Review: The Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Narrated by Lauren Ezzo, Mel Foster
Presented by Brilliance Audio

A rather disturbing crime novel, presented well through audio.

I think it probably would have been more satisfying as a read, but I also wouldn't have got around to it as soon as I did, so split the difference, I guess! It was still an easy 4-star read - tense, intriguing, and disturbing, with plenty of twists and questions to keep you guessing.

Maya tells FBI agent, Victor Hanoverian, about her time in 'The Garden' - where a serial killer keeps his 'Butterflies'. The wings tattooed on Maya's back mark her as one, as do those on the backs of the other women the FBI has recently rescued.

The story moves easily between the past in the garden and the present, where Maya brings the detectives up to speed on what happened there. The short version? Nothing nice.

The story is first and foremost a crime novel in my eyes, but it does indeed border on horror. Less jump scares and atmosphere, but plenty of horrific things are done to these girls to warrant the label.

I found it easy to fall into, and the narrators did well to bring these characters to life. It was a little strange to have Maya narrate her parts, but then the male narrator voice her during his own parts, but not so much that it took me out of the story.

This is an addictive story that will keep you guessing til the last moment. I really enjoyed it, and I'm curious enough to look into the sequel.

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