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

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While Wren usually has a genial relationship with Police Detective John Leroux, she is a bit annoyed when he laughs off this observation. Frustrated, she tells him: CrimeReads needs your help. The mystery world is vast, and we need your support to cover it the way

I'm sorry, but this was very, very poor writing. A true, good publisher would never have let this happen without numerous edits. If you like Patricia Cornwell and have watched Dexter with undisguised glee (and a sped-up heart rate), this one is for you.” —Belfast Telegraph As a huge fan of the Morbid podcast I was already inclined to love this just because I'm so proud of Alaina, but I was also genuinely impressed by the quality of writing and the imagination on display here.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. Throughout the story there’s nods to NOLA but these seem very stereotypical – swamps, the heat, visits to a mystical woman who does Tarot readings on Bourbon St, a longwinded explanation of the NOLA cemeteries and the list goes on. None of these elements serve to add atmosphere to the story, and this could really be set anywhere. Impressively detailed in its analysis, as you might expect from someone who spends their life conducting autopsies, it leaves little to the imagination, but is captivating, with lacings of the occult amid the deaths. 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 MO: Your protagonist shares your career. What are some differences between you and your main character? Let's introduce you to Dr. Wren Muller, an over-worked forensic pathologist in the New Orleans area. Every time the sliding doors echo within the examination room, Wren scrunches her shoulders. Maybe a new wing to the Medical Examiner's office will be necessary if they don't catch "this guy"....."this guy" being the latest serial killer who's left his mark for some time now. The detectives have no leads except for the aftermath. No physical evidence or DNA. Just victims. Feisty and well-planned each time.

This novel follows our main character Wren, a forensic pathologist, who ends up doing more detective work instead of staying at the morgue where her ass belongs. She examines the bodies of people that will killed by the so-called "Bayou Butcher", Jeremy who provides the secondary perspective in this novel.

The Butcher and the Wren is already one of the buzziest titles of the Fall. If you somehow haven’t already heard about what the big twists of the story are already, do your best not to find out until you get the chance to experience Alaina Urquhart’s debut for yourself.” - Lacy Baugher Milas, Paste Magazine

This reads like a tv episode rather than a novel - short and superficial - and it breaks my heart to write this because I know from the podcast that Alaina poured everything into this. She is a wonderful person and I think could benefit from a stronger editor who could push her to develop her thoughts more fully. The concept and plot of the book would have been five stars if more time and attention was spent with the characters to develop the plot. To sum this one up, it was a true cat and mouse thriller providing interweaving perspectives between a serial killer dubbed 'The Bayou Butcher,' and a forensic pathologist named Dr. Wren Muller. At the beginning of this extremely fast-paced novel, we meet our killer, who is on the hunt for his next victim. I really enjoyed reading from the perspective of the Butcher, which had me captivated immediately - his thoughts provided nonstop entertainment, in more ways than one! The next chapter we meet Wren, who is a no-nonsense kind of gal, with an encyclopedic knowledge of historical crimes such as this current case, and dead set on stopping the murders, at all costs. As the chapters fly by, we eventually learn this is in fact not her first run-in with him, the previous encounter occurring years earlier while she was still a student, providing insight into why Wren is so intent on catching the Butcher, who has hunted the Bayou for years. If I wasn't already invested in the chase, I definitely was at that point! As the bodies pile up, Wren and her team begin the piece together clues, and when a victim finally survives, they are closer than ever to finally discovering the true identity of The Butcher....or are they?? Wren is a fascinating character, and 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.Molly Odintz: You’re an autopsy technician. Tell us a bit about your job and how it intersects with your life as a podcaster and writer. 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 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. 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.

And indeed, The Butcher isn’t some D&D-playing, heavy-metal-listening social outcast skulking around in the shadows. He looks like an ordinary guy, and is even perhaps a little more charismatic than the average Joe. He has an ordinary job and skillfully hides his heart of darkness from most of the people he interacts with. In this, he’s like many of the other real-life serial killers that Wren and her colleagues discuss over the course of the novel, as they seek to stop him from killing again.

With San Francisco under siege and every cop a suspect, the Women's Murder Club must risk their lives to save the city-and each other.