This audiobook was disturbing and sad. The narrator was a good fit for the story. The story was well written and kept me engaged from start to finish. If you like cannibalism in your books, definitely give this one a listen!

🥧🔪🩸A pie for two pennies🩸🔪🥧

"For my life is spent with grief, and my years with sighing: my strength faileth because if mine iniquity, and my bones are consumed." Psalms 31:10

Dripping with gothic atmosphere, this was chilling, mysterious and thrilling tale told in an exchange of letters, the way the book is formatted with letters, reports, newspapers clippings, recipes and other inserts just aid to make this a true experience. Blending it all with the audiobook, curtesy of RB Media and NetGalley, this was an immensely immersive read. The way the narrators set the tone and following the pages was like walking the alleys along with Mrs. Lovett, in her tale on how she came to be, and what made her that way.

The evolution of a story of Mrs. Lovett, from victim to victimizer.

It's a lifelong story, where we follow her from youth and what drove her to make the choices she made. With a diverse cast of characters, compelling story, a mystery being investigated, and an enveloping atmosphere that absorbed me from beginning to end.

🩸I would say this is a book that you would love if you blend the book and audio because the cast of narrators push this to be over the top!

🩸I was able to purchase a copy early from Barnes and Noble, and I cannot tell you how beautiful the illustrations and formatting is.

🩸 Recommend if you loved Victorian Psycho by Virginia Feito and The Black Hunger by Nicholas Pullen.

***some of the descriptions in this book are graphic, so be aware of that***

I would love to thank NetGalley, Hells Hundred for the e-book ARC, and RB Media for the audiobook ALC. I can't wait to see what this duo of authors come up with next!

I really enjoyed this and was so pleasantly surprised by it. I found Meg to be a fascinating protagonist and was thoroughly entranced by her various trials and tribulations. With some despicable characters and truly horrific moments throughout the narrative , I actually thought the part dealing with Mrs. Lovett was the least compelling and was sometimes taken out of the story a little by it's epistolary nature. Nevertheless, I had a great time with this and would highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I would like to thank the publisher for giving me an audio-arc in exchange for an honest review through NetGalley.

When the Chief Inspector of the London Metropolitan Police discover a dossier of evidence in an abandoned apartment, they don't expect what they find -- evidence and correspondence, ordered chronologically, between a journalist and a woman who is believed to be the infamous Mrs. Lovett. The same Mrs. Lovett who was the accomplice to Sweeney Todd -- the demon barber of Fleet Street. But in there isn't just an account of everything that went on in that infamous pie shop, but the account of her entire life. And the truth is absolutely horrifying.

Sweeney Todd was one of my favorite shows -- the weird obsession of a woman over a serial killer who literally chops up the bodies to feed to the unsuspecting public. That being said, reading this book was definitely interesting for me because of the changes that were made to certain characters. I very much enjoyed seeing Mrs. Lovett's story, and I started piecing things together really quick as to how her father being a butcher and her living with a mad doctor factored into the inevitable butchering of people and making them into pies (which, if you don't know that then I guess spoiler alert? But you maybe you should go read up on Sweeney Todd). I was waiting for the moment she meets Todd and I felt like that was such a climactic moment in the story and I was gripping my seat as we went from there straight through towards the end. I thought the author did a good job with their interpretations of the characters, and I like the way it was explained how it was twisted to create the play. Overall this was a fantastic book with a lot of horror elements, and I would definitely recommend this to anybody who loves the show, loves historical horror/thrillers, or who just wants a well written book... about feeding people meat pies made of humans.

Update: Posted to TikTok May 5.
This is an imaginative tale about Mrs Lovett that centers on her unfortunate background with a bit at the end about her time with Sweeney Todd. The voice performances by the three narrators are expressive and help to distinguish between the many characters. I rounded up my rating to 3.5 stars for the audio quality and excellent vocal performances. I greatly enjoyed hearing the Butcher's Daughter in their accents.
I strongly recommend the audio version for this book. Mrs Lovett's history is told in letters and other documents decades after the events, undermining its potential suspense. The performances add life to the epistolary narrative.

She's a complex character and there are lots of loathsome men. This will be fun for readers who enjoy a ‘good for her’ book. Unfortunately, the many coincidences near the end didn’t work for me, and the Sapphic interludes felt contrived. Overall, the gothic vibes, aspects of the historical settings, and the handling of the restrictions on women shine. The funeral details are outstanding. The writing is smooth. The authors wove in a few of the worst kinds of crimes of this time and place.

With greater immediacy, the book could have been a high-impact, immersive experience. To me, it felt distant, and I never became engaged with the reporter storyline. Many other readers are thrilled by it, and it's a wonderful project. I appreciate the research and all the work put into highlighting the status of women during this era. The Butcher's Daughter might be your next favorite book.

