The Butcher’s Hook – Janet Ellis
I’ve actually recommended this book before, by accident. When I was in the bookshop (yes, a real bricks and mortar shop filled with books – can’t beat ’em) and I saw it, I said, “Oh look at this! It looks like a bodice ripper but with murders” and the sixty-something-year-old man beside me picked a copy up too, and said, “I’ll have one of those.”
And I am very happy to report that it was well worth it. Very entertaining, darkly comic and completely gripping. Just a wonderful tale, told with wit. After I had got over the fact that our romantic hero is called ‘Fub’, of course.
Anne, our heroine, is a young lady who knows what she wants, surrounded by people in her way. She’s a wonderfully engaging narrator, and you’re (or I was) completely on her side as she goes from wilful to psychotic (but in a good way).
You’ll love this book if:
– You like interesting characters
– You want to read a bodice ripper, but with murders
You might want to avoid this book if:
– You want to avoid stories that contain sexual abuse
Longlisted for the Desmond Elliott Prize 2016.
Love Lavinia xoxo
This review also appears on our sister site, Chapter and Verse Reviews.