Alaina Urquart happens to be a renowned podcast host of Morbid. So for many, it was a delight to see her debut book being published. As for me, I plunged right into the story and enjoyed precisely half of it. The story is narrated by both the killer and the saviour, each walking us through their lives. On the surface, the story is quite different. Wren Muller who’s a forensic pathologist finds herself being emotionally disturbed by her victims who appear to be brutally murdered. She finds the killer’s MO familiar, something that she knows intricately yet can’t place her finger on. Halfway through the story, we start connecting the dots and the entire plot falls into place.

Butcher Bayou is a serial killer who preys on young women and toys with them before he kills them. He leaves his victims butchered, in a state that shocks the police and Wren. The story runs parallely between the two main characters, one hero and the other villain until it merges into one. But the element of suspense ends somewhere in the middle of the book. Then begins the endless loopholes that eventually became the downfall of the book.

When Wren uncovers the connection between the murderer and her past, I was left confused because things didn’t add up. What started off as a gripping story began to veer off its original course. The mega twist that the author introduced to the story was in fact what failed it. Alaina’s writing too was quite repetitive, making it difficult to hang onto her narrative.

I don’t want to reveal too much about the plot but when I finally finished the book, I was left very underwhelmed. Maybe I’ll do give her podcast a listen but this one was a major disappointment to me.

Thanks for the copy @penguinindia ✨