Recommended for non-squeamish readers who enjoy historical novels told in letters and those interested in gritty women's history or crime novels. My thanks to RBMedia for the ALC via NetGalley for consideration.

The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett by David Demchuk, Corinne Leigh Clark. Unfortunately it takes too long to get to the heart of the story. The audiobook narration by Jill Tanner, Steven Crossley, and Amy Scanlon is fantastic and that kept me more entertained than the story itself. The first part is disjointed with the letters but it’s an interesting but overextended setup. There is not enough meat to the story. I enjoyed it but wanted more. ALC was provided by RB media/Recorded Books via NetGalley. I received an audiobook listening copy for free and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Beautiful !

Narrated and written engrossingly, this tale draws you in and keeps you enthralled.

The narrative style of letters and documents worked out well with the narration’s use of male and female readers so it was easy to separate them out.

Overall a great audiobook and book to keep one occupied!

The Butcher's Daughter: The Hitherto Untold Story of Mrs. Lovett follows the correspondence between Margaret and Emily Gibson, a journalist. Mrs. Lovette tells her story from the very begining at working at her father's butcher shop on Butcher’s Row to the pie shop on Fleet Street where her and Sweeney Todd wrecked havoc on the unsuspecting victims that they killed and then baked them into meat pies and sold in her shop. The novel goes into the reason why both Margaret and Sweeny Todd did what they did and how they were finally caught for their crimes. I would like to thank both NetGalley and Recorded Books for letting me listen to an advanced recording of this audiobook.

4.5 stars! Horror at its finest! Everyone knows Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street. But what was Mrs. Lovett's background? Well, this is her story and what a story it is!
The novel unfolds around letters penned back and forth between a journalist, Miss Emily Gibson, and the mysterious Mrs. Lovett. Mrs. Lovett relates a pretty horrendous tale of her life through her correspondence, and Miss Gibson may find out more than she bargained for. The ending is delicious!

*Special thanks to NetGalley and Recorded Books, Inc. for this digital audio e-arc.*

If you are familiar with Sweeney Todd at all the story of Mrs. Lovett will definitely hold your attention. The butchers daughter is definitely going to be a reread for me when it comes out. This audiobook I completed in two days when I say hooked, I was hooked. The characters are just so well written so thought out you get this spooky Victorian era vibe through throughout the whole plot. There is definitely something here for everyone even those not typical horror readers will love this story however it is not for the squeamish or faint of heart. But it was a good story.

A reimagining of the Sweeney Todd’s infamous Mrs. Lovett story. Here we have a lot of meat and character development, gothic vibes and savage people. The writing style was very interesting, its mixed media, told through news articles and letters. I feel like it will be better to read it physically, for the stylization and the distinctive POV’s. But the narrators were exceptional, so good; I really enjoyed listening to them. The ending was also good, although the book felt longer than it needed to be, slower in some parts. There are some tropes that I really enjoy and some that could be very triggering, but this was not as horrific as I’ve expected. It’s more historical and literary than horror. I recommend it if you generally enjoy retellings. I needed something more original and unexpected to enjoy it more, or some deeper emotional connection to form with the characters, but unfortunately I couldn’t immerse myself in the story completely.
Thank you to NetGalley and RBmedia | Recorded Books for providing me with the ALC.

DNF @ 60% – Still no Sweeney Todd.
Normally, I wouldn't review a book I DNF'd but I got a free copy from NetGalley and therefore owe anyone interested in buying it a review/warning.

This reads like a book that the author couldn't sell, so they added a few references to Mrs. Lovett just to market it that way. As someone who picked it up solely for the Sweeney Todd connection, I’m pretty disappointed.

I need a strong plot, and this is one of those books where the character just wanders from place to place with little consequence,past events don’t seem to matter, and I have no confidence that the current ones will either.

You might enjoy this if you’re just looking for something set in the same era as the musical. Otherwise, I’d suggest staying far away.

The search for Mrs. Marjorie Lovett.
A wonton woman.
A murderess.
Whose name we daren’t speak aloud for its profanity.

Epistolary novels are very hit or miss for me, but this one was executed perfectly. It’s easy to get off the rails in this format but Demchuk and Clark did a great job keeping it focused and keeping the alternating correspondence from spiraling out of control.

Not a huge Sweeney Todd guy - never saw the film or any stage adaptation or read anything about him really but somehow had enough knowledge to know the basic gist of the Todd and Lovett story, so I was a little afraid that I wouldn’t “get it”. But I did. 100% due to the skillful storytelling on display here. The pacing and timing, the growing sense of unease, the depth of character development. It all worked. And worked well.

5 Stars and highly recommended.

*Thank you to NetGalley for the audio arc. The honest review is all mine."

