The Butcher Game

Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller

From the #1 New York Times bestselling author and co-host of chart-topping true crime podcast Morbid comes the thrilling book two in the Dr. Wren Muller series, told from the dueling perspectives of a notorious serial killer and a medical examiner seeking justice.

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 co-host, Alaina Urquhart, The Butcher Game is a gripping addition to the New York Times bestselling Dr. Wren Muller series.Praise for the Dr. Wren Muller series

"The Butcher Game is a startling case study in suspense and obsession—a mind-bending TKO. This twisty thriller brings Wren and Jeremy's deadly cat-and-mouse chase from the swamps of Louisiana to the woods of New England with deep forensic expertise, a deliciously breathtaking pace, and the highest stakes imaginable. Alaina Urquhart has set a new benchmark for the serial killer novel." ―Margot Douaihy, USA Today bestselling author of Scorched Grace and Blessed Water

“Urquhart has crafted a thriller that is necessarily graphic but not exploitative. The crisp detail, the narrative brevity and the blade-sharp connections between the pathologist and the killer all bode well for future installments.” —Sarah Weinman, New York Times

“A read-in-one-sitting kind of book.” —Sarah Gelman, CBS Mornings

“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

“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

“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

“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” Alaina Urquhart is the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Dr. Wren Muller series which has been published internationally in over twenty languages. When she isn’t writing, she is also the cohost of the chart-topping podcast Morbid, and an autopsy technician by trade. Alaina hails from Boston, where she lives with her husband and their three daughters.#1 New York Times Bestseller