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Elizabeth #2
What Good Men Do
The powerful sequel to the indie horror hit What Good Girls Do.
Several months after Elizabeth first emerged from the squalid basement in which she was born, the horrific consequences of her escape are still being felt—and not just by Elizabeth and her traumatized ex-neighbor Serenity.
Close by, blood-hungry men are plotting an unthinkable revenge.
When a savage new nightmare engulfs Serenity and Elizabeth, they soon face the demands of a disturbed teen, the monstrous acts of a child-killer, and the depraved plans of those responsible for Elizabeth’s abuse and imprisonment. Trust is scarce, but with a threadbare sliver of hope the women must look beyond their grudges and mental scars in order to survive—or become the men’s newest and most brutalised victims.
Merciless and unpredictable, What Good Men Do charts a suffocating descent into a world where cruelty is idolised, deviance is a lifestyle, and violence is always the answer.
Several months after Elizabeth first emerged from the squalid basement in which she was born, the horrific consequences of her escape are still being felt—and not just by Elizabeth and her traumatized ex-neighbor Serenity.
Close by, blood-hungry men are plotting an unthinkable revenge.
When a savage new nightmare engulfs Serenity and Elizabeth, they soon face the demands of a disturbed teen, the monstrous acts of a child-killer, and the depraved plans of those responsible for Elizabeth’s abuse and imprisonment. Trust is scarce, but with a threadbare sliver of hope the women must look beyond their grudges and mental scars in order to survive—or become the men’s newest and most brutalised victims.
Merciless and unpredictable, What Good Men Do charts a suffocating descent into a world where cruelty is idolised, deviance is a lifestyle, and violence is always the answer.
264 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 28, 2023
55 people are currently reading
690 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Butcher
32 books251 followersSplatterpunk Award-nominated author who writes disturbing horror with a difference.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews
June 23, 2023
Full review available at The Mort Report:
https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/bla...
This book is cruel, rough to get through and an absolute Masterpiece!
I don’t use that word lightly and I don’t use it often, but if you are a horror fan who can stomach the harder side of the genre, this is the book you HAVE to read.
It is an instant Classic, in my opinion, that will be around much much longer than the author – a legacy, if you will.
Just make sure to read WHAT GOOD GIRLS DO first, and you’ll find yourself fully invested in the characters from the start.
And I am going to shut the fuck up right now because I can’t say anything more deserving.
10 STARS
https://www.uncomfortablydark.com/bla...
This book is cruel, rough to get through and an absolute Masterpiece!
I don’t use that word lightly and I don’t use it often, but if you are a horror fan who can stomach the harder side of the genre, this is the book you HAVE to read.
It is an instant Classic, in my opinion, that will be around much much longer than the author – a legacy, if you will.
Just make sure to read WHAT GOOD GIRLS DO first, and you’ll find yourself fully invested in the characters from the start.
And I am going to shut the fuck up right now because I can’t say anything more deserving.
10 STARS
June 9, 2025
It’s very rare that I declare something a perfect 5-star rating with the esteemed Topsider approval, along with a gushing review. And I’ve gotten chummy with Jonathan Butcher over the years, but I try to read each book without letting anything sway my honest feedback. He is someone that I am proud to call a very talented colleague and love being a part of his literary journey. But this was just a masterpiece. Yeah, find any other time I’ve used that word in a review. But I truly mean it. I’ve read almost every horror author at this point, and I’ll put Butcher in the top five. I loved Chocolateman, but this exceeded that by miles. Any critiques I had of the first book were completely resolved here. This story is so intense and ugly and gut-wrenching that I had to take breaks every few chapters. An absolute emotional rollercoaster that will leave you exhausted from the raw content. Not to make light of any parts of the book, but I kept hoping that Liam Neeson’s Brian Mills character from Taken was going to drop in and save Phillip, Serenity, Chad, and Elizabeth. He didn’t arrive, unfortunately, but all of the ‘daddies’ met their own unique conclusions. But the group of antagonists are just sort of faceless people. People with no souls, able to do such horrific and unspeakable things to other human beings, justifying it all for their own sick benefit. It’s the victims that are the centerpieces. Butcher makes you care so deeply for his characters, as he takes us through their mindsets, challenges, and extreme traumas, in first-person points of view, that you will physically respond to certain scenes. Again, an extremely anxiety-producing and emotional experience. The author also did something that a strong majority of authors fail to do, in providing a brief synopsis of book 1, prior to this starting. Especially for someone like myself who digests tons of books, I hate when I’ll start subsequent books in a series, and the author writes it, acting as if you’re reading everything rapid fire. If actuality, you spend most of the book trying to reorient yourself, which downright sucks. So kudos to Butcher for that tidbit. I’m not sure if he planned anything for the series beyond this sequel, but he could keep going and I’d be first in line. I need a stiff drink and to watch a comedy to recover from this. Happy Friday everyone and thank you again, Jonathan Butcher!
