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meeklovestoread's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Yes! Yes! Yes! I haven't read a read standard thriller in a bit (I don't count legal thrillers cuz I've been reading a few of those). I missed the feeling of what thriller gave me but I've been afraid to branch out with new authors in fear of disappointment. So, I went to an ol' reliable. I'm slowly getting through JH's backlist because she's become one of my favorites if not my favorite thriller author. Sucks I'm about to be done with her backlist. I only have "Creep" and "Freak" left to go before I'm done. I'm really sad about that. I hope she releases something new soon.
But anyway onto the actual book. Ms. JH did NOT disappoint. For context, I like my thrillers on the darker side and Jennifer never seems to fail on the dark and twisted details in her novels which I appreciate. If you'd read the other review you'd know that in this book we find out who the killer is very early on which was no surprise to me. In fact, nothing in this book really surprised me. I don't read JH's books for her "insane plot twists".It didn't surprise me that Edward was the killer (so weird just calling him Edward considering he is such a depraved human being). That was my first guess. And it didn't surprise me that he killed his wife and raped his daughter either. That was hinted early on in the book that he had a thing for teen girls. In addition, because I guess those details, it also didn't come as a shock to me that Edward was Matt's father. Nothing shocking, but entertaining to follow nonetheless. I just like going along with the stories she tells because she never fails to entertain me with her storytelling and this book was no different. I'm not gonna lie cuz we found out the identity of the killer so early on, I wasn't sure how the story was gonna go. I thought it was gonna be an old detective looking back at his case and uncovering new secrets type of situation, but that obviously wasn't the case. 😅It was very entertaining going along with every POV we got in this story. I don't expect to fall in love with characters in thriller books so likeability isn't a determining factor of my enjoyment when it comes to them so I completely understand if one disliked this book cuz the characters were insufferable. But I just found them all to be entertaining.
However, one thing that did bother me throughout the book was the amount of crude language that's in it, especially from Edward Shank. Like his filthy mouth got on my nerves. He's a racist. A sexist. Objectifies women regularly. And aside from his serial killer antics, I'd never want to be around a guy like that. An old timer that feels like it's his way or no way. There is some other crude language throughout the book too and I'm going to coax that up to being a part of the characterization and atmosphere of the book because none of that is in her other books.
I'm so glad it was acknowledged and expanded upon that Matt wasn't a good boyfriend to Sam cuz I called early on when it was mentioned that he wouldn't commit to her. Speaking of their relationship, but not really, although I wasn't a big fan of most of the characters in this book, I really loved Jason. This is not the first time Jennifer has swayed me over with her men (Sav from Little Secrets, I'm looking at you). I just LOVED the way he stood up for Sam and put her first and was very firm with what he wanted. Love him (even though we didn't get much from him)! Some may find them unnecessary, but I love the romantic subplots Jennifer adds in her thriller books (as a romance girly myself). I genuinely wish she'd write romance or even a dark romance considering she's a thriller author. I'd read it even if it was a little novella I'd read it cuz I just can't get enough of her and her romance subplots. They're sooooo good!
I know I'm gushing about this book and how entertaining it was, so why isn't it a five-star? Well, there are a few things. Although I liked the ending, I do feel like many loose ends weren't tied up the way I wanted them.Sam, literally gets raped by Matt and that's acknowledged but it's never expanded upon after that. Edward kills a few people at the retirement home and we never get anything out of that at all. It's not even mentioned that he's being investigated for it. We just never hear from that plot thread again. Also, I wish he got more of Edward getting his comeuppance. Like he gets to murder who he wants and goes out how he wants. Wish he got some more monologue confession time from him. As well as some info on how the public reacted to finding out he was "The Butcher" since he was so beloved by the town for so many years. And I wanted to see the consequences Matt got from his actions aside from him going to jail. Just a lot of threads not being closed out the way I wish they were. This was entertaining, but not perfect. Kinda needed to be a bit longer and wish it was darker (weirdly enough; I know, I just enjoy a really dark thriller, sue me). Overall, a great read nonetheless as always from Jennifer. Cant's wait to read "Creep" and "Freak".
Spice Rating:🌶️/5
But anyway onto the actual book. Ms. JH did NOT disappoint. For context, I like my thrillers on the darker side and Jennifer never seems to fail on the dark and twisted details in her novels which I appreciate. If you'd read the other review you'd know that in this book we find out who the killer is very early on which was no surprise to me. In fact, nothing in this book really surprised me. I don't read JH's books for her "insane plot twists".