I had high hopes for this book and it didn’t disappoint.

It started a bit slow for me and it took a few chapters to realize what was happening , and who was who, but after that it picked up and I just couldn’t put it down. The narrators were phenomenal! I was transported back to 1887, and felt like a firsthand witness to all events.

The book is intense and dark, gruesome at moments, and that ending is absolutely brilliant!!!

I didn’t see the ending coming and it made me gasp out loud!

Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing a free audio arc of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Unfortunately I'm going to have to DNF this at 15% in. The writing style (although listening) is just not for me. There is nothing really intense happening and I was hoping for a little more especially seeing as Sweeney Todd is one of my favorite musicals. It may pick up later, but I just cannot take the slow start.

A sensational story completely worthy of being added to the penny dreadful archives! A very realistic setting where the monsters come out to play. I love all the dimensions that were added to the very talented maker of special meat pies, Mrs. Lovett! She feels so real and the way the tale unravels via letters and other documents, I for one could kind of understand why she did what she did. A hard childhood growing up in a butcher's shop, sent to work at the home of a diabolical doctor, escaping and being left with few options to survive. She chose the path to Sweeny Todd and made the best of a bad situation, all for her son. Seems reasonable to me. lol!

This tale will suck you in and I for one was fascinated in seeing the new depths of Mrs. Lovett and laughed so hard at the wickedly entertaining ending! The narrators did a most excellent job in bringing the streets of London to life and the characters felt very real. Yes, it is dark and bloody with many murders, twisted experiments, and I for one would stay away from the meat pies, but it was a blast to listen to! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to listen to this entertaining audiobook!

Deliciously depraved, bravely bold and bloody, teasings of queer longing.
If you liked books like Dowry of Blood or Hungerstone, Tender is the Flesh, this might be for you!

This is a feminist retelling of the sordid case of London’s 19th century Sweeney Todd. If you are unfamiliar, he was a butcher who allied with a baker to sell meat pies made out of the humans he murdered.

This was told in a letter format, recounting the past of the girl who becomes Mrs Lovett who reminisces, agonises, and spills her secrets.
There are also newspaper articles, interviews etc.

It is totally immersive.
You will be transported right there to the butcher’s shop with the sights and smells, feel cramped in narrow alleys, uneasy in cluttered medical rooms, and scared of villains lurking in behind corners.

<b>Of course, once the doctor made me vow never to step foot in his surgery, my curiosity drew me towards it. I wonder now if that was his intention, if he already knew me better than I knew myself.</b>

There is also superb representation of a deaf character and painful experiences of poverty, instability, the rights of a mother, and the position of women.

The audiobook narrator brought this to life and especially regarding the letter format.
The setting, the accents, even the class came across brilliantly.
However, the audio quality was not consistent. Sometimes there were random long pauses, or the sound became distorted. However, this is an arc copy so may not be true for the finished copy.

Whilst I was frustrated by the ending and abruptness, it suits the letter format incredibly well. It feels like a cop out, but it isn’t truly.
Saying that, I do think the climax was slightly rushed.

Audiobook arc gifted by publisher.

I absolutely adored this take on one of my favorite tales. Sweeney Todd has long been one of my favorite movies and this story offers you a look into my favorite character in the whole ordeal, Mrs. Lovett. My next read will be the original story that inspired it all, A String of Pearls, the full length novel that has the collected penny dreadfuls in one place.

If you're a fan of Sweeney Todd, or rather Mrs. Lovett, you love historical horror, an atmospheric epistolary style story, or are just a fan of the morbid and macabre, this is a must read.

This story was so well put together and the audiobook was performed beautifully by Jill Tanner, Steven Crossley, and Amy Scanlon. The twists at the end blew my mind that I literally squealed upon the reveals. That ending? Perfection.

Thank you to Recorded Books and NetGalley for the advanced audio!

Go read it May 6th!

Dark, gothic, and beautifully written—The Butcher’s Daughter puts Mrs. Lovett at the center of the Sweeney Todd legend. It’s a slow burn, but I was hooked. Her story is tragic, twisted, and so compelling. I couldn’t stop reading

I can’t save I ever wondered about Mrs. Lovett, but I was delighted to read this version of her life. I listened to the audiobook and I thought the narrators did a great job bringing the characters to life. I struggled a little in the beginning to get into it with the letters or articles to and from different people and keep all of that straight. As I got into the story it became easier to follow. This book is mostly told in correspondence as Mrs. Lovett tells a woman who is also a reporter her life story, starting as a child who lost her father to the present and how she came to be in the convent without being a nun. I knew the basics of the Sweeney Todd story, but this added such a wonderful layer in given color the Mrs. Lovett who baked the pies. I will have to keep an eye out for this author because this was a unique and fun book.