May 8, 2023
I got an ARC of "What Good Girl's Do 2" by Jonathan Butcher and wow! I think I liked it even better than the first one. But be prepared this is very very extreme. A perfect mix of Splatterpunk and Transgressive.
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐/5
May 14, 2023
Everything I wanted the sequel to be, and more. A fantastically dark story from one of the best authors in the genre.
May 12, 2023
This is the highly anticipated sequel to What Good Girls Do, by the same author, and WGGD is one of my favourite books ever! So, obviously, I was extremely excited for a sequel, and equally, interested to see how this would measure up! And, as I knew it would be, it's right up there with the original! Incredible stuff, truly brilliant in all its horrifically disturbing glory! 🖤
The opening scenes are truly brutal and upsetting, like a huge slap to the face or a kick in the bollocks! And my intrigue and anticipation were immediately activated.
Elizabeth is turning 17, and learning to be human, to be normal. As normal and human as is possible in her particularly unique case. She's currently in a psychiatric hospital, or "Head Hospital" as she calls it, and her mother is on one of her regular, yet awkward, visits. She is being prepared to be moved to a new place, where her needs can be met better, but just who is accompanying her, and will she even make it?
The man known as Rexem to his followers, acting out a normal life with his wife and child, receives an unwanted and frankly terrifying message one evening. He has been found out, and now must pay….
Serenity is understandably still suffering the trauma from before, when she met Elizabeth for the first time, and her son is taking the brunt of it. She's scared, for herself and for her daughter's future, and it's utterly heartbreaking! Watching her struggle with her relationship with her twins, and even her father now, is gut-wrenching!
Chad has met Elizabeth before, and is haunted by her and what happened then. He wants desperately to put things right after inadvertently getting drawn into the dark, disturbing world of his father, and his equally dark and disturbing secrets, after stumbling in on him 'at work' one evening. But….
….THE DADDIES WANT PAYBACK!!
The way Elizabeth's character is portrayed, her thought processes, her naivety of the world, her anger, her fear, and her determination for revenge, makes this all the more real and hits you so much harder because of it! And when she finally thinks she has found her own little piece of heaven, and she wants to share it with Chad, before returning home to the only home she has ever known, that nearly broke me….
Grim realisations, broken minds and souls are left behind, each in their own personal way, left in their own world of hurt, and fear, and sorrow and its truly harrowing stuff! It's intense and addictive, like a car crash, horrific and uncomfortable but you can't pull yourself away from it, it's intoxicating and mesmerising. It's extremely well written, flows perfectly, the scene setting and character descriptions, the storyline, are all beautifully and sensitively done!
A truly brutal, emotional and powerful rollercoaster. Very dark and psychologically disturbing. Fast-paced, gripping, enthralling, shocking, intense, chilling, horrific, yet extremely satisfying! I held my breath several times in anticipation of what was to come next!
If you enjoyed WGGD, I highly recommend this sequel. If you haven't read WGGD yet, get that too and read them both! Two incredible books that will reside in my head alongside each other for a very long while! 🖤
The opening scenes are truly brutal and upsetting, like a huge slap to the face or a kick in the bollocks! And my intrigue and anticipation were immediately activated.
Elizabeth is turning 17, and learning to be human, to be normal. As normal and human as is possible in her particularly unique case. She's currently in a psychiatric hospital, or "Head Hospital" as she calls it, and her mother is on one of her regular, yet awkward, visits. She is being prepared to be moved to a new place, where her needs can be met better, but just who is accompanying her, and will she even make it?
The man known as Rexem to his followers, acting out a normal life with his wife and child, receives an unwanted and frankly terrifying message one evening. He has been found out, and now must pay….
