A review by the_bookish_rose
The Butcher and the Wren by Alaina Urquhart

dark tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Typically this isn’t a genre I read all that often just because it isn’t up my alley most of the time (or usually I’ll try to save the spooky reads for October) but I was requested to read this one. I shocked myself by finishing this in three days, though truthfully the writing style was really easy to read and get through, which has its pros and cons.

I feel like I could see the potential this book had, but it needed some more time to finish cooking. This novel had the common writing dilemma of “telling vs showing”, and personally I always love a good murder tale if it’s written in first person rather than third but that’s just me. I also wish there was more character development into Cal/Jeremy, as we (the readers) don’t really get much backstory into how he got into what he does now other than hunting with his dad when he was younger. I also wanted to like the FMC more, but just didn’t find myself connecting with her fully either, but her determination was solid as to finding out what happened. I also wish there was a much bigger climax for the ending, as it felt a bit lackluster, but I was glad to reach the ending. One positive area is the author’s expertise on the medical examiner side, as the level of detail into that aspect was cool to see; I just wish it also spread to other places in the book.
Expand filter menu Content Warnings