An Amazon Charts bestseller.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 … 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…
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Dark, disturbing. One of my favorites
It was so far fetched that I found it difficult to read all of the way through. I didn’t find the characters engaging and the writing was just average.
I read so much, not many books stick with me. This is one I will never forget. Highly recommend it!
Loved this book. Especially the last twist definitely wasn’t expecting that one. I will definitely be reading more of this author’s books.
In this genre, this is the best book I’ve ever read and I have read hundreds over the decades. Dot Hutchinson’s approach in story telling is unique. That was the first quality that caught my attention. The characters were so vivid I could see them and their setting without effort. The story, while horrible, as are all serial murders, is riveting. This book has absolutely everything a good book should have. Very hard to put down. I read 22 hours straight the first day. Never done that before. The Roses of May is another in her series. I enjoyed it very much and recommend it. Well done Dot!
OMG…. I’ve never read a book that was set up like this one… with the FBI involved after the fact as you follow along with the victim’s story as she recounts the horrifying life she’s lived. This book has twists, turns, and a story line that keeps you enthralled until the very end. This is an amazing story that you must read!
Don’t you love it when a book surpasses your expectations page after page? When it scares you but you can’t stop reading it. This book shocked me and I could believe it could actually happen and that created a creep factor that stayed with me. Young women go missing all the time. You ever wonder what happens to them. In that aspect this story had believability. What happens in this narrative to those girls is a nightmare. I couldn’t stop reading once I started this book. I highly recommend it for readers not easily offended by dark content. But even that is subjective some of you may not find it dark at all. Worth a read.
Creepy but not overly gory for a story about a serial killer.
Twisted Page Turner
This book is twisted AF. It is terrifying to actually think about and a total page turner. The suspense and story – I could not put it down! I really enjoyed the way it switched POV in such a fluid and effortless manner. It gave away enough of the story and motives that while there is this secret and mystery I was never so confused that the story or emotions get lost in “what the” is going on.
I switched between reading and audio and enjoyed both immensely. I will be definitely continue this series.
OMG!!!!! 10million stars soooo GOOD!!!!! Read as a stand alone wasn’t a fan of the other 2 books that follow but this first one was amazing!!!!!
I actually listened to this book instead of reading it. I loved it! It was original and very twisted. It did not scare me but I could see how it could scare some people. I recommend it highly. I also read the 2nd book and it could not compare.
Wow! Just wow! Original, traumatizing, and not the same old story. Surprising and disturbing, kept me turning the pages!
From the first page, I was hooked on THE BUTTERFLY GARDEN. To be honest, there aren’t many books that I would read twice, there are just too many in my stack, but I may read this one again because I read so fast that I likely missed things! I simply couldn’t put it down.
It’s a bit twisted – but serial killer stories tend to be that way – and told in a unique way that I’ve not seen before. I was chomping at the bit to know how Maya got away. That’s not a spoiler, you know she got away from the start, but the question is, how? And then there’s Maya’s involvement with the Gardner and his sons. Was it all just to survive?
If you like books about strong female characters, you’ll like this one. I’m looking forward to reading Dot’s second in the series.
Great book….the characters were so developed and understandable. Great story line and found myself not wanting to put it down.
This book deserves to be read by everyone it’s that good!
This book was troubling and I did not like it but I listened to it on Audible as I had no other books I was interested in.
Haunting: check. The Gardener collects young women, tattoos them with different butterfly wings and lets them live in his “garden” until they reach their 21st birthday. He then displays them in cases filled with resin, so they become art work in the walls of the garden where he, and the rest of his butterflies can see them.
Yes, the story is twisted, but I found it to be more about what one does to survive being held captive, and the chances taken to get free.
Trigger alert.
My daughter and I listened to the audio book on a trip from Tampa to Chicago. There is hardly another adjective that I can add that other reviewers have not said for this intense haunting suspenseful story. We stopped the book many times for a lively discussion. We both thoroughly enjoyed this book and it made our car trip fly by.
This was quite a different book for me. I don’t know where this author got her ideas for this story, but the plot comes from a much darker intelligence than mine. I actually liked this book very much; it was a real page-turner. Good book for a rainy, ugly day outside.
Stunning characters and clear writing leave you room for the plot, which is intense and deeply disturbing.