Serenity is understandably still suffering the trauma from before, when she met Elizabeth for the first time, and her son is taking the brunt of it. She's scared, for herself and for her daughter's future, and it's utterly heartbreaking! Watching her struggle with her relationship with her twins, and even her father now, is gut-wrenching!
Chad has met Elizabeth before, and is haunted by her and what happened then. He wants desperately to put things right after inadvertently getting drawn into the dark, disturbing world of his father, and his equally dark and disturbing secrets, after stumbling in on him 'at work' one evening. But….
….THE DADDIES WANT PAYBACK!!
The way Elizabeth's character is portrayed, her thought processes, her naivety of the world, her anger, her fear, and her determination for revenge, makes this all the more real and hits you so much harder because of it! And when she finally thinks she has found her own little piece of heaven, and she wants to share it with Chad, before returning home to the only home she has ever known, that nearly broke me….
Grim realisations, broken minds and souls are left behind, each in their own personal way, left in their own world of hurt, and fear, and sorrow and its truly harrowing stuff! It's intense and addictive, like a car crash, horrific and uncomfortable but you can't pull yourself away from it, it's intoxicating and mesmerising. It's extremely well written, flows perfectly, the scene setting and character descriptions, the storyline, are all beautifully and sensitively done!
A truly brutal, emotional and powerful rollercoaster. Very dark and psychologically disturbing. Fast-paced, gripping, enthralling, shocking, intense, chilling, horrific, yet extremely satisfying! I held my breath several times in anticipation of what was to come next!
If you enjoyed WGGD, I highly recommend this sequel. If you haven't read WGGD yet, get that too and read them both! Two incredible books that will reside in my head alongside each other for a very long while! 🖤
August 18, 2023
Oh boy...what an extremely distressing and heartbreaking sequel to "What Good Girls Do" if you haven't read the first book then I recommend that you do...if not this book won't really make much sense and the characters will not come together as they should🤔...it's not really a stand alone book. It was very well written and pulled me in quite quickly by the throat and strangled me until I was blue in the face many times...the ending broke my heart 💔 as Elizabeth didn't feel comfortable until she was back where it all started 😩Home!!! I feel there is a book #3 in the making???? Jonathan Butcher you are one of the best...Thank You 👏
May 28, 2023
The first one was incredible. This one was even better. A rough ride, but so worth it. Brilliant.
July 6, 2023
That was so fucked up. I am lowkey heartbroken.
I was so excited to see this being released, and boyyy did it exceed my expectations. That was a wild ride. A whole ass fucking dumpster fire. This has to be one of my favourite books ever written.
I was so excited to see this being released, and boyyy did it exceed my expectations. That was a wild ride. A whole ass fucking dumpster fire. This has to be one of my favourite books ever written.
May 31, 2023
Wow just wow!
Thank you so much for giving us a second look into the life of your characters. I honestly was damaged by reading What Good Girls Do. To revisit them all was the Coup De' grace. I cried , I huh HUH HUH'ed and turned each page with fervor. Thank you very much, Mr. BUTCHER. Well done!
Thank you so much for giving us a second look into the life of your characters. I honestly was damaged by reading What Good Girls Do. To revisit them all was the Coup De' grace. I cried , I huh HUH HUH'ed and turned each page with fervor. Thank you very much, Mr. BUTCHER. Well done!
June 27, 2023
Months after Elizabeth escapes from the basement, things begin to look up. She is finally getting some much needed help, but shortly after, things are complicated and nightmares from What Good Girls Do resurface.
Just like in the first book, this was tough to get through in parts because of the subject matter. As the story progressed, I found myself glued to this book. I needed to know if this nightmare was going to continue. I had hope that the tables had turned only to constantly feel like Butcher was going to blindside me at any moment. Talk about tense moments. This book is full of them. Very disturbing, graphic, and gripping. One of the best revenge stories I’ve read this year.
"In a home that eschewed sympathy and affection, I found comfort in hollowness and absence."
Just like in the first book, this was tough to get through in parts because of the subject matter. As the story progressed, I found myself glued to this book. I needed to know if this nightmare was going to continue. I had hope that the tables had turned only to constantly feel like Butcher was going to blindside me at any moment. Talk about tense moments. This book is full of them. Very disturbing, graphic, and gripping. One of the best revenge stories I’ve read this year.
