personality traits, we need to see more interactions. Even in the one scene where she goes out to get drinks with her friends, I was left feeling incredibly *cringe* at the topics of conversations and overall vibes of the scenes. (read below) As body after body pile up on Wren's examination table, her obsession grows. Pressure to put an end to the slaughter mounts. And her enemy becomes more brazen. The author brilliantly crafts a darkly, intelligent, addictive, and twisty unputdownable (hopefully a new series) psychological crime thriller mixed with humor, keeping you on the edge of your seat. Set in the alluring and sultry Louisiana, New Orleans, surrounded by the swamps and bayous, historic landmarks, jazz, music, food, heat and humidity, tarot card readings, and of course, ghosts, the dead, the cemetery, and a serial killer, all set the mood.