⋙ Libro Gratis The Butcher Jennifer Hillier Books

The Butcher Jennifer Hillier Books

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The Butcher Jennifer Hillier Books

Initially, I was caught up on the premise of the story--knowing the killer early on and seeing how a person would react when he finds evidence that incriminates the killer but yet would have personal repercussions. Unfortunately, the book is riddled with coincidences, characters that don't pull you in, and "plot twists" that are too obvious. The story fell flat for me with a too predictable ending.


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The Butcher Jennifer Hillier Books Reviews

Fiction books don't always strike my fancy, but this one got me hooked. I loved that it was set in Seattle. It was one of those books where I started it at 10pm and look at the clock and go oh crap it's 3 am but i finished it!!!! The author did a great job creating the ultimate villain. Took me by surprise at the end. Read it!!
Wow! I finished this book in two days, a major accomplishment these days. As much as I love reading I find it more and more difficult to captivate me. The Butcher did just that and even though the author let us in on the identity of the killer early, watching him in action was thrilling. I found the dialogue to be right on, especially when the Chief was talking. And I totally agree whole-heartedly, it does suck donkey-balls getting old!
The only reason I don't give The Butcher five stars is because I would have liked to have been a little closer on the investigation. I would have found it fascinating to have been present with Sanchez when he walked through Bonnie's apartment looking for clues and probably stumbled upon those cherished photos Sam should definitely have.
I have read both, The Creep and The Freak and consider this author a automatic buy for me. I can't wait for her next book.
I don't usually read murder thriller/mystery books, so it may be that I'm just not the best judge of this type of novel, but at the end my reaction was just kind of, "Meh."

The main character, Matthew, was hard to like yet the author seemed to want the reader to find him sympathetic. He was just kind of a jerk to his friends, his employees and his girlfriend Sam.

As for Sam, she was also hard to like because right off the bat she was introduced as Matt's doormat of a girlfriend. Matt variously ignores her, snipes at her, and brushes her off throughout most of the rest of book. She was supposed to be this strong, smart female character, but I just couldn't respect her.

Regarding the Butcher himself---what follows isn't a spoiler because the Butcher's identity as Matt's grandfather is revealed at the start of the book---it was impossible for me to believe Matt could've known this guy his entire life, been raised by him in the same house from the time Matt was a baby, and yet have no clue whatsoever the guy was a soulless psychopath.

My last beef is that there were times when the author could've taken things in a much more interesting direction but didn't, and it was disappointing. I can't say more without spoilers, so I'll just wrap up the spoiler-free part of the review here.

Well written enough I guess, but none of the three lead characters are likeable, interesting or even people I felt I could respect, and the plot was a little too pat, with too many glossed-over complications and details.

- - - - -

*SPOILER ALERT*

- - - - -

In the incident that gets the plot off the starting blocks, when Matt accidentally kills his assistant chef (who's also supposed to be a friend from childhood), he shows zero remorse, no sadness, no guilt about having ended the life of a young man who was supposedly a friend---a close enough friend that he'd helped Matt move just a week or two before. All Matt's concerned about is how the manslaughter charge will ruin his business and life, so he pretty much immediately throws his lot in with his grandfather, who by that time Matt has discovered is the Butcher. At first I thought the author was going to do something interesting, with Matt feeling some dark impulses he'd inherited from his grandfather take root and grow, and his grandfather mentoring him in the ways of serial murder, but no. It ends up being just one more reason to dislike Matt.

All the same reasons Matt had to conceal his friend's death are there at the end, but the author conveniently switches gears to end the book focused on Sam, glossing over the aftermath of these super-high stakes we were supposed to believe explained Matt's behavior to some extent.

Matt grew up in the same house where his grandfather was running a torture and kill dungeon in the garage during Matt's childhood, yet neither Matt nor his grandmother ever ONCE suspected anything. Matt even reminisces about the big workbench in the garage at one point, so he clearly spent time there as a child. There were apparently never any incidents of casual cruelty over the years, or signs of the man's inner rage bubbling to the surface either.

At times the author goes to great pains to describe how steely and unemotional the Butcher is in his demeanor, yet again, neither Matt nor his grandmother ever suspected anything was wrong with him; to them, he was your typical, loving, big-hearted family guy.

I also find it strains credulity that the Butcher tortured, raped (no mention of condoms being used, BTW) and murdered about 20 young women over a period of a little more than a decade and never even came close to being caught. Sure, he was the police chief in his own town, but many of the crimes were committed in other towns and counties, and no mention is made of any accomplices in those police departments so he couldn't have monkeyed with the evidence in ALL the cases.

And finally, speaking of evidence, the Butcher admits to having committed a few of his crimes as recently as 1985-87, yet there was apparently no forensic investigation of those crimes. DNA evidence was beginning to be used by investigators at the time, and surely would've been used in an unsolved serial murder case with such a high body count and small geographic range. Then the Butcher commits and/or assists with three murders during the timeframe of the story (seems to be just a few months) and suddenly forensic evidence prominently figures in the investigation and he's caught.

So, yeah. Meh.
Jennifer Hillier is a pretty good writer. Her stories are always catchy and she manages to keep the momentum going throughout the entire book. Edward Shank, former chief of police, was a creepy, charismatic character, the kind of man you love to hate. He might be a sadistic killer, the Beacon Hill Butcher, the man who terrorized Seattle killing endlessly, but when you hear his inner monologue as he thinks constantly about killing the people around, you kind of agree. Who hasn't thought about killing the annoying passenger on a bus who keeps poking you in the ribs? He was charming, in a very <i>American Psycho</i> kind of way. And you've got to hand it to a guy who keeps active in his eighties.

Matthew Shank, Edwards grandson, is a successful chef and restaurant owner, with his whole life ahead of him. Thriving business, beautiful girlfriend and now, thanks to Edward, a big house. Also thanks to Edward, a backyard full of secrets. Matthew was an annoying character. By the end, I didn't care what happened to him and I felt little sympathy. His girlfriend Sam, though a relatively minor character, was equally annoying. I didn't find her tenacious or feisty enough for a writer investigating the murder of her mother, a possible Butcher victim.

The story kept me guessing constantly, as a lot of information was revealed early on. Within the first twenty pages, I was wondering how Hillier was possibly going to full the rest of the pages. A sadistic storyline with splashes of humour made this an enjoyable read. Wouldn't mind a sequel.
I liked this one, though not as much as Creep, and definitely not as much as Jar of Hearts. There was a lot of stuff repeated in this book, which was rather frustrating, but maybe that was part of the character’s personality ? It was mainly Matt’s character that did this repeating.

The story was good though rather messed up. What kind of pervert not only kills all these girls/women but does it because he raped his daughter, impregnated her, and basically caused her to take her own life ? He was definitely in the perfect position to cover it up as Captain and then Chief, all those years.

I felt bad for Matt but he had his own darkness and he was a selfish prick who treated Sam like crap. I’m happy she ended up with Jason in the end.
Initially, I was caught up on the premise of the story--knowing the killer early on and seeing how a person would react when he finds evidence that incriminates the killer but yet would have personal repercussions. Unfortunately, the book is riddled with coincidences, characters that don't pull you in, and "plot twists" that are too obvious. The story fell flat for me with a too predictable ending.