New York Times bestselling author Wendy Corsi Staub is the master of psychological suspense. In her latest thriller, an investigative genealogist digs for her own biological roots, well aware that some secrets are better left buried.
Investigative genealogist Amelia Crenshaw solves clients’ genetic puzzles, while hers remains shrouded in mystery. Now she suspects that the key to her birth … suspects that the key to her birth parents’ identities lies in an unexpected connection to a stranger who’s hired her to find his long-lost daughter. Bracing herself for a shocking truth, Amelia is blindsided by a deadly one.
NYPD Detective Stockton Barnes had walked away from his only child for her own good. He’ll lay down his life to protect her if he and Amelia can find out where—and who—she is. But someone has beat them to it, and she has a lethal score to settle.
Amelia and Stockton’s entangled roots have unearthed a femme fatale whose family tree holds one of history’s most notorious killers. And the apple never falls far…
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Too many characters introduced early on without any redeeming qualities. It jerked from one idea to another, one character to another, no continuity, no empathy built for any character. Could not finish. It was very poor.
THE BUTCHER’S DAUGHTER by Wendy Corsi Staub is the final book in the Foundlings Trilogy. I picked it up because it sounded interesting, not realizing it was part of the series. I enjoyed the storyline and the characters, and it can be read as a stand-alone, but I did feel that I would have had a better background and understanding of how the characters got to where they were if I had read the first two books.
Amelia was an interesting character, and her career as an investigative genealogist sounds interesting and it’s a big reason this one stood out to me. She is trying to find out where she came from and help others find where they came from, specializing in foundlings, children that were abandoned or found. Detective Stockton Barnes has enlisted her help in finding his daughter, and it gets more interesting when all of the investigations seem to be connected. How are they connected? Will they get the answers they are looking for? Will they all live to find the answers?
I was engrossed in the novel and was invested in finding the answers to these questions and more. I enjoyed the alternating timeline and learning about the history that brought them all to the present circumstances. I don’t want to accidentally spoil anything, so I won’t get into too much detail.
Thank you to the publisher for an advanced copy of this novel. All opinions are my own and freely given.
#sceneofthecrime #williammorrow #harpercollins #thebutchersdaughter #foundlings #wendycorsistaub
If you like mysteries then you need to read Wendy Corsi Staub!
I did not read the first two books in the series. I actually did not realize it was a trilogy until I was finished.
I had a bit of difficulty in getting into this book. I started it a couple of times before I read enough that it was difficult to put down. Perhaps if I had known there were two previous books, beginning this one would have been smoother. Once I got into the story, though, I was hooked. There are a lot of characters in this book. The timeline jumps around a lot too. Those both contributed to my difficulty with the beginning. I would make the suggestion, to the author, perhaps a character list with time line and places might be of value to readers. It would have helped me early on.
Once I got into the story and figured out connections, times and places, it was a truly interesting story. It dealt with social issues from the 60’s and 70’s that we still, to an extent, are dealing with today. I was a child back then but I have a lot of memories of marches and violence. I enjoyed the various storylines and how they connected. Some of the people I connected with in various ways. I do think, if you haven’t read the previous books, you may want to read the first one. I think this might be the best introduction to the characters. In hindsight I wish I had read it. I think it might have helped with Gypsy and Oran’s storyline the most. This might have made the beginning of this book more understandable for me.
I would recommend this book to my friends but I would add that book 1 should also be read. I would suggest a notebook to keep track of characters and time zones.
Thank you to William Morrow, Scene of the Crime, the author and NetGalley for providing a review copy. I voluntarily reviewed this book.
The Butcher’s Daughter is the 3rd book in The Foundlings Trigoly. I hadn’t read the previous books in the series, and normally that doesn’t really keep me from falling in love with a book and author. For me this book was a little harder to fall in love with, at times I enjoyed the book and at other times I really didn’t enjoy it at all. I really don’t enjoy books that bounce back and forward between difference decades. I normally suggest others read a book and make their own opinion about the book, because not everyone enjoys the same type of books.
I received a ARC from NetGalley and the publisher William Morrow-HarperCollins and am under no obligation to leave a favorable review, all opinions expressed here are my own.
I have mixed feelings about this book. It was gory at times, and hard to imagine a woman capable of such evil. At other times, the book was both heartbreaking and heartwarming.
The book is told in alternate timelines, 1968 and 2017. In 1968, with racial tensions high, Melody and Cyril have a forbidden relationship in the Deep South. Gypsy, the butcher’s daughter, begins to suspect her father of unspeakable crimes. In 2017, Amelia is helping foundlings (those abandoned in childhood) Fund their birth families. Amelia is working with NYPD detective, Stockton Barnes, who himself has a daughter who was abandoned and lost to him.
This is Book 3 in the foundling series, and I think I would have enjoyed the book more had I read the earlier books. I was not aware of this before I began reading. I did like the way the book wrapped up, but I thought it was difficult keeping some of the characters straight.
Thanks to The Scene of the Crime/William Morrow/Harper Collins/NetGalley for the ARC.
#TheButchersDaughter #WendyCorsiStaub #WilliamMorrow #HarperCollins #NetGalley