Butcher & Blackbird
Every serial killer needs a friend. Every game must have a winner. When a chance encounter sparks an unlikely bond between rival murderers Sloane and Rowan, the two find something elusive—the friendship of a like-minded, pitch-black soul. From small town West Virginia to upscale California, from downtown Boston to rural Texas, the two hunters collide in an annual game of blood and suffering, one that pits them against the most dangerous monsters in the country. But as their friendship develops into something more, the restless ghosts left in their wake are only a few steps behind, ready to claim more than just their newfound love. Can Rowan and Sloane dig themselves out of a game of graves? Or have they finally met their match? Butcher & Blackbird is the first book in the Ruinous Love Dark Romance trilogy of interconnected stand-alone dark romantic comedies. This dual POV novel ends on a HEA.
Where Butcher & Blackbird keeps showing up
Three of our editors' lists feature this novel.
Books in conversation with Butcher & Blackbird
A few of the closest reads from our full list.
What you might want to know about Butcher & Blackbird
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
Sloane Sutherland and Rowan Kane are two killers with a shared hobby: hunting men far worse than they are. Their annual game becomes a real friendship, and then something neither of them is ready to admit.
Yes. Butcher and Blackbird is an explicit dark romance with multiple on-page romance scenes and a serial-killer premise. Most readers rate it 4 to 5 out of 5 on the spice scale.
Yes. Butcher and Blackbird is an explicit dark romance with multiple on-page romance scenes and a serial-killer premise. Most readers rate it 4 to 5 out of 5 on the spice scale.
Yes. Butcher and Blackbird is the first book in Brynne Weaver's Ruinous Love trilogy, followed by Black Sheep and Leather and Lark. Each book features a different couple in the same dark world.
Butcher & Blackbird was written by Brynne Weaver, published in 2023 by Slowburn.
Butcher & Blackbird is 351 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Butcher & Blackbird takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
Butcher & Blackbird is a standalone novel by Brynne Weaver, not part of a series.
Butcher & Blackbird is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
