The Butcher's Wife

by R.J. Law

Robin Patterson has been following her husband — and she’s terrified of what she might find.

She had a perfect life ... until he came home with blood on his shirt.

Just a deer, he said ... an unlucky encounter on a dark, barren road. But then, just one week later, it happened again ...

Blood on his shirt, scratch marks on his back, and a whole lot of excuses that just don’t add up.

Or at least that’s what she claims.

Jimmy Hunter isn’t so sure. A private investigator with a dark, disturbing past of his own, he’s perfectly suited to see through lies.

Only this time, it’s not so easy.

The news says there’s a violent killer on the loose and the local river has a bounty of human remains to prove it.

Is Robin’s husband responsible? Is she telling the truth? Or are they both part of something bigger and more sinister than Jimmy could ever imagine?

Genres: Thriller, Horror, Mystery Thriller, Fiction, Mystery, Crime, Booktok

343 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 1, 2022

Reviews

[Kate Thompson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think I need to stop trusting tiktok for book recommendations. Started off really interesting and had a lot of potential but just died off and the ending was just so boring.

[Nicole Baertschiger · Rating 2 out of 5]

Saw this book on a booktok thriller page.. big dud.
Story line started out good & I anticipated a big “wow” & was left with… nothing. 👎🏼👎🏼

[Tessa · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the hell. This was so bad 🫠 After 526336 mentions of teeth flashing or snarling (THERE’S CANNIBALISM, I GET IT) I’m so annoyed I didn’t just give up and move to something better. Also I guess it was my bad but I had no idea this was part of a series so the “Claire Foley” reveal just sent me spiraling trying to figure out who the fuck she was supposed to be and why I should care. The synopsis of this was wildly misleading and I haven’t disliked a book this much in a while. Sooo many things were left unexplained and other than Jimmy being a somewhat okay character I truly didn’t like a single thing about this book.

[Kaitlin Corbett · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the fuck have I just wasted my time reading? I seen people on TikTok saying this was one of the best books ever with the most jaw dropping twists? TWIST WHERE? was the twist in the room?

It’s very rare I hate a book so much it makes me angry but I am absolutely livid I read this! There was too many characters without names so I couldn’t keep up with everyone, then there was just random people coming in and making a mess? I have so many unanswered questions?! God this was such a waste of my precious free time

[Suzy Hart · Rating 2 out of 5]

How many more recommendations from a teenager on TikTok saying ‘this is the best book I EVER READ’ am I going to take??

[aneira · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading this reminded me to never trust ‘BookTok’

[Katie W · Rating 1 out of 5]

literally nothing happens. you discover a few things then they never get explored. the title is barely even touched on.

[hannah.rose.reads · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is so bad it’s comical. Wanted a quick thriller and this one lacked everything. Bizarre, juvenile, and repetitive. Anywho, since I read the stupid book I might as well tell you about it.

Jimmy Hunter is a former police officer. Currently a private investigator who works both the underworld and the outer world. Rarely is there a plot where they coexist only and do not commingle. Turns out in this one the same bunch controls both.

Robin Patterson has it all. The husband, the money, the clothes, the swanky clubs, the right friends. The truth is she’s in over her head with an inherited lifestyle she wants to escape from. No one escapes, they get butchered. Jimmy is hired to investigate her husband after a string of body parts show up in the waterways and he comes home with blood on his clothes. She plays dumb, knowing he is the butcher and responsible for said body parts. Jimmy risks his life and gives up his resources of a new life to help give her a fresh start.

Ok I made that sound better than it really is. If you read it you’ll be disappointed. You’ll fly through the pages wondering when the twist happens. IT NEVER HAPPENS. The book just ends ;)

[Mia Sidoti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Needed a palette cleanser and this was weird and gross and a bit silly/dumb. Lost the plot a few times but sometimes you need a book that you can absorb in a few hours and be done with it.

[Jess · Rating 1 out of 5]

As a wise animated bunny rabbit named Thumper once said - “If you can’t say something nice, don’t say nothin’ at all.”

Therefore I shall not be writing a review for this book, all I will say is one star was overly generous, thankyou and good night x

[Tish Clunie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I need to stop trusting TikTok recommendations

[Lacey Morss · Rating 1 out of 5]

What the hell was the point? Everything was predictable. There was no thrill. There was no ending. There were no answers. No twists. No turns. You are given random ass characters placed in random ass situations with no explanations. What with the guild? How did it start? Why would anyone want to willingly be a part of it? If it’s so dangerous why would they bring a random ass person to a party and the cry about the consequences later? Then out of no where more mysterious people show up who are more mysterious than the other people but you never learn who they are just that at the moment they seem like less bad guys than the bad guys. No explanation of who or why. The ending what a joke. It’s like the author got tired of writing and was like okay we are done here let’s wrap this one up. I can’t believe I wasted hours (maybe 4-5) reading this.

