The Butcher - Hardcover

Hillier, Jennifer

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1476734216 ISBN 13: 9781476734217

Publisher: Gallery Books, 2015

Synopsis

A rash of grisly serial murders plagued Seattle until the infamous "Beacon Hill Butcher" was finally hunted down and killed by police chief Edward Shank in 1985. Now, some thirty years later, Shank, retired and widowed, is giving up his large rambling Victorian house to his grandson Matt, whom he helped raise.

Settling back into his childhood home and doing some renovations in the backyard to make the house feel like his own, Matt, a young up-and-coming chef and restaurateur, stumbles upon a locked crate he's never seen before. Curious, he picks the padlock and makes a discovery so gruesome it will forever haunt him... Faced with this deep dark family secret, Matt must decide whether to keep what he knows buried in the past, go to the police, or take matters into his own hands.

Meanwhile Matt's girlfriend, Sam, has always suspected that her mother was murdered by the Beacon Hill Butcher-two years afterthe supposed Butcher was gunned down. As she pursues leads that will prove her right, Sam heads right into the path of Matt's terrible secret.

A thriller with taut, fast-paced suspense, and twists around every corner, The Butcherwill keep you guessing until the bitter, bloody end.

About this title

Review:

“Hillier's third thriller fairly shudders with tension. [She] sends her reader into a labyrinth of creepy twists and grotesque turns...The secrets of the past refuse to keep quiet in this disquieting, taut thriller.” (Kirkus)

 “As she ably proved in her debut (Creep, 2011), [Hillier] has a fine knack for creating hideous killers. This time she turns the formula whodunit on its head... A tense, suspenseful, thoroughly creepy thriller.” (Booklist)

"Hillier writes beautifully horrific stories... Readers will be immersed until the final page, thanks to the velocity at which this unique thriller is told.” (RT Reviews (Top Pick))

"Once I got started I couldn’t stop reading, and I confess to having sweaty palms a few times. A thrill ride that will have your attention from start to finish! This one is 4.5 stars." (Suspense Magazine)

"[A] rapid-fire thriller of dark, unsettling proportions with some very surprising twists. With the turn of each new page, the suspenseful plot is tense and gripping...a skillfully penned tale of murder and cover-up that will keep readers enthralled until the powerful finish. Thriller fans should not miss The Butcher! (Fresh Fiction)

“Replete with plot twists and surprises, The Butcher is an engrossing tale that piques the reader’s interest immediately and then holds on to it like an angry pitbull.” (NJ Journal of Books)

"The Butcher is a clever, twisted thriller about genetics, faith, and death . . . The greatest thing about The Butcher is its uncanny ability to trump the narrative conventions of the conventional serial killer novel over and over again . .  Jennifer Hillier's prose remains fast paced and immensely readable as her content becomes quirkier and more cerebral with every novel." (Dead End Follies)

"Wholly entertaining...I was hooked throughout...A devilishly dark read." (Raven Crime Reads (UK))

"[Freak] freaked me out – in a good way. In a word, “frightening.” Jennifer Hillier creates a truly scary killer in Abby Maddox, the female version of Hannibal Lecter – smart, cunning and wickedly evil. I was engrossed on page one, couldn’t put the book down and breathless at the ending.  Be prepared for a late night's reading. Then sleep with the lights on – if you can. This one blew me away." 
(Robert Dugoni, New York Times bestselling author of Murder One)

“You'd better call in sick, because you’re not going anywhere until youfinish reading it. Oh, and you might want to lock the door, just to be safe....Top of the line thriller writing." (New York Times bestselling author Jeffery Deaver)

About the Author:

Jennifer Hillier made her fiction debut with Creep. Originally from Canada, she spent almost five years in the beautiful Pacific Northwest before returning to her hometown of Toronto, Canada. Visit her on the web at JenniferHillier.org.

About this edition

• Publisher: Gallery Books
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1476734216
• ISBN 13: 9781476734217
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 352