Synopsis:
Every serial killer needs a friend.
Every game must have a winner.
When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match?
Review:
I had quite high expectations for Butcher & Blackbird as I remember it being talked about a lot online when it was published. It also sounds right up my street. I’ve really been getting into thrillers lately and while this was actually quite fluffy considering the contents (for the most part), it was an enjoyable read.
I’d highly recommend you steer clear of this if you’re squeamish. The descriptions of the murders are brutal and there’s quite a lot of trigger warnings – these are listed at the start of the book so check those out first before you start reading. Even the opening scene is pretty intense.
While I did really enjoy this book and its premise, I do think it has such a high rating on Goodreads because of the spice. This always seems to be the case with these types of books and as someone that could take or leave that type of content, I’ve been burned by this in the past.
I love the idea of a serial killer that only kills other serial killers. It’s such a fun idea and it really blurs the lines on what makes someone a monster. If you like morally grey characters, Butcher & Blackbird is the book for you, it’s full of them. Literally. Not a single character bats an eye at the fact that Sloane and Rowan murder people for fun and that’s pretty funny, well not actually funny but in the context of this being completely made up, it’s funny.
I’m not sure if I wasn’t comprehending the timeline well or what it was but the pacing of this book was a little weird. It was constantly jumping weeks, months and years between chapters and most of the time I had no idea where I was. This made the acceleration of Sloane and Rowan’s relationship a little difficult to get on board with at first. I could definitely see why they worked well together but having Rowan say he loved her after meeting her once was a little over the top.
Speaking of over the top, it makes no sense that none of these characters have been arrested. They aren’t subtle with their killings and as far as I could tell, they didn’t take preventative measures when it came to leaving their DNA all over the crime scene. Rowan literally throws up all over one of them. I don’t know really know anything about forensics though so I can’t really comment.
Basically what I’m trying to say is but go into Butcher & Blackbird expecting it to be a high-stakes realistic serial killer book. It’s actually fairly light hearted and is more of a rom-com. Which makes it a quick read that, despite the descriptions of gore, is an enjoyable experience.
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