[Neapolitan670 📚🖤 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is something afoot? Did she have a hand in it? (IYKYK) 3.5 ⭐️

Jimmy Hunter has done many jobs in his life, now in his 50’s his work consists of money collecting and part time PI. This leads him into the world of criminals, The Guild and all that it encompasses. A job for an old friend leads him to meet Robin, who at first impression leaves him wondering about the woman behind the facade. His investigating takes him into the direct path of The Guild where it becomes apparent they are a nefarious selection of elites who have a penchant for humans in one way or another.

“𝒯𝑒𝓁𝓁 𝓂𝑒 𝒥𝒾𝓂𝓂𝓎 𝓌𝒽𝒶𝓉 𝒹𝑜 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓀𝓃𝑜𝓌 𝒶𝒷𝑜𝓊𝓉 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝓉𝒽𝓊𝓂𝒷𝓈𝒸𝓇𝑒𝓌?”

Finished this in one sitting, to start with it seemed to jump quite a lot from one POV to another but soon settled into an intriguing story of human trafficking, m^*rders, deceit, betrayals and his meeting with Claire Foley. I quite enjoyed this storyline, the different aspects of his work, a delve into his past and his ability to seek the truth. It did remind me a little of other crime thrillers.

[Ana Perez · Rating 1 out of 5]

Se siente como un episodio de detectives que alguien está viendo en la tele, es mala producción y mal diálogo pero lo sigues viendo por los cliffhangers. El personaje principal es un hombre blanco y "viejo" y se nota por la forma en la que describe a las personas, en especial a las mujeres. El otro personaje con relevancia es la mujer que tiene 0 personalidad pero está ahí para que pueda existir la historia.

[Megan Barker · Rating 1 out of 5]

I just about couldn’t finish. Who was the editor? Can’t have had one. The first time the author used wreaking I was confused. The third time, I finally figured out they meant reeking. I no longer trust book tok. I expected cannibalism which wasn’t a deal breaker. Just very poorly written.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Synopsis? Misleading

Writing? After 100 "flashing teeth" and "hisses", I can conclude the writing is poor.

Plot? Boring. Tried to be shocking w the cannibalism but failed miserably at grasping my attention

Rating? Would rate it 1.5 cuz 1 seems mean but I am being soooo generous w a 2.

[Louise Hutchings · Rating 1 out of 5]

I didn’t even bother finishing this, I was so incredibly bored. I’ve never left a book 80% read but couldn’t put myself through the torture of another page of predictable, uninteresting writing.

[Julia · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 star is way too many for this book.

[Alecia]

TikTok has bamboozled me again and with the same author too. SMH that fact that I didn’t learn my lesson before is beyond me. I don’t even know how I got 43%in but I’m dnf’ing this.

[Nikki Evans · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hate hate haaaaaaated this book. I’m so annoyed that I sat through pages of unnecessarily graphic descriptions and had to read about dogs being abused, only for absolutely nothing to come of it in the end. TikTok convinced me to pick this up, and I seriously wish it hadn’t. Save yourself the time and skip. 🚫

[Noemi · Rating 3 out of 5]

too much going on

It’s definitely personal preference. I picked this book based on so many positive reviews, but to be honest it just wasn’t it for me. It felt like there’s way too much going on and I couldn’t get into the storyline enough for it to really pull me in. There’s some disturbing moments here and there but nothing that was jaw dropping.

[Amy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Not an ounce of logic to be found

[Dianna]

No.

[Meg Owens · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted this to be great. It was not. And now I have trust issues with Booktok.

[Mya Dsouza · Rating 3 out of 5]

Excellent pacing and writing. The plot felt a little too predictable at one point, but that’s just me. And I’m in a mood so probably my fault! But I liked the experience!🥹

[Raili · Rating 2 out of 5]

Every. Single. Time. Why, booktok?? WHY?? This book was the meh'iest meh there ever was.

[Andrea McClain · Rating 1 out of 5]

One star is one too many for this turd of a book.

[Anna May x · Rating 2 out of 5]

The last time I listen to TikTok for thriller recs😂 this genuinely had so much potential with the plot but the chapters were so random and disjointed it was literally not making sense! Towards the end is just seemed pointless and boring I had lost complete interest.

[Desiree Eagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the story but not a big fan of the way it was written

[Jennifer Wright · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's very rare that I dislike a book so much that it makes me angry, but here we are. I saw reviews about how amazing this book is with the best plot twist. Plot twist where?! Don't waste your time.