The Butcher Game

The Butcher Game was published in September 2024. It's the second book in a new serial killer series featuring Dr. Wren Muller as the main character. I reviewed the first book in the series, The Butcher and the Wren, here. The story has an alternating format where the reader sees the perspectives of both the serial killer and the medical examiner Dr. Wren Muller, a format I love.

The publisher's summary: 

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.

Still in shock over the harrowing encounter with her old nemesis, Wren is on forced medical leave in New Orleans, attempting to mend the deep scars of her traumatic past. But with growing evidence that Jeremy is leaving a fresh trail of mutilated victims across Massachusetts, Wren realizes the best way to heal is to renew her pursuit of this vicious killer. She sets her sights on Jeremy, only to discover that she may have walked directly into his trap. As their twisted cat-and-mouse game rachets up to a violent clash of good versus evil, Wren prepares to sacrifice everything to bring Jeremy to justice.

With intense true-to-life details from autopsy technician and Morbid podcast cohost, Alaina Urquhart, The Butcher Game is a gripping addition to the New York Times bestselling Dr. Wren Muller series.

As I mentioned above  the story is told from a dual point of view. Every other chapter alternated between Jeremy and Wren's perspective. This format is what made the book a page turner. I had to keep reading to find out what happened at the end of every chapter. Mentally I was telling myself to keep reading just one more chapter until I finished the book. 

I enjoyed reading Jeremy's backstory, how he came to be a killer. Learning what makes these people tick has always been intriguing for me. For Jeremy, his abusive mother affected him deeply. However, there is a clue that Jeremy may have been born a bad seed because his mother used to tell him from a young age that he became too obsessed with things. Can you be born with an obsessive trait? Does obsession drive serial killers?  Beats me. Wren on the other hand had a lifetime of trauma to process. In many ways she and Jeremy are similar. It was interesting that they grew up in the same community and even enjoyed each other’s company. While Wren is not a killer, she seemed more messed up than Jeremy. Even with all the information on Jeremy's backstory, we are not told how his personality split into making him a killer. We read more about Wren's traumatic past and how it made her what she is today.

Wren is a medical examiner. As such I was expecting to receive clues from the autopsies performed on the victims. There weren't any. All of the forensic information came from the scene of the crime. Basically, this amounted to Jeremy's calling cards. He always removed an organ from his victims and stabbed them in a particular manner. The descriptions were graphic. It would have been nice to read what these calling cards revealed about Jeremy and how the police used, or could have used, this information to find him. The information was not part of the reveal so I believe the author made a mistake in not pursuing this avenue.

All in all the book was a great read. It was a little dark in several places but I found it easy to overlook. 4 out of 5 stars.