The Butcher

May 26, 2014
Hillier (Freak) squanders an intriguing premise with poor plotting and lackluster characterization in this disappointing psychological thriller. In 1985, Capt. Edward Shank of the Seattle PD made his reputation by apprehending the Beacon Hill Butcher, a serial killer who terrorized the Pacific Northwest. In the present, soon after Shank’s grandson, Matthew, discovers highly unsettling evidence regarding the case among the retired police chief’s papers, the murders resume. Hillier trots out a series of disturbing crimes—rape, dismemberment, incest, sodomy—but her writing fails to get any horror across. The killer, meanwhile, remains a concept rather than a well-rounded character. Sluggish pacing undermines the suspense, while much of the novel focuses on an entirely predictable love triangle and a subplot about Matthew’s reality TV ambitions. Although the high body count and the gore may attract some readers, the story fails to deliver on its initial promise. Agent: Victoria Skurnick, Levine Greenberg.

May 1, 2014
Hillier's prose is unadorned, but, as she ably proved in her debut (Creep, 2011), she has a fine knack for creating hideous killers. This time she turns the formula whodunit on its head. The prologue sets the scene: in 1985, the Beacon Hill Butcher, whose signature was to remove the left hand of his young female victims, was shot to death by police under the command of Captain Edward Shank. The incident made Shank a hero and propelled him into a lengthy term as chief of police. Skip ahead 30 years. Shank, now a dapper, alert 80, still lauded for his role in the Butcher case, is about to move to a retirement home. He's anxious, yet almost gleeful, about starting a new chapter in his lifewhich he begins by killing his wife. For years Chief has fooled everyone, including his son, Matt, and Matt's girlfriend, Sam, who is convinced there's more to know about the Butcher. As it turns out, the coldly rational, sadistic Shank has plans for his new life that are apt to prove Sam right. A tense, suspenseful, thoroughly creepy thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2014
Thirty years ago, Seattle Police Capt. Edward Shank put down a serial killer dubbed the Butcher. Edward's bullet ended Rufus Wedge's sorry life. But did the killings end?Hillier's (Freak, 2012, etc.) third thriller fairly shudders with tension. Edward is ready to retire to an assisted living facility and give his grandson, Matt, the family home, a beloved Victorian in a posh neighborhood. An up-and-coming chef, Matt has parlayed his successful food-truck business into Adobo, the hottest restaurant in town, and the reality show networks are calling. The only trouble is that his girlfriend, Samantha, can't understand why Matt hasn't invited her to move in, too. After all, they've been together for three years. Pressuring Matt, though, isn't getting her anywhere, and even their friend-well, really Sam's friend-Jason is a little mystified. Certainly, Matt's history of anger management trouble gives Jason pause. While Matt renovates the house and works late, Sam turns back to researching her latest true-crime book. This time, she has a personal investment. She's convinced that her mother was killed by the notorious Butcher. Bored at the retirement home, Edward has become an invaluable sounding board. Like the Butcher's other victims, Sam's mother was raped, strangled and left in a shallow grave. Unfortunately for Sam's theory, her mother was killed two years after Rufus Wedge's death. Meanwhile, Matt's contractor has unearthed a crate filled with gruesome artifacts. As Matt investigates the crate's contents and Sam questions a mysterious informant, their romance unravels and the body count begins to rise. Hillier sends her reader into a labyrinth of creepy twists and grotesque turns. There's no escape from the brutal truths exposed.The secrets of the past refuse to keep quiet in this disquieting, taut thriller.

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