Dot Hutchison | THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN
Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.
As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding...
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees…and a collection of precious “butterflies”—young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.
As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding...
Review:
When you're a blogger and you mostly read thrillers and mysteries, it's tough to find something that really ventures off the beaten path. Look no further, because THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN by Dot Hutchison is here and it is one wild and amazing ride. I love the way this story was told. Basically, the serial killer in this novel has been caught and all of his victims (dead and alive) have been found. Where else could this go, you may ask? Oh, you couldn't guess if you wanted to. The novel switches back and forth between the main detectives on this brutal case interviewing a survivor named Maya and what her life was like the minute she was abducted by The Collector.
This novel was so good. Like, I loved it. Okay, I more than loved it. As much as it was brutal to read at times and is really a harrowing tale, it was beautifully detailed with extremely well written characters. I think with a novel like this, it's important to have an abundance of characters that are interesting and distinct. When you have a garden full of butterflies, it only makes sense that some are strong enough to fight and some are willing to go at any lengths to fly. I found myself reading this novel and getting lost in a world that was so creatively constructed and terrifying. I wanted to know everything. While this one can be violent and really scary at times, I was obsessed. I couldn't stop. I couldn't put it down. I couldn't stop wondering what was going to happen next, thinking about this one at work, rushing to get home to read it.
This novel is amazing. As the novel began to close and wrap up everything, I was shocked a few times all the way to the shocking ending that I never saw coming. While the last twist was a bit over the top, it just made me enjoy this novel even more. When you have a novel like this that is so unworldly, what's wrong with an ending that crazy?
Special thanks to Thomas & Mercer for this copy in exchange for my honest review.
Rating: 5/5
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