The Butcher Legacy

Dr. Wren Muller #3

by Alaina Urquhart

The thrilling third novel in the #1 New York Times bestselling Dr. Wren Muller series from Alaina Urquhart

Two months after the life-altering events of The Butcher Game, Wren is back in the place she knows the New Orleans morgue. She buries herself in routine, surrounded by both familiar and new company, John Leroux and Maya Rodriguez, trying to convince herself that normalcy can be rebuilt. But in the weeks leading up to Halloween, shadows begin to move again as young girls vanish in both cities where Jeremy Rose once ran rampant.

Hundreds of miles away, the pastor to a close-knit congregation in Massachusetts Philip Trudeau is back behind the pulpit. But beneath his practiced composure lies something sinister—gruesome secrets and a hunger that did not die when Jeremy was caged.

With Jeremy behind bars and Philip suddenly nowhere to be found, Wren and Leroux must mobilize, and this twisted triangle clashes at every turn. The Butcher Legacy is a relentless, page-turning descent into the dark.

Genres: Thriller, Mystery, Horror, Mystery Thriller, Thriller Suspense, Fiction, Audiobook

Audible Audio

Published August 11, 2026

About the author

Alaina Urquhart is the science-loving co-host of the chart-topping show Morbid: A True Crime Podcast. As an autopsy technician by trade, she offers a unique perspective from deep inside the morgue. Alaina hails from Boston, where she lives with her wonderful husband, John, their three amazing daughters, and a ghost puggle named Bailey. She is about 75 percent coffee, and truly believes she and Agent Clarice Starling could be friends.

Before writing her first psychological horror novel, she received degrees in criminal justice, psychology, and biology. When she isn't hosting Morbid, she hosts the Parcast original show Crime Countdown, and a horror movie podcast called Scream! Her days are usually spent either recording or eviscerating. The way she sees it, when she hangs up her microphone for the day, it's time to let the dead speak.

Reviews

[Kim ~ It’s All About the Thrill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! 🤯 What a ending!!! Review to come

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would like to thank edelweiss and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest review. I have read the first two books in the series so I was excited to dive into this one. It starts not long after the second ends. What are Jeremy and Philip up to now? The book kept my interest but it was told from multiple perspectives which is fine but I felt it should’ve been told more from Wren’s perspective overall. Still, overall a fast paced read that kept my interest.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was meh. I don’t know what else to say about it. It was rather predictable.

[Cora Heidenreich · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like this book/series so badly because I love Morbid and want to support Alaina, but JEEZ.
To introduce someone brand new into the story within the first chapter, never mention him again until the "big reveal" / plot twist at the end was such a bummer for me. As soon as they introduced him I said oh, she just happened to meet this guy "2 months ago" which is also right when the last book ended, and there's only one big thing we know about him...... it just felt like something that should have been fleshed out before book 1 got published. I think it needed A LOT more editing. I don't generally review books but this one was THAT bad.

[Haider · Rating 4 out of 5]

💬 Review: Another great book in the series! I devoured this in just a few hours and seriously couldn’t put it down. I do wish Wren had more chapters, but I get why she didn’t based on the direction of the story. This was definitely worth the wait! I took one star away simply because it didn’t quite hit the same as the first book, which I absolutely loved, but this was still such a great read. I’m really enjoying this series and can’t wait to see what comes next!

✔️ Would I recommend it? Yes

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

The final installment of the butcher series hits a high note. Can’t wait to see how Dr. Muller and crew continue on in the world.

Urquhart masters the ability to write horror and shows her ability to write intense emotions all in one shot. Grief is often a topic that is so difficult to understand and portray with accuracy and she accomplishes this and then some.

[Yinka Boudreaux · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just when you think it’s all over… 😳

[Brandi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was one of my list anticipated reads of this year and my most treasured ARC (thank you again Zando)and it was everything I hoped and dreamed it would be!
Vibes review incoming because this is the 3rd in the series!
This book starts two months after the wild events in the second installment, The Butcher Game and that ending has lived rent free in my head since I finished the book in January of 2025!
This series follows Dr. Wren Muller, a forensic pathologist in New Orleans as she weaves through a cat and mouse game with a crazy serial killer known as the Bayou Butcher and everything escalates from there! She works closely with Detective John Leroux, and it’s really been a joy following them through this wild journey they have been on and having a few laughs at their banter. They’re not only coworkers but you can tell throughout the series they truly have a kinship and it radiates off the pages.
Officer Maya Rodriguez was also a welcome addition to the cast of characters in this installment!
What I loved about this book is I truly see the author’s growth as a writer from her debut to this third installment! It’s like I’m cheering her on as I’m totally encapsulated in the story and I am here for it.. literally every book is better than the last at this point! And I have loved all three of them!
If you want to curl up with a grim, atmospheric, and this time emotional journey of a thriller I highly recommend this one! But read the first two of course or none of this will make a lick of sense!!🤣 But Alaina’s writing is so easily bingeable you can plow right through them! And the twist that comes at the latter part of this book 🤯🤯🤯🤯
I’m just gonna be heavy on this emojis because I literally hollered whaaaaat out load when stuff was clicking together and it was a legit gobsmack of a moment because I’m a pretty good guesser but this was way out in left fiend and I have no clue what I was in store for!
This is going to be for the readers that love true crime vibes like CSI and Criminal minds and of course The Morbid podcast, which our author co hosts because duh she’s kind of a big deal!! ♥️ 😏
All I have to say ending this review is I wanna be Wren when I grow up. Because the strength this woman has in this book and the situations she is out in are incomprehensible to me. And I felt like I got some closure in this book but then the epilogue whacked me over the head.. but I should not expect anything less and I cannot wait to see what else we have in store from this series!!Bravo to the author because yet another banger has been released into the world!

