The debut novel by actress and presenter Janet Ellis, The Butcher's Hook is the dark and twisted tale of a young girl in 18th-century London determined to take her life in her own hands. No matter the cost.

***LONGLISTED FOR THE DESMOND ELLIOTT PRIZE 2016***

'KNOWS HOW TO KEEP HER AUDIENCE HOOKED' The Times
'A MASTERFUL STORYTELLER' Clare Mackintosh
'DARK, WEIRD AND GLORIOUSLY FEMINIST' Elle

Georgian London, in the summer of 1763.
At nineteen, Anne Jaccob, the elder daughter of well-to-do parents, meets Fub the butcher's apprentice and is awakened to the possibilities of joy and passion.
Anne lives a sheltered life: her home is a miserable place and her parents have already chosen a more suitable husband for her than Fub.
But Anne is an unusual young woman and is determined to pursue her own happiness in her own way...
...even if that means getting a little blood on her hands.

'A SHARP EYE AND A SHARPER WIT' Guardian
'A SPIRITED, DARK DEBUT' Woman & Home
'STRANGE, DARK AND UTTERLY MESMERIC' Hannah Kent

*And Janet Ellis's second, darkly compelling novel, How It Was, is out now*

This is a book of two halves. The first is a gritty portrayal of the powerlessness of a young urban British adolescent in an age without antibiotics, contraception, or healthcare. The narrative seems to build an intriguing love story between two characters of disparate social backgrounds. However, in the second part, Ellis takes The Butcher's Hook into different territory. Anne's pressured life breeds startling reactions. One overly-lurid murder follows another. Anger and arson rage out of control. The body count unrealistically soars. Anne is not who we think she is.