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  • Published: 7 November 2023
  • ISBN: 9781405954778
  • Imprint: Michael Joseph
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $26.00

The Butcher and the Wren

A chilling debut thriller from the co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast MORBID




An instant #2 New York Times bestseller: the addictive and chilling debut thriller from the co-host of True Crime podcast Morbid

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.

With her encyclopaedic knowledge of humanity's darkest minds, and years of experience examining victims, forensic pathologist Dr Wren Muller is the best there is.

And yet, The Butcher continues to elude her.

As body after body piles up, Wren's obsession grows. And her enemy becomes more brazen.

How far is Wren willing to go to draw the Butcher into the light . . .?

  • Published: 7 November 2023
  • ISBN: 9781405954778
  • Imprint: Michael Joseph
  • Format: Paperback
  • Pages: 304
  • RRP: $26.00

About the author

Alaina Urquhart

Alaina Urquhart is the science-loving co-host of the chart-topping show Morbid: A True Crime Podcast. As an autopsy technician by trade, she offers a unique perspective from deep inside the morgue. Alaina hails from Boston, where she lives with her wonderful husband, John, their three amazing daughters, and a ghost Puggle named Bailey. She is about 75 percent coffee, and truly believes she and Agent Clarice Starling could be friends.

Before writing her first psychological horror novel, she received degrees in criminal justice, psychology, and biology. When she isn't hosting Morbid, she hosts the Parcast original show Crime Countdown, and a horror movie podcast called Scream!. Her days are usually spent either recording or eviscerating. The way she sees it, when she hangs up her microphone for the day, it's time to let the dead speak.

Praise for The Butcher and the Wren

Can a medical examiner outsmart a serial killer? The Butcher and the Wren will keep you waiting for an answer until the last bloody page. Prepare to be disturbed. A deliciously dark debut

REA FREY, bestselling author for Not Her Daughter and Secrets of Our House

The Butcher and the Wren is perfect for fans of Dexter. Pitting a brutal serial killer against a determined medical examiner, the story is a pulsepounding race against time. And the details the author weaves in due to her unique background as an autopsy tech heighten the realism and the suspense. Fans of Morbid will love the host's debut novel

KAIRA ROUDA

Urquhart paints a tense and dangerous world for us right from the start and delivers it all with a skilled and evocative hand

AARON MAHNKE, creator of the Lore podcast and author of The World of Lore series

Dark and twisted, The Butcher And The Wren is a gripping game of cat and mouse in the Louisiana bayou that will leave you wanting for more! Alaina Urquhart is a fresh new voice in crime fiction and I can't wait to read what she writes next

LAURE VAN RENSBURG, author of Nobody But Us

Alaina Urquhart's debut novel is incredibly accomplished. Set deep in Louisiana, you can almost feel the heat and humidity. A grisly serial killer, a tenacious medical examiner, and a few amazing twists make this a searing, unputdownable book

Samantha Downing, Sunday Times Bestselling Author

Impressively detailed in its analysis . . . Captivating, with lacings of the occult. There may be moments when the reader might want to shut their eyes, but the joust between the killer and the pathologist makes that impossible

Daily Mail

A read-in-one-sitting kind of book

Sarah Gelman, CBS Mornings

Looking for the perfect way to kick off your spooky season? Well, you can end your search now as the co-host of the wildly popular true-crime podcast Morbid, who is also an autopsy technician, is offering up a twisted tale of a serial killer terrorizing the Louisiana bayou. Told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious murderer and the medical examiner who is desperate to catch him, this cat-and-mouse thriller will give your goosebumps chills

Tierney Bricker, E! News

True-crime podcast co-host Alaina Urquhart showcases her propensity for the macabre in chilling cat-and-mouse thriller

Sabienna Bowman, Popsugar

Another true crime podcaster brings their flair for the macabre to the page with The Butcher and the Wren. Co-host of the chart-topping Morbid podcast, Alaina Urquhart treats fans of pulse-pounding novels to a thrill ride pitting a notorious serial killer in a battle of wits against the medical examiner determined to bring him down

Books-A-Million, "Our Favorite Debut Authors"

A psychic thriller that will have readers on edge from the first page to the last . . . Perfect for those who love: watching Silence of the Lambs

Ashley McLellan, Louisiana Life

Set in the ever-moody and hauntingly beautiful city of New Orleans, The Butcher and the Wren tells the story of a meticulous serial killer and the distinguished forensic pathologist, Dr. Wren Muller, set out to stop him. After researching countless horrific true crime cases over the last several years, we have no doubt Urquhart will knock it out of the park with this one. This is the perfect book to pick up if you want to 'Keep it weird.'

Brett Nicole Hayden, The Everygirl

A serial killer novel like none you have ever read, The Butcher and the Wren takes a cat-and-mouse chase between two instantly memorable antagonists and turns all the conventions of the genre upside down. Dark, twisty, full of authentic detail, it'll have you listening to the night in an entirely different way

Neil Nyren, Booktrib

Not for the faint-hearted

Heat

If you've ever wanted to actually get inside the mind of a serial killer, look no further

Paste Magazine

A chilling page-turner with a massive twist in the middle that's sure to give you goosebumps

Woman's Weekly