Tuesday, July 15, 2014

Review: The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier 


Here's the description from Netgalley:
A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous “Beacon Hill Butcher” was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.
Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he’s never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him… Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt’s girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher—two years after the supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt’s terrible secret.


You guys!  I love me a good serial killer book.  I really do.  And this one was no exception.  Except for it was almost too much serial killer for me.

You see, one of the main narrators is the serial killer himself!!  And he's narrating from the beginning.  Getting into his mind was effed up.  I mean seriously.  There were times when I was like "Oh. my. gosh. this guy's head is effed up."  I mean, obviously a serial killer is going to be, but still.

I do not recommend this one to anyone who is squeamish or who doesn't like dark books.  Because this is definitely dark and twisted!

Matt was a very unlikable character, but I'm pretty sure we're supposed to feel that way about him.  His girlfriend Sam, on the other hand, is awesome.  She is obsessed with the Butcher, and writes about serial killers for a living.  She was definitely my favorite character.

This book is so different.  We know who the bad guy is from the beginning.  But the other characters do not, and that makes for a great read.  Even though we know who the bad guy is, we don't know how the story's going to end.  And the ending was something else.

So basically, if you don't like a lot of details about crimes, or getting into a serial killer's mind, this is not for you.  I read and watch an awful lot about serial killers.  And this was almost a bit too much for me, especially just before bed.  But I really, really loved it!

Title: The Butcher
Author: Jennifer Hillier
Date of Publication: July 15th, 2014
Number of Pages:  352
Genre: Fiction
Source: Netgalley

No comments:

Post a Comment