[Jessa Layne • readwithjessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to PRHaudio for the gifted copy!

Two months after the life altering events of The Butcher Game, Wren is back at the New Orleans morgue, trying to rebuild some sense of normalcy while working alongside familiar and new faces. But as Halloween approaches, young girls begin disappearing in the same cities where Jeremy Rose once ran rampant, making it clear that something sinister is happening again. Meanwhile, Philip Trudeau, a pastor in Massachusetts, is hiding gruesome secrets of his own, and with Jeremy behind bars and Philip suddenly missing, Wren and Leroux have to figure out what is really going on. The Butcher Legacy quickly turns into a twisted and relentless fight that keeps the action moving.

This was such a great follow up to the previous books in this series. I loved the direction the story took. I really enjoyed the multiple POVs and having different narrators for the audiobook, which made it even more engaging. There was so much action and never really a slow moment, so I definitely did not want to put this one down! And... based on that ending, it definitely feels like we might be getting a book four, which I am very excited about!

[Deana P Clay · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series but I do need to say this one lacked the high stakes feeling of the first two books. I can’t put my finger on it exactly but when I finished the book, I was just left with an incomplete feeling.

Almost as if the whole book could have been a novella or an addendum to book 2.

There is room for a continuation of the series with the ending the way it is. I’d like to see more depth and plot in the next book for sure.

[Amber · Rating 4 out of 5]

I felt like, out of the 3 books so far, this one was the most predictable. Writing was still amazing and definitely had my interest, just no major twists that completely threw me.

[Acey Reeves · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5- This was pretty anticlimactic but kept me engaged.

[Haley White · Rating 5 out of 5]

Spectacular give me fourteen more of them right now.

[NikiIvy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this series!! The third book in the series had many twists and turns. Loved the third installment!

[Amanda Davidowitz · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a finish! Holy cow! Binged it in a day. Read this series!

[Avery Fleming · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow this was so good. Kept me very hooked until the end

[Christina Schall]

Book 3, releasing August 2026

[Bethany Mock (bethanyburiedinbooks) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I need everyone to understand something before we get into this review: I am OBSESSED with the Dr. Wren Muller series…and it genuinely scares the absolute bejeebies out of me. 😂🫣 The Butcher Legacy by Alaina Urquhart is the third book in the Dr. Wren Muller series and of course I preordered this bad boy because apparently I enjoy being terrified. 😂 Don’t ask what’ wrong with me. I cannot explain it.

This series follows Dr. Wren Muller as she becomes entangled in deeply disturbing and personal criminal investigations. The Butcher Legacy continues in that dark and gritty world. I’m being intentionally vague because I really think this is a series you should experience for yourself, especially if you’re going in fresh.

And let me tell ya...Alaina knows how to make this stuff feel REAL. The details are sooo detailed. The emotion is intense (and heartbreaking). The darkness is pretty darn dark. The sheer grittiness of it all is just what I love. There are moments where I genuinely felt like I was watching an actual police investigation unfold rather than reading a book. The descriptions are SO vivid that my brain just went ahead and made the whole thing a movie. 😂 In then there’s the fact that there is a certain someone behind bars who is STILL managing to taunt and traumatize Wren. 😤 LIKE. SIR. CAN YOU NOT?! You’re making ME mad. LOL. It makes my blood absolutely boil…while simultaneously making me want to run straight to my dad and grab his hand.

This is one of those series that genuinely frightens me because of how believable it feels. It’s dark, disturbing and I just cannot look away. I listened to this one on audio and it was wonderful. The voices really helped set the tone and atmosphere. I was listening while walking through the woods which I 100% do not recommend. It was an absolutely terrible decision. 😂🌲

Anywho, I love this series. It’s the type that just gets under my skin. I will absolutely continue to sign up for this self induced trauma every time. Please please keep writing Dr. Wren. I need more.

