Four months after the explosion at the Garden, a place where young women known as the Butterflies were kept captive, FBI agents Brandon Eddison, Victor Hanoverian, and Mercedes Ramirez are still entrenched in the aftermath, helping survivors in the process of adjusting to life on the outside. With winter coming to an end, the Butterflies have longer, warmer days of healing ahead. But for the … agents, the impending thaw means one gruesome thing: a chilling guarantee that somewhere in the country, another young woman will turn up dead in a church with her throat slit and her body surrounded by flowers.
Priya Sravasti’s sister fell victim to the killer years ago. Now she and her mother move every few months, hoping for a new beginning. But when she ends up in the madman’s crosshairs, the hunt takes on new urgency. Only with Priya’s help can the killer be found—but will her desperate hope for closure compel her to put her very life on the line?
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Astrid’s Description: Stop trying to guess who it is, the list isn’t long, but by God you aren’t going to be able to figure it out until the very end.
This suspense does just that; keeps you on your toes and questioning. You are met with a few lines such as “Those pictures get plastered everywhere because we’re a culture fascinated with crime, because we think the families’ private pain is for public consumption.” It will have you questioning humanity in an instant and reevaluating your life choices.
You will also get beautiful descriptions like, “There’s no Bureau requirement, no order, no generally agreed guideline, nothing official that mandates his presence at the funeral of a girl who killed herself because the seams where she broke the first time were too fragile to stitch together a second time.” Those are things you can chew on and feel radiating inside your very soul. If you can’t tell, I freaking love this book.
There are a few things I was not so impressed with, but that was mostly grammar related. Run-on sentences a plenty here. Not everyone finds them distracting, but I do. Other than the occasional missed word, this was well edited and written. I am happy and will be adding the title to my To-Buy list.
Amazing
Wow what a story Priya who lost her sister who was murdered by someone who has killed many girls her age. The agents from the previous book are in this story and how book one and two come together are amazing . The three agents who took on these cases and they way care about their cases and these young girls. I’m really can’t wait to read book three. Highly recommend these books. Plot and twist are in this book . Who you think is the killer is crazy and the ending is amazing.
just as good as the first book. Can’t wait for the 3rd!
Awesome story telling!
Compelling and powerful…
The Roses of May is the second book of The Collector Trilogy. As much as The Butterfly Garden was hard to put down, this was so much harder.
We come into the story many years into a serial killers reign of terror. The FBI is fighting an uphill battle, because though the killer they’re after has killed sixteen girls, it’s in as many years.
We meet new some characters, there are some carried over from book one, and while it’s helpful to have read it TBG it’s not truly necessary.
Be prepared to lose sleep, have tissues at the ready, especially for the last bit.
As the other book in this series it was good. Maybe not as good as the first but still a page turner. I would recommend reading ALL the books in this series.
A fabulous book in this genre. Really well developed characters. Original plot. Dot Hutchinson artfully crafts a story that is hard to put down. Don’t miss this exceptional read.
not as good as book one. definitely could have been a stand alone title without being tied into first book. Good read though.
Great characters and storyline.
Another outstanding book the author has done an outstanding job in defining her characters and she keeps you guessing until the end
Not as good as Butterfly Garden. Too long, draggy w/little action.
As with the Butterfly Garden this book is a pager turner and worth every second. Twisted and unpredictable that had me hooked.