The Butcher and the Wren: A chilling debut thriller from the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast MORBID

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Since we don't see Wren as an actual person with interests or personality traits, we need to see more interactions. The entertainment industry is hell-bent on convincing viewers that morgues are high-tech space labs with touchscreen computer walls.

I'm not sure if it was formatting issues in my download or if it was the way the story played, but what I thought was occurring currently occurred in the past. I was concerned to learn that the author has written this book without visiting New Orleans and I think the story does suffer from this. It's wonderfully rendered, offering us, the reader, not only a front-row seat in FBI agent Will Graham's pursuit of the serial killer, Francis Dolarhyde, but also a close perspective of Dolarhyde himself.If you're a fan of Patricia Cornwell's Scarpetta series, especially the early novels, you'll enjoy this story.

Honestly, I'd skip this one as there are many other better quality serial killer thriller/mysteries on the market. Told between the perspectives of The Butcher (serial killer) and The Wren (the medical examiner), it is a fast paced ride until both stories intertwine into one with a plot twist you won't see coming. Wren starts piecing together the puzzle between the killer's victims and decides she's the best candidate to help find this killer. When the murders start resembling some from years ago, things get personal and Wren starts connecting the dots.

Autopsy technician Alaina Urquhart, along with hairdresser Ashleigh “Ash” Kelley, hosts the popular true crime show Morbid, and if having a hit show and a day job weren’t enough to keep her busy, she’s also written a new novel, The Butcher and the Wren. Wren and the Bayou Butcher are well matched and it is an action packed thriller to see who will win this game of life and death. With such a sky-high standard for the first three books, the future remains bright for the series, but the pressure’s definitely on.

Also, I do wish the people involved in producing these onscreen autopsies would consult an anatomy book beforehand. Alaina is able to simultaneously give believable voice to a cold, calculating, rage-filled, torturous serial killer and a smart, determined, eminently capable forensic pathologist. Nena cares as much about her work as she does her family, and the lines separating the two blur only occasionally.

As I was reading, there were several times I felt myself thinking, "this is definitely her first book. 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. Urquhart expertly weaves descriptions with facts that only someone with her background and training could provide. The downfall to this book I felt was the ending was too abrupt, I thought there would be a few more chapters to flesh it out, so I hope there is another book after this, it felt too open ended, otherwise a good book I couldn't put down.