"In a home that eschewed sympathy and affection, I found comfort in hollowness and absence."
November 19, 2023
“To me, the world is nothing but evil, and my own evil just happened to come out ’cause of the circumstances of what I was doing.” - Aileen Wuornos, killer of seven men
Wow, somehow this sequel was even better than the first book in my opinion! There was more carnage, more vengeance, more brutal slayings! It was certainly extreme.
I wonder if there will be a Book 3, if so I’d definitely buy it as well! Everything I’ve read by this author has been well written!
Wow, somehow this sequel was even better than the first book in my opinion! There was more carnage, more vengeance, more brutal slayings! It was certainly extreme.
I wonder if there will be a Book 3, if so I’d definitely buy it as well! Everything I’ve read by this author has been well written!
November 27, 2023
A perfect follow up to What Good Girls Do. A captivating, hard to read page turner. As Elizabeth is being transported to a new hospital, old nightmares from her past have different ideas. The daddies want revenge. This book is brutal and pulls absolutely no punches, yet manages to have some honest, tender moments. Every trigger warning applies from page 1 to the end. A sequel that is every bit as good as the first!
June 6, 2023
I would recommend reading What Good Girls Do before you read this one. This is a story of true disturbing horror, where it seems everyone wants revenge some way or another! So we follow Jonathan’s dark path to see who will make it to the end of the book and what horrors await them on the way.
June 12, 2023
I knew Jonathan Butcher had created something special with What Good Girls Do and he was able to keep that momentum going with this sequel. We finally get to see what happened to both Elizabeth and Serenity after WGGD, and neither are doing too well. When the Bad Daddies come up with a plan to get revenge on the ones that ruined their demented fun, a reunion of those affected that day in Elizabeth's basement bedroom is inevitable. I could feel Elizabeth's hate and rage pulsing off the pages while reading from her perspective, and it was nice to see her evolve into something new. Definitely another 5/5 skull read from the Butcher 🖤🔪
July 11, 2023
I was kept on the edge of my seat by the fast-paced action, the intricate characters, and the unexpected turns. The writing is incisive, captivating, and packs a punch. The plot advances quickly, and the author's attention to detail is excellent. Overall, a very gratifying read that left me eagerly awaiting the next chapter.
May 26, 2023
If you read and thought “What Good Girls Do” was heavy, well buckle up. Butcher goes even further this time. I’m just sitting here trying to process. Damn it’s good!
June 9, 2023
I was very excited for this sequel to What Good Girls Do. The story takes place a few months after the events of the first book. The chapters are in the Pov of different characters. The events that take place in this book are terrifying and horrific. The action starts right away, and I was hooked from the first page. To fully understand the story I would recommend reading What Good Girls Do. The ending was very good.
June 25, 2023
What a psychotic ride this story was! I haven’t read something that has made me need to take breaks in a VERY long time. & I mean this in the best possible way ever. This is easily one of the best extremes horror series I have ever read & I think what makes it so disturbing is how it can 100% be possible. I truly can not recommend this enough if you are looking for something to give you hope & then crush it & stomp it right in front of you. I know I said it in my previous review but this author is such an incredible writer, I think with the genre the writing can be overlooked bc the shock factor involved but in no way is that the case here. The writing itself is so gripping & I can’t praise this series enough. Looking forward to reading more from this author!
November 24, 2023
This is art, an amazing story line, brutal and disturbing details. I read this when it first came out but had to read it a second time because I wanted to do a proper review. This has to be one of my favorite reads of the year.
I need a follow up book as soon as possible
I need a follow up book as soon as possible
March 29, 2024
“A Good Daddy is still a Daddy.”
BRUTAL. First of all, if you have read the first one you should know by now that this book is FULL of triggers. Lots of sexual violence inside the pages, but it’s not gratuitous which is what matters to me when I consider reading a book around that subject matter. this was a realistic, emotional rollercoaster ride. Somehow, it was more horrific than the first book. I really felt the fear, pain, anxiety and despair from some of our POV characters.
It really depicts how trauma affects individuals and how some victims go on to be abusers themselves.
