Leopold Jensen has a gift.
He can read people very well.
When Leo, a butcher and inveterate wanderer, stumbles upon the small town of Amicable, Iowa, he finds that they have a gift also.
They can hide things very, very well.
After Leo meets Rhonda Redman, a local woman with a past, he must decide whether to stay in Amicable and find a new and happier version of life, or get back on the road and avoid the pain of learning to stay.
As the complexities of small town life confront Leo, the residents and their friendly acrimony to strangers, Leo falls back on his gift.
But how far will he dare to fall?
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Butcher is a work of fiction describing the travails of a wandering butcher who has the gift of reading people. Throughout the course of the novel, the reader will find herself or himself immersed in the idiosyncrasies of American small town life and the immensity of emotions that come as worlds collide.
BUTCHER
Baker
On a warm summer's afternoon in the tiny town of Amicable, Iowa, the unthinkable happens.
A spark ignites the dust in the elevator and devastation rains down across the village. Struck by the loss of life and livelihood, the people of Amicable must come to grips with a new version of the future.
When Stedman Boswell, a young and arrogant insurance adjustor, is sent by Baker Insurance Company to negotiate the settlement, the townspeople are horrified by Butcher's assessment of Boswell. He has been sent to destroy the town.
Desperate to turn the tables, various groups take it upon themselves to make Boswell's life miserable in hopes that he will leave and a more sympathetic adjustor will be sent.
As the weeks pass, relationships are strained and Amicable is on the verge of collapse. Can Amicable be rescued? Or will life in this irenic small town cease to exist?
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Baker is an entertaining continuation of the relational journey between outsider and insider, life and death, prophecy and its fruition. When the reader has turned the last page of Baker, she or he will be chomping at the bit for Candlestickmaker.
CANDLESTICK-MAKER
Just when it seemed that life was returning to normal in the small town of Amicable Iowa, two of its leading citizens are caught in the crosshairs of fate.
At the butchery, when Butcher's hand slips, almost completely severing his index finger, he is rushed to the hospital where he comes face to face with a grim future.
As for Linda Harmsen, her world crashes down around her as a cancer diagnosis pulls the rug out from under her life.
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In Candlestickmaker, the third book of the Amicable Circle, the reader will come face-to-face with the full force of life, death and everything in between. Many of life’s great questions are channeled to a climactic ending where Butcher, the Baker and the Candlestickmaker must make life-altering choices.
Son of a butcher
Since Butcher’s tragic death, the town of Amicable reels with grief. Rhonda, attempting to regain a sense of normalcy, dives into routine with her children, J.T. and Georgie. New arrivals to Amicable interrupt Rhonda’s return to life: Glory McDonald and her nine year old daughter Murgatroyd, English immigrants who seek refuge from a difficult life in Britain, and a mysterious stranger who J.T. calls his Watcher.
As the Amicable Circle perspective shifts to J.T., a miraculously gifted child with hyper-acute vision, Murgatroyd brings J.T. out of his shell only to see dark secrets come to life.
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As Son of a Butcher runs its course, pages will be turned quickly to discover the interplay between young people struggling to understand the uncontrollable vagaries of life, and also the tense revelation of a dark character from the first book of the Amicable Circle, Butcher. The reader must guard their fingernails closely, as this nail biter will leave one chewing to the end!
This book continues the Amicable saga.
This mid-western author just gets better and better. The characters and speech patterns are pure central USA. And, there is a good semi-mysterious plot also.
- VONEEE
Praise for the Amicable Circle
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Butcher
Great read from a debut novel
I'll admit, I probably wouldn't have picked up this book if I weren't from the same small Iowa hometown as the author went to school. But I am glad I did.
The "Butcher" moves to this small Iowa town and little by little things start to change. But since the secretive butcher is an "outsider" in the view of the residents some want to see him return to where he came from.
This character-driven novel is a delightful read, whether you are from a small town or not. The author brings the characters to life and you feel that you know each person. I am looking forward to the next book in the series.- Kindle Customer
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Baker
Enjoy!
The author has a true understanding of human nature - the desirable qualities along with the less desirable. Whether you are from a small town or a city, you will enjoy the development of truly accepting the personal traits of neighbors and friends. And you’ll even have a chuckle or two!
- Richard Thomsen
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Candlestickmaker
Entertaining with Thoughtful Reflections on Society and Human Nature
I found myself up reading this book until 2-3 in the morning just to find out what was going to happen to our beloved Butcher. I was immersed in the small town of amicable and the nuances of people and their relationships. The author, Matthias, did a great job using imagery to captivate the reader as well as subtly adding layers of depth to the story so that is was not just a pleasurable read, but a reflexion on who we are as people and how we can treat each other.
- Greg
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Son of a Butcher
Must Read!
If you come from a small town, you might "recognize" some of the characters. It is obvious that this telling is an exaggeration of the best and the worst of small town. It made me smile often and occasionally chuckle out loud. Kuddos to the author on his insight and apparent love for small town life.
- Mattien
