The Butcher
In this “skillfully penned tale of murder and cover-up that will keep readers enthralled until the powerful finish” (Fresh Fiction), family secrets and a serial killer from the past converge in this electrifying thriller.
In 1985, Edward Shank famously gunned down the Beacon Hill Butcher, ending the serial killer’s reign of terror over the city of Seattle. But now in his eighties, Edward’s action-packed glory days are long behind him. The decorated former Seattle police chief has given up his high-maintenance Victorian home to his grandson Matt for a quiet life at the nearby Sweetbay Village Retirement Residence, where mac-n-cheese Wednesdays have become the highlight of his week.
Though it’s hard to watch his grandfather get older, Matt is thrilled to inherit the large house he grew up in. Already an accomplished chef with a popular restaurant and a TV show in the works, Matt’s dream life is finally within reach…until he discovers a crate buried in the backyard that holds a secret about his grandfather so terrible, it threatens to ruin all their lives if it ever gets out. Especially his girlfriend Sam’s, whose mother was killed when she was only two years old.
As Matt struggles with his dark family secret, Sam’s obsession with solving her mother’s murder continues to grow. A true crime writer now working on a book about the Butcher, Sam has always suspected her mother was one of his victims, even though she was killed two years after the Butcher was supposedly gunned down.
But when new victims begin to turn up, their murders eerily similar to the Butcher’s all those years ago, Sam realizes she might be right. The more she digs into the old murders, the more dangerous it gets…and the truth is closer to home than she ever could have imagined.
“A tense, suspenseful, thoroughly creepy thriller” (Booklist), The Butcher sinks its teeth in you from the very first page.
In 1985, Edward Shank famously gunned down the Beacon Hill Butcher, ending the serial killer’s reign of terror over the city of Seattle. But now in his eighties, Edward’s action-packed glory days are long behind him. The decorated former Seattle police chief has given up his high-maintenance Victorian home to his grandson Matt for a quiet life at the nearby Sweetbay Village Retirement Residence, where mac-n-cheese Wednesdays have become the highlight of his week.
Though it’s hard to watch his grandfather get older, Matt is thrilled to inherit the large house he grew up in. Already an accomplished chef with a popular restaurant and a TV show in the works, Matt’s dream life is finally within reach…until he discovers a crate buried in the backyard that holds a secret about his grandfather so terrible, it threatens to ruin all their lives if it ever gets out. Especially his girlfriend Sam’s, whose mother was killed when she was only two years old.
As Matt struggles with his dark family secret, Sam’s obsession with solving her mother’s murder continues to grow. A true crime writer now working on a book about the Butcher, Sam has always suspected her mother was one of his victims, even though she was killed two years after the Butcher was supposedly gunned down.
But when new victims begin to turn up, their murders eerily similar to the Butcher’s all those years ago, Sam realizes she might be right. The more she digs into the old murders, the more dangerous it gets…and the truth is closer to home than she ever could have imagined.
“A tense, suspenseful, thoroughly creepy thriller” (Booklist), The Butcher sinks its teeth in you from the very first page.
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Community Reviews
Jennifer Hillier has been on my TBR for a while and I'm so glad The Butcher ended up being the BOTM for my bookclub bc it was PERFECT for Halloween. With a title like "The Butcher", I knew it wasnt going to be a pretty story, but I definitely didn't expect it to be so dark. It was difficult to read the descriptions of The Butcher's actions at times, but aside from that, the thrill was 100% there. This book is excellent and while I really wanted to punch Matt in the face most of the time, I would love to read it again and maybe pinpoint all the hints I missed the first time.
Anyways, if you love thrilly meets dark kinda books, this is perfect.
Jennifer Hillier's The Butcher reads like an old-school season of Mindhunter where the serial killer gets to tell his side of the story. Dark, disturbing, and impossible to put down, this thriller had me cycling through shock, rage, anticipation, and heartbreak from beginning to end.
Retired police chief Edward Shank is celebrated as the man who stopped Seattle's infamous Beacon Hill Butcher decades ago. After moving to a retirement home, Edward hands the keys to his house to his grandson Matt. While renovating the home, Matt uncovers a horrifying secret hidden beneath Edward's home that causes everything he thought he knew about Edward to unravel. Matt's girlfriend Sam who is a true crime writer continues her hunt for her mother's killer. She is convinced the Butcher murdered her mother years after the official case closed. Both Sam and Matt keep digging for answers that Edward does not want uncovered.
Watching everyone dismiss Sam's theory about her mother's murder made me furious. She repeatedly proved she had incredible instincts and an eye for patterns that everyone else seemed determined to ignore. Her persistence made every setback feel personal. I found myself cheering every time she uncovered another piece of the truth.
The relationship between Matt and Edward was unsettling. I kept hoping Matt would make the right choice to turn in the evidence. Then, he called Edward to help cover up PJ's murder. That single decision cemented him as someone willing to protect evil rather than confront it. Jennifer Hillier did an incredible job exploring how loyalty, family, and denial can become just as dangerous as violence itself.
Edward is one of the most chilling villains I have read in a long time. Spending chapters inside his head was deeply uncomfortable because he viewed his crimes with such calm detachment. I caught myself begging someone to stop him before another victim appeared. The novel also raises fascinating questions about hero worship and how difficult it can be to dismantle the reputation of someone society has publicly declared a hero.
The audiobook cast elevated an already fantastic thriller. Zac Aleman, Corey Brill, Raquel Beattie, and Chris Henry Coffey each brought distinct personalities to their characters. They made every perspective feel immersive. I never felt like I was listening to a performance. It felt like I was standing in the room while everything unfolded.
Pick this up if you love psychological thrillers, serial killer investigations, and stories where family secrets are every bit as terrifying as the crimes themselves. Just make sure to read the trigger warnings before diving in because Jennifer Hillier pulls no punches.
A decent thriller. The author did a great job making the leads unlikable. I spent the whole time hoping we would learned more about the daughter and grandmother but it never arrived. Combined with a rushed ending, it was an okay read, but not a favorite.
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