Highly recommend if you enjoy extreme horror and don’t have any triggers
BRUTAL. First of all, if you have read the first one you should know by now that this book is FULL of triggers. Lots of sexual violence inside the pages, but it’s not gratuitous which is what matters to me when I consider reading a book around that subject matter. this was a realistic, emotional rollercoaster ride. Somehow, it was more horrific than the first book. I really felt the fear, pain, anxiety and despair from some of our POV characters.
It really depicts how trauma affects individuals and how some victims go on to be abusers themselves.
Highly recommend if you enjoy extreme horror and don’t have any triggers
May 25, 2023
“I know what bad men do, and I think I’ve realized what good men do too. They help kill the bad men.”
🌟4/5 🌟 First of all, thank you so much to Jonathan Butcher for sending me an ARC of this to review. The first book, What Good Girls Do, left me wanting more as I had so many questions and directions that I wanted to be explored further. It is not often that books make me feel physically sick but almost each chapter I had to take a break to process how dark this book really is. Beyond the graphic and brutal scenes, this book had an emotional complexity in each pov that I had been hoping for - especially Elizabeth’s ever changing perspective on “Good” and “Bad”. I also applaud the author for having the character’s make decisions that felt 100% true to character (there were a lot of directions for the ending to go but without spoiling anything, this one felt the most honest).
This full length novel sequel was everything I wanted from the first book - it was more than sheer shock value, it took the next step into being an emotional piece of extreme horror.
🌟4/5 🌟 First of all, thank you so much to Jonathan Butcher for sending me an ARC of this to review. The first book, What Good Girls Do, left me wanting more as I had so many questions and directions that I wanted to be explored further. It is not often that books make me feel physically sick but almost each chapter I had to take a break to process how dark this book really is. Beyond the graphic and brutal scenes, this book had an emotional complexity in each pov that I had been hoping for - especially Elizabeth’s ever changing perspective on “Good” and “Bad”. I also applaud the author for having the character’s make decisions that felt 100% true to character (there were a lot of directions for the ending to go but without spoiling anything, this one felt the most honest).
This full length novel sequel was everything I wanted from the first book - it was more than sheer shock value, it took the next step into being an emotional piece of extreme horror.
May 25, 2023
This action-packed sequel was the closure i needed from the first book. It had me squirming in my seat for delightful and despicable reasons. Revenge has never been so satisfying!
June 14, 2023
I never thought any book would ever make me feel as disturbed and disgusted as What Good Girls Do did. But What Good Men Do made me feel the same way, and then some. Never before have I read something that made me feel like I might throw up, simply because I was so uneasy. Not only does Jonathan Butcher remind us that monsters like this exist, he PUTS US INSIDE THEIR HEADS. That, to me, was the most horrifying part of this book. I'm not sure I can ever forgive Jonathan Butcher. I feel like I'm ruined for other books now. Nothing will ever measure up to this.
July 14, 2025
one word: BRUTAL (in the best way). I didn’t think I could love the second book more than the first BUT, wow, I did.
I’m officially a JB fangirl. If you like dark, unhinged, disturbing reads, plzzzzz give these a go. They are not, however, for the faint-hearted.
I’m officially a JB fangirl. If you like dark, unhinged, disturbing reads, plzzzzz give these a go. They are not, however, for the faint-hearted.
July 3, 2023
It was perfect it was all I needed
August 30, 2023
OMG!!!
Jonathan Butcher, you did it again! Whew.... What a sequel. I seriously have no words to describe this horror. 5 Stars, easily. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
Jonathan Butcher, you did it again! Whew.... What a sequel. I seriously have no words to describe this horror. 5 Stars, easily. 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟 🌟
July 2, 2023
Pretty entertaining!
July 1, 2024
Truly enjoyed this book. So.. so.. realistic. Brutal, engrossing, devastating, horrifying, haunting, realistic, heartbreaking, maddening, appalling, Unputdownable… I could go on and on. I felt completely immersed in the story. Like a mental journey through a horrific story; I could picture everything, feel the fear of and fear for each pov… as if I were living this story out in my brain, through them… I could easily empathize with or aggressively loathe each character accordingly. Such a beautifully broken messterpiece—a whole mess of feelings in one masterpiece.
August 20, 2024
Following on the book one and it's just as horrific as the first (maybe more actually) the end broke my heart, poor Elizabeth! Another fantastic read
October 1, 2023
As good as, if not better than What Good Girls Do.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 70 reviews