The Butcher’s Daughter is a densely packed story with fascinating characters which takes place over two separate but interwoven timelines. From New York City neighbourhoods to tiny islands off the Florida/Georgia coastline, this incredible tale brings together lost generations with danger never far behind. The pursuers are pursued as they try to understand where some characters came from, and where other characters are going.
This is actually the third in Staub’s “Foundling Series” with Amelia Crenshaw, an investigative genealogist, and her NYPD Detective friend who specialises in missing persons cases, Stockton Barnes. But even as the third in a series, this is absolutely readable as a standalone thriller. Since there are so many characters involved, it does take a little extra time in the beginning to understand who is who, but that time investment is worth it tenfold as the action quickly kicks in to high gear.
Amelia has learned that the parents she has always known are not her biological parents, but she has gotten conflicting answers, depending on who she asks, about where her roots truly are. She has finally decided to put the investigative skills she has used for so many others to work for herself. She realises that she may not get answers that she wants to hear but has decided knowing the truth is worth the risk.
Stockton walked away from his only child when she was born (the product of a one-night stand) and the regret from that decision has haunted him for many years. He has decided that he and Amelia together may be able to find his child and he is willing to do anything to make that happen.
While Amelia and Stockton are coming to their on respective decisions in present day, the reader is thrown into the turbulent 1960’s in the Southern parts of the United States. Race relations take center stage for a large portion of the story as they affected so very many aspects of everyday life in the South. From segregated towns to the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, Staub makes the reader feel the constant tension, particularly in the lives of Melody Hunter and Cyril LeBlanc.
Also taking place in the 1960’s, this time back in New York City, there is a man carrying out a most evil plan in a sick, twisted version of his own religious beliefs. His daughter finds herself unwittingly caught up in his vision, but finally starts to put the pieces together. She is going to have to figure out whether she will follow in his footsteps or not, and whether or not she truly has a choice in the matter.
Through a masterfully built story, Staub blends these disparate characters together in a way that will leave the reader breathless, excited, terrified, and turning pages late into the night!
The Butcher’s Daughter is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers.
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Synopsis | Goodreads
Investigative genealogist Amelia Crenshaw solves clients’ genetic puzzles, while hers remains shrouded in mystery. Now she 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…
