Book Review — The Butcher by Jennifer Hillier

This one was a complete letdown. Felt like ordering a steak but getting popcorn instead. Get what I am saying? Because this one was a total popcorn read. A one time average read. No suspense, no thrill, no twisted reveals, and predictable at every turn.

The author revealed too much too soon. So much that there was nothing to look forward to. There were questions left unanswered. Usually it’s a good thing, to have an open end, where readers can fill out the blanks with their own theories and imagination. But that wasn’t the case with "The Butcher", by Jennifer Hillier. Instead it felt like the author left us dangling in the middle, with trivial queries. There didn’t seem to be a point to all of it. You know who "The Butcher", the namesake of the book, THE serial killer and central character is, from the very first page. After that, the whole plot unravels itself in the first few pages. If you’re paying even the slightest bit of attention, 10% down the lane you’ll figure out the whole story by your own. No, make it 5!

This is all due to poor choice of words and completely wrong plot structure. Now that I think about it, it’s rare that I come across a male Mary Sue. This book definitely has one, & not a well written one at that. All the characters are one dimensional & flat. The love triangle is an eye rolling clichè.

After months of Nordic noirs, this one didn’t just level up. Surely Icelandic, Norwegian, Scandinavian writers have raised the bar too high for dark, twisty crime fiction. And anything below it seems yawn inducing. For this one, I would say the bar was a distant star light years ahead.

The catchy title and inconspicuous looking cover art is just a clickbait. There’s nothing inconspicuous about this one. That being said, I need a break from crime fiction, after "The Butcher" left a sour taste in my mouth. And I am on the lookout for my next read. Any suggestions?