The Butcher's Daughter

by Sarah Goodwin, Chey Mongeon (Editor)

The past can hurt you…

Jude has lived her life under an assumed name, and a shadow. Her father was the Butcher of Bricknell, her mother potentially complicit in his crimes. Now she has her mother’s diaries and answers are finally within her grasp.

Her search for information brings her back to the Butcher’s home town and to a local book club for true crime fanatics. Soon though, the past and present collide as a member of the club is found dead. Days later the group receives an email from their dead friend, which appears to describe a murder. One which has yet to occur.

With Jude as both a suspect and potential target, her hunt for answers becomes a deadly race to the truth.

Genres: Mystery

283 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 1, 2023

About the author

Also writing as Amy Cunningham (The Serial Killer's Party) and Amelia Wildwood (rom-com coming in summer 2026)

Reviews

[MK · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really can’t understand why her publishers didn’t want to get this book out and choose the next one instead ( The Blackout, which seems a bit rushed in parts, could be because Sarah had a tight schedule for this one after the rejection).
This was a well written book I absolutely enjoyed reading. While I didn’t bond with the main character that didn’t lessen how much I liked the overall experience.
I rounded up a well earned 4,5 points for a new twist on the whole true crime community scene and for the courage and backbone of the author to believe in her work and self publish it.
A special shoutout to the art of ending a book- I do like her style a lot, and a satisfactory finale is something I consider a strong point in rating a book.

[L · Rating 3 out of 5]

love SG, this just wasn't the one for me. I struggled with some pacing, I lost momentum. and I'm just not really into revenge stories/the reveal felt underwhelming to me.

[Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Entertaining - As I've Coe to Expect from Sarah Goodwin

Once again, Sarah Goodwin provides an entertaining story.

I realized in reading this book that Goodwin offers a consistently good writing style that captivates a reader and a quick and easy read.

I've devoured all her books in the past 4 weeks. I think that says something about not only the captivating style of writing, but the fact that her stories are individual and not repeats of her previous story lines.

There are predictable moments, but there are still twists that keep things fresh.

Sarah Goodwin's books are top notch. She weaves good story lines and finds a way to incorporate thoughtful life lessons and ideas for consideration.

I would recommend her books to any fan of the psychological thriller.

[Thereasa O'keeffe · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished this and have to say really enjoyed it .
It had me hooked from page one and wish I'd had more time to keep reading as would have finished it quicker .
Imagine your the daughter of a serial killer you wouldn't want anyone to know
Jude is the daughter of her father a serial killer in Brickell . She and her partner move into her father's house where some of his victims were found as they don't really have a choice .
However moving in to the house comes with strings that Jude is yet to find out and also keeping her huge secret from her boyfriend Adam and all the neighbours .
She joins a book club and this is where everything starts to go wrong especially when bodies start stacking up .
Definately recommend this book Sarah Goodwin has done it again .

[Dattig · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very dark, exploring the mind of your serial killer father

An extremely well written book. Also very dark and macabre.
The author is captivating and the book draws you in then leaves you hanging with such a weak and unfinished ending.
It would have been nice to have a prologue following Jude as she begins to put her life back together.
It's hard to believe, if Adam loved her as much as suggested that he walked totally out of the picture after becoming aware of all the events that happened, which would have explained much of Jude's behavior
A little hope included would have been nice as there was none in the book.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've read a few books by Sarah Goodwin and have enjoyed them all. This one was different - not because the story was bad or the characters unlikeable, but because the editing was so poorly done. There were a shocking number of typos in this book, for example using "intelligible" instead of "unintelligible" or "role" instead of "roll". It felt like there were errors every few pages, especially in the last couple of chapters. The punctuation was terrible throughout the entire book; comma usage was random, often missing when needed, and used when it shouldn't have been. This book should be re-edited and re-released because the story itself was actually pretty good.

[Jamie Marcus · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little disappointing for Sarah goodwin

I have read a few of Sarah goodwin's books and absolutely loved them. Her attention to detail and that way she portrays her characters and their feelings left a huge impression on me. This book just didn't seem to contain the same magic her other ones have. The beginning seemed to drag in for me. I didn't have a good visual on the main character until about chapter two. Maybe that's it's me though. I just felt this book was missing details that could give the reader a clearer lens to read through.

[coty ☆ · Rating 3 out of 5]

this really deserved to be traditionally published so that it could've gone through a rigorous editing process. there's a good story here and i love goodwin's writing style but there's a lot of errors/passages that needed to be tightened up, both things that could've been easily rectified with a better editor. still, it's a very engaging story, with supporting characters that actually feel like characters and i really like the main character's struggle with her identity and family

[Carolyn Conklin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not SG usual wonderful novels

In Sarah's books, l have always loved her style and loved her exciting endings. Usually, I read her books; the Yaht comes to mind and thoroughly enjoyed each and every one.
The Butcher's daughter, in my opinion, just went very slowly for me. At times, l really did not want to finish it, but I finally did. I did not like the characters. it seemed very

[Nicky Shearsby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a huge fan of Sarah and was really excited when I saw her first self published novel this week. I was not disappointed. The story is fast paced and had me on the edge of my seat. I loved the ending, so fitting and very dark. Probably one of her best so far. Sarah is going from strength to strength. Keep up the great work.

[Madi Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75⭐️ when i say I GASPED multiple times through all the twists and turns.. I GASPED! I really enjoyed this book. It’s not a full 5 because at times i got a little confused trying to remember names/connections and not knowing some of the terminology of the UK. It was a tad slow in some sports. But the overall… great read

[Penny Post · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pain and manipulation.

This is the story of a woman who was damaged by a woman who could only love a serial killer. Children need love and attention and Julie never had that. This story centers around her need to find out why … why?

[Cecilia Gilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mystery

One of the few ebooks I kept reading. Surprise ending was nothing that I thought it would be. Although it dragged in spots it was a good read.

[Sharon Archuleta · Rating 5 out of 5]

twisty and captivating

This is an awesome book that will keep you reading from the first page. I totally enjoyed reading it and highly recommend it.

[Jo Mead · Rating 3 out of 5]

The numerous typos were my favourite part of the book.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

great characters, setting and timing

The characters in this book were excellent - mixed with the drab English commuter town vibe it made for a real noir read. Lots of twists.

[brooke kaci · Rating 2 out of 5]

that was incredibly underwhelming

[Deborah Bruton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story full of unexpected twists. Unusual backstory for the lead character (daughter of a serial killer). 3rd book I have read by this author and have not been disappointed yet.

[Nicole B · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75

[Daniel Domikaitis · Rating 5 out of 5]

good read

Not as great as stranded or the yacht, but this book holds its own in entertainment value. There were a few odd words misspelled but easy to overlook.

[Tom Boniface-Webb · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good. But not as good as the other two of hers I’ve read recently. Very creepy feeling throughout the whole story though. Puts one off reading true crime!

[Benny Gallagher]

DNF, like reading a police report, too dry and true-crimey