However, one thing that did bother me throughout the book was the amount of crude language that's in it, especially from Edward Shank. Like his filthy mouth got on my nerves. He's a racist. A sexist. Objectifies women regularly. And aside from his serial killer antics, I'd never want to be around a guy like that. An old timer that feels like it's his way or no way. There is some other crude language throughout the book too and I'm going to coax that up to being a part of the characterization and atmosphere of the book because none of that is in her other books.
I'm so glad it was acknowledged and expanded upon that Matt wasn't a good boyfriend to Sam cuz I called early on when it was mentioned that he wouldn't commit to her. Speaking of their relationship, but not really, although I wasn't a big fan of most of the characters in this book, I really loved Jason. This is not the first time Jennifer has swayed me over with her men (Sav from Little Secrets, I'm looking at you). I just LOVED the way he stood up for Sam and put her first and was very firm with what he wanted. Love him (even though we didn't get much from him)! Some may find them unnecessary, but I love the romantic subplots Jennifer adds in her thriller books (as a romance girly myself). I genuinely wish she'd write romance or even a dark romance considering she's a thriller author. I'd read it even if it was a little novella I'd read it cuz I just can't get enough of her and her romance subplots. They're sooooo good!
I know I'm gushing about this book and how entertaining it was, so why isn't it a five-star? Well, there are a few things. Although I liked the ending, I do feel like many loose ends weren't tied up the way I wanted them.
Spice Rating:🌶️/5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
neverlandpages4's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Gore, Incest, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent
ellarroz's review
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
lspishock's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, and Murder
Minor: Drug use and Incest
_thelitlibrarian's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
TW: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Incest, Racism, Child abuse, Addiction, Suicide, Vomit
3.25 stars
-
As a Jennifer Hillier fan, I've been slowly working through the backlist of books I haven't read. In 1985 everyone feared a serial killer known as the Beaconhill Butcher, that is until he was shot by police chief Edward Shank. Shank is now retired and in the process of moving to a retirement community, and gifts his house to his grandson Matt - an up-and-coming chef.
Matt is settling into his childhood home when he discovers a secret that will shock and change his life forever. As Matt occupies himself with renovations and a successful business, his girlfriend Sam (a true-crime writer) will stop at nothing to prove that her mother was killed by the butcher after his supposed death. I really liked how all the stories intertwined, this is a reverse whodunnit and we find out the true identity of the butcher very early on. It was interesting knowing the who, but uncovering the why as we went.
This book reminded me of one of those dramatic made for tv movies, no matter what, it was clear from the beginning that there was no hope for any of our characters. I enjoyed having chapters from the butcher's point of view, his character was pure evil and his mind was truly twisted. The ending was thrilling and brought justice to some awful characters, I however wasn't a fan of the last few pages where the author gives an insight as to what happened to Sam.
3.25 stars
-
As a Jennifer Hillier fan, I've been slowly working through the backlist of books I haven't read. In 1985 everyone feared a serial killer known as the Beaconhill Butcher, that is until he was shot by police chief Edward Shank. Shank is now retired and in the process of moving to a retirement community, and gifts his house to his grandson Matt - an up-and-coming chef.
Matt is settling into his childhood home when he discovers a secret that will shock and change his life forever. As Matt occupies himself with renovations and a successful business, his girlfriend Sam (a true-crime writer) will stop at nothing to prove that her mother was killed by the butcher after his supposed death. I really liked how all the stories intertwined, this is a reverse whodunnit and we find out the true identity of the butcher very early on. It was interesting knowing the who, but uncovering the why as we went.
This book reminded me of one of those dramatic made for tv movies, no matter what, it was clear from the beginning that there was no hope for any of our characters. I enjoyed having chapters from the butcher's point of view, his character was pure evil and his mind was truly twisted. The ending was thrilling and brought justice to some awful characters, I however wasn't a fan of the last few pages where the author gives an insight as to what happened to Sam.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Incest, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
reena2's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I love gruesome murder stories and this was one hell of a story. The butcher is a fast read and will grip you from the start.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, and Murder
Moderate: Incest
fbzreadswhatever's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent
jasmine256's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Incest, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Addiction, Suicide, and Vomit
oliviamichelle_'s review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
dalmavatai's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I love stories about serial killers and this one really gripped me in the beginning, especially as we're following 3 perspectives who have various (and complicated) relationships with one another and who know and don't know different things in the story. However, in the middle the book dragged a lot for me, I felt like it got pretty repetitive and all we did was follow this awful, sadistic, misogynistic piece of shit and for some people that might be fine but I just wanted less of that and more of an actual mystery. The twist at the end was pretty shocking even though I think you could see it coming but I didn't and it was pretty satisfying!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest and Racism
Minor: Suicide