The Butcher's Masquerade

I'm not sure what he changed, but the pace of this book is great. Multiple threats and story beats combined with real character development and a very sad / dark epilogue.

Carl and Donut feel a lot more in tune with each other since the vulnerability in the last book.

Loved Samantha. The audiobook version of her is amazing. When Dinniman introduced a character who was literally a latex sex doll's head I worried that we were jumping the shark but there were so many genuinely laugh out loud scenes with her.

I'm expecting the next book to pause the dungeon plot and develop the outside world a bit more, so I'm interested to see how that's handled or whether I'm completely wrong.

This was honestly one of the best books since the first in the series! It's the first one where I feel like we are really invited to question Carl and take a step back from him and his relationship to those around him. Donut also grows a ton throughout this book, though in very subtle ways. By the end we really have a great message about trauma, the methods we use to handle it, and when to accept unhealthy coping strategies for what they are... necessary at times.

Fantastic book!