Ugh! A trifecta: serial killer Edward Shank (the butcher) who's revealed in the 1st chapter, his grandson Matt (chef extraordinaire) , Matt's girlfriend Samantha (journalist writing a book on the butcher) Ed the killer also happens to be retired chief of police & really likes raping & killing young girls. His grandson Matt is a successful chef who's an asshole to Sam & their friends & finds out his grandfather is a serial killer & does nothing about it. Sam who's writing a book about the serial killer who's responsible for her mother's death and let's Matt treat her like shit. Most of the characters were unlikable and the story line was a little farfetched with "surprises" sprinkled in. Not worth the read ( )

Normally I wouldn't review a book I didn't finish but I'm making an exception for this one. There are a few reasons for this. First, right before I started this book, I read and loved Jennifer Hillier's new book, [b:Jar of Hearts|36315374|Jar of Hearts|Jennifer Hillier|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1508949170s/36315374.jpg|57988547], and I don't want readers to miss out on that one because of this one. Second, I was given the book by the publisher and NetGalley for an honest review and I feel that I've read enough of this to do that. Third, there are things that were done with this book that the author either got better at or had a better, stronger editor so didn't show up in her new work. This book is a few years old and a writer can grow a lot in that amount of time.

I really liked the premise: very bad cop who everyone thinks is a hero is really a monster and has been discovered by a few people. Unfortunately, that's really all I can say that I liked.

The writing is very clunky with the same phrases being used over and over again - one of my pet peeves. The whole "if X noticed/saw/heard/etc, they didn't show it" thing. Once or twice, maybe ok but to use that phrase every time to show that a non-POV character may or may not have noticed/saw/heard/etc is not cool. And, please, for the love of all that's holy, stop using characteristics in dialogue tags or in action descriptions. "The older woman" shouldn't be used at least ten times in a single scene to describe a woman whose name is known. It's crazy annoying.

Between the stuff that shouldn't have made it out of editing and my absolute rage with anything Matt related because he was so over the top, I had to stop. I didn't find anything enjoyable about this book.

Instead of reading the provided ebook, I listened to the audio book but that only made the bad experience worse. I didn't care for the narrator's character voices, his intonation, anything. It was honestly just a bad experience for me.

But don't let this review stop you from reading Jar of Hearts because that book rocks. I'm very happy that the author has grown so much and look forward to reading her future books. ( )

Nice gory serial killer story, but it ended too abruptly and too easily. Would have like more of a shoot-out in the end and a little more explanation. ( )

The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier is a page turning mystery that is engaging and quite fascinating. While it is not a typical "whodunnit" since the killer's identity is revealed very early on, it is nonetheless a compelling novel that I recommend to fans of the genre.

Retired police chief Edward Shank made his career off the infamous Beacon Hill Butcher case and although the murderer was gunned down before he could stand trial, there are few who doubt he was indeed the killer. However, nearly thirty years later, Shank's grandson Matthew makes a chilling discovery that could exonerate the dead man, but revealing the truth would mean destroying everything Matt has worked so hard to achieve.

Matt's girlfriend, Samantha, is one of the few people who believe the police accused the wrong man in the original Butcher case and as an author of true crime novels, she has been investigating the old case. Samantha has a personal stake in her current work in progress since she is convinced The Butcher is responsible for her mother's (unsolved) murder two years after the suspect's death. It appears Sam might be on to something when murders in the present bear startling similarities to those old cases and no one is more stunned than Sam when the killer's identity is finally uncovered.

A jaw-dropping revelation in the first chapter is the first of many clues that the killer is a stone-cold psychopath. Absolutely no remorse or second thoughts plague the murderer and in fact, a new murder marks the beginning of a series of grisly and vicious killings. Since there is little suspense as to the murderer's identity, The Butcher focuses on Sam's investigation, Matt's disintegration after he unearths the family's secrets and ultimately, the motivations for the murders, both past and present.

The characters are reasonably well-developed but they are not particularly sympathetic or easy to like. Edward features predominantly throughout the story and he is definitely not a warm and loving grandfatherly figure nor is he the typical police officer. He is cold and calculating and the peeks into his psyche reveal the depths of his depravity. Matt is self-absorbed and highly driven to succeed. He has some of his grandfather's traits and this adds an interesting nature vs. nurture element to the story. Sam is the most likable character but it is frustrating to watch her stay with Matt despite how little effort he puts into their three year relationship.

Jennifer Hillier easily draws the reader into this character-driven story with an unusual plot and a cast of diverse characters. Although a little slow paced in the beginning, it quickly picks up steam and hurtles to an unexpected and rather dramatic conclusion. While it is not an action packed thriller, The Butcher is a riveting novel that stands out from other books in the mystery genre. ( )

"Hillier handles the suspense well-she builds up and then releases the tensions elegantly. Except, to me, she do so too quickly."
read more: http://likeiamfeasting.blogspot.gr/2015/06/the-butcher-jennifer-hillier.html ( )