3.5 starsI wish this book wouldn't have turned into a paranormal tale (view spoiler)[ and all good characters would have survived🙁 (hide spoiler)]!A great historical setting of the early 1930s, a very interesting idea and... an irresistible main character. Gangsters, corrupted cops and...naïve and courteous and highly simpatico Butch Cardinal, once a world-class wrestler. EVERYTHING promised a compelling historical novel. I was excited. Though what had began with "WOW" for me, ended with "Hmmmm"...

did not finish

Proxy review (my boyfriend read it, I didn't, I'm allergic to horror)Gangster noir dark fantasy, with a gay main character, but that does not even come out until halfway through the novel, and is not the main focus. It's very well written.I give it a four and a half star rating. This is an excellent author, at the top of his game. The characterization, plot, and pacing were truly excellent.This book was gotten via the Goodreads giveaway thing, insert usual boilerplate here.

William "Butch" Cardinal used to be a contender until an enterprising opponent had him beaten up before a prize fight, meaning Butch could not make it into the ring and it was never rescheduled. Now, Butch works for a second-tier mobster in Chicago. He is sent to retrieve a necklace from a lowlife and instead gets caught up in his murder. Now, Butch is on the lam with the necklace, trying to avoid being captured by either the Italians or the Irish. He flees to New Orleans, using an introduction

Lee Thomas has always made the most delicious novels from the most disparate of ingredients. His latest, Butcher’s Road, tosses a ruined pro wrestler, Irish and Italian mobsters, a psychotic hit man, and a secret society out to retrieve a stolen relic into the Thomas Mixmaster, folds in Chicago and New Orleans color circa 1932, dashes of same-sex longing, and a heavy dose of dread and comes out with a powerful, riveting thriller that will satisfy anyone’s hunger for compulsive reading…if you’ve

Full disclosure: I received a free ARC for review through Goodreads' First Reads programA must read! An interesting combination of paranormal and mob themes. Wonderful story telling and use of language.

This will easily be on most (all?) End of the Year lists for best novel. Superb character development, an original storyline, and many plots that intertwine to make one monster of a good read. The best way I can describe Thomas's writing style, would be to combine Stephen King and the Irish author John Connolly. The story itself takes place in the early 1930's. You can tell he spent a lot of time researching the period of time, as he makes you feel as if you're there, in the crime-ridden city of...

"Butcher's Road" by Lee Thomas which I won through Goodreads Giveaways takes the reader into the violent world of gangsters, crooked cops and a psychopathic killer as well as a large dose of the paranormal for good measure. It begins when Butch Cardinal, a former world-class wrestler hired by a gangster to pick up a mysterious parcel, finds himself involved in the murder of a criminal lowlife and on the run from crooked Chicago cops, mobsters and a coldblooded killer. With help from Rory "Ripper...

Butcher's Road is Lee Thomas at his finest. I've been a big fan of Lee Thomas for years, and for one simple reason, he continually surprises me with each new release. Just when I think he can't get any better, he does. His latest, Butcher's Road is a masterpiece of story telling, prose, and style. It's an unusual blend of genres, noir mystery, supernatural, and horror, all set between the gritty gangster streets of Chicago, and the surreal place this is close to my heart, New Orleans. Thomas has...

Simply Put: A Great Book!Having read many of this talented author's earlier works, my expectations were very high for this latest novel. My expectations were exceeded.Lee Thomas's displays in "Butcher's Road" why his writing is at a different level than your run-of-the mill author. Using beautiful prose reminiscent of early Anne Rice, mixing in the pacing of Ray Garton, adding a quirky creativity a la Clive Barker, and then stirring it all together with his own unique sensibilities, style, and i...

The title was a short list selection for the 2015 Reading List Horror category.For a complete list of winners, please visit www.ala.org/rusa/awards

7/1/18 Currently FREE at the Smashwords summer sale: https://www.smashwords.com/books/view...

Butcher's Road is an atmospheric mystery thriller with supernatural elements, set in the violent 1932 gangster-ruled streets of Chicago and the spiritual world of a rainy New Orleans. The story revolves around Butch Cardinal whose lifetime decisions led him from success on the wrestling mats to working as enforcer and errand boy for a Chicago Irish mobster. Unfortunately for Butch, he is sent to pick up a package from an Impellitari henchman and ends up smack in the middle of a hit. Butch escape...

I was dying to read this and it started out great but then it turn sci-fy and I lost total interest and it went downhill from there. I read less and less. The writing is good and others may like it but without revealing anything I can only say it just felt out of place.

Mobsters and monsters and murder and mystery and MM=my happy place!I enjoyed this book a lot. It's a winding tale with copious world-building and interesting (and terrifying) supporting characters. The ending was strong, but I would have liked to have known a little more about Butch and his "after." I was also more than a little bummed about the end of one of the characters (no names because...spoiler). I also wouldn't have complained about a little more sexy time, because, well...sexy time. ;-)...

I found this book kind of dark and bleak and though I know part of it is the time period it's set in, there were points where I thought there was no hope for most of the "good" characters surviving. And my favorite, Hollis, (one of the few innocents in this book) didn't survive. I kept hoping the rose would somehow miraculously revive him although I knew logically it was too late. It was a well-written story with some interesting themes and ideas, just not to my tastes, a little too depressing.F...

3.5 stars for this book. Butcher's Road is a dark, atmospheric read which I am glad that I found. Set in 1930's Chicago and New Orleans we follow the crooked and violent road that Butch Cardinal finds himself on. This novel explores the gangster world of Chicago and how Butch's life gets caught up in a web far bigger than himself. In this book, we get many perspectives from the crooked cop of Lennon to the serial killer Paul Rabin all people who are also caught up in the web that Butch cant esca...

I love Lee Thomas's writing. I especially liked the merging of noir and paranormal, which was so compelling instead of campy and sad like other crime/paranormal books I've read recently. Lee writes amazing characters, fills the book with backstory, and leaves you wanting more at the end. I loved this book.

This novel has some very interesting interwoven story lines. This is set in the 30's, and the details let you know Mr. Thomas did his research, I felt like I could experience the scenes as I read them. There is a very interesting combination of supernatural, the mob, and even a love interest thrown in. Many textures in the novel, and wonderfully woven together. I have read other works by Thomas, and enjoyed them all. Once you finish this one, make sure you grab a copy of his other works. I parti...

Once again Lee Thomas demonstrates why he is one of the top gay horror/spec. fiction writers out there. A superb story set in the 1930s. With a realistic, gritty sense of the times and especially the mob, but an added element of the supernatural to make it original. Oh, and it's pretty sexy, too!