[Kate Brasington · Rating 4 out of 5]

🩸🩸ARC REVIEW🩸🩸

Let me start this review by saying I for some reason thought this was a trilogy but with the way this book ended I’m starting to think that we haven’t seen the end of Jeremy Rose.
If you’ve read my reviews for the other books you are well aware that this series has made me gag and have a visceral reaction in a way that no other book has done before which is impressive. I had this odd sense of security when I got 100 pages in and hadn’t gagged yet and then was pleasantly surprised I was wrong and this would not be the first book in the series to make me not nauseous. Don’t make the mistakes I have made and snack while reading these books.
I loved discovering how deep Jeremy and Philip’s story is and how they’re more related than assumed.
Wren definitely is broken in this book after the second, understandably but that doesn’t keep her from being an absolute bad ass. I was also really pleased that we get a POV from John too! This book has multiple POVs and I feel like it’s a lot more involved than the other two but in the best way.
All together this reading experience has been fantastic and Alaina has found herself a fan for life because I cannot see myself not wanting to pick up one of her books!
Thank you to Zando for sending me this book in exchange for my honest review. The Butcher Legacy is releasing August 11th and I think this series as a whole is going to be perfect to read this fall!

[Nathalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This installment in the Dr. Wren Muller series is my favorite yet! The mystery finally gains some closure, while still leaving room for more from the villain. I loved the character growth in this book, with nods to the first installment to show the changes over time. The clues were carefully placed to allow for lots of theories to form, ultimately having such a good payoff. Can’t wait to see what Alaina Urqhart writes next!

If Bones is your comfort show, this series has to be on your TBR!

Thank you Zando for gifting me with a physical ARC, all thoughts expressed are my own.

[Brittany Lambert · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was so excited to read this because the first book was so good but honestly I was disappointed just like I was with the The Butcher’s Game. The big part that took me straight out of the book was Phillip seeing the demonic deer thing. The supernatural element just threw me off. The Jeremy storyline is also starting to feel like the plot of “The Following” with Kevin Bacon. I loved Leroux getting to kill Phillip, because for a second I thought he was going to kill Andrew and if this book ended like the last one I was going to flip out.

[Liz D · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was one of my most anticipated releases of the year and it proved to be a bit of a let down. While there were a few big reveals, the storyline around them felt rushed and incomplete. It just fell flat, in my opinion, compared to the first two books. Will I continue to read anything AU releases? Almost certainly. Her writing chops are growing stronger with each release, even if this one wasn’t a hit for me personally.

[Alysha · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5 ⭐️

This was a great addition to the Dr. Wren Muller series!

Wren is still recovering from the murder of her poor husband Richard. She’s back in the morgue and helping Detective Leroux solve murders. Unfortunately, to track down Phillip, who may have been involved in Richard’s death, Wren must meet with serial killer Jeremy Rose in prison to get him to talk. This might be one of the most difficult and harrowing tasks Wren has to face!

[Brandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am constantly in awe of this Author! Alaina, Babes you never disappoint!
This book was the perfect ending. I was in tears for Wren and John. Fuck Jeremy Rose, thank you for creating a true piece of shit! I loved all the small nuances that show who you are and what you would do if you were Wren! You had me scared as fuck with that night run!! Fresh air is for dead people!! Who leaked Wrens info?? Gah! I loved this one as much as the last! Please never stop writing! You continue to amaze me!

[Taylor Breard · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 but rounding. Once again, I read this out of my loyalty to Alaina and Morbid, but, once again, it was a bit underwhelming for me. This was definitely the most well-written one of the three (not as many awkward phrases or purple prose—but man does she love the words “ancient,” “poison,” and “inorganic”), so it was more enjoyable in that way. Predictable in some ways, but the reveal was pretty fun, if not a little rushed.

[Brooke · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really really wanted to enjoy this. I tried hard. It was just not good. I felt like the constant elementary descriptions of places and items and even feelings were too much. I didn’t care about any of plot “twists” once I got to them. They were just “blah”. And I definitely hate that the ending was what it was. Please…no more Jeremy Rose.

[Gabbi Bentley · Rating 2 out of 5]

So disappointing after the first two books, the whole Phillip Trudeau storyline just fizzled out and made Richard's death in book 2 feel lazy and unnecessary. Wish this book was better but found everything felt rushed and predictable. Also the whole eyes wide shut vibe the ending was trying to convey felt very cliche.

[Courtney Serpa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book revealed and wrapped up so much, while also leaving things open enough for more in the future which I'm excited about! I'm always going to be a sucker for multiple POVs and I enjoyed getting into the different characters heads to know what they were thinking. I feel like the author did a great job portraying the mind of a religious misogynist because it gave me chills and made me so angry. This book is pretty brutal in terms of crime scenes and I think it's awesy how the author uses her firsthand knowledge when it comes to the FMCs career. I look forward to hopefully getting more of Dr. Wren Muller in the future! Thank you so much Zando and Alaina for the advanced copy.

[Kristen S · Rating 4 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars

I was really looking forward to this and I feel like this is dragging on.

This storyline could have been mingled in with book 2. This felt like the first two books on repeat with a few sprinkles of new developments.

[Copper · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was kinda disappointing. Definitely meh. Which is unfortunate. I really enjoyed the first 2. Looking forward to see what Alaina does next.