The Butterfly Garden (The Collector, 1)

Overall thoughts The Butterfly Garden blew my mind, and it definitely left me wanting more. The combination of such a gripping and intriguing premise, profound and memorable characters and a fantastic use of language has caused this novel to become one of my favorite reads of the year, and one of my favorite mystery & thriller books. While there are some things that I dislike, such as the somewhat lackluster ending, as a whole, the book was nothing short of absolutely amazing. However, I understand that it won’t be for everyone and that many will turn away from the book, be it because of the plot or the brutality of some of the themes. For those that decide to read this, it will probably become a fast-paced and enjoyable ride that will prove itself hard to put down. In this case, the rating that I would give this book would be a solid 5 out of 5 without any hesitation. For a more detailed account of my thoughts, please read below, though there might be some minor spoilers (and I would most definitely recommend reading this book without not knowing much about it).

Plot & Themes This book revolves around a very unique, dark and disturbing premise. A girl, known for the most part as Maya, recounts the tale of how she got herself kidnapped and woke up to what she, and others, referred to as the Garden, which is run by the Gardener, though his sons are also present at different points in the story. While the story starts with Maya being interrogated by a pair of FBI agents who are trying to find out more about the Garden, we are quickly exposed to the actual events that took place in this location.

Despite being kidnapped by a male figure, Maya found herself being awoken by another young girl. This girl is later revealed also to have been kidnapped, and she’s not the only one. Little by little, we are exposed to the practices that take place in this garden. For starters, every girl is tattooed with a different butterfly on her back. Until then, the girls are mostly kept in isolation from the rest of the victims. As she starts being acclimated to the conditions of the Garden and as she gets her own tattoo, Maya starts discovering some harsh realities of her new existence. The harshest of all, perhaps, is that all of these girls are trapped in a dome.

These girls are free to roam the Garden, though they do follow some strict schedules and rules. For example, they need to eat at certain times of the day, and they are only allowed to have select snacks and drinks outside of the designated meals. Furthermore, if any girl isn’t eating, for whatever reason, then they get a visit from the lunch lady, who also happens to be the nurse. This, however, doesn’t even begin to cover the realities that these girls face.

As soon as the girls get their own tattoos, they are raped for the first time by the Gardener. This is, sadly, not the only time that this occurs. In fact, this is a very common occurrence, with the Gardener visiting these girls quite often. The Gardener is not the only person to take part in these activities either, as oldest son also does this. This son in particular though tends to be more brutal with these girls. While the Gardener seems to have some level of affection and seems to care about these girls to some degree, these sentiments are not shared by his son. His son, in fact, tortures and sodomizes the girls through some very sadistic behavior. He even ends up killing some by accident, which leads to another important of the book: death.

Death is an important aspect of the novel. It is a reality that the girls have learned to accept and something that they are surrounded by and reminded of daily. This can be explained thanks to the deranged reasoning that the Gardener provides in order to have his butterfly garden. It is revealed throughout the book that the Gardener’s father used to have a collection of butterflies, which he eventually lost in an accident. Following his father’s footsteps, the Gardener decides to have his own collection, though in a much more disturbing way: by collecting girls with butterfly tattoos on their backs. Due to the relatively short lifespan of butterflies, the Gardener attempts to recreate this phenomenon on his own collection. The way he does this is by injecting them with formaldehyde, and later preserving their bodies on glass displays. These young, preserved girls are kept in the halls of the Garden, next to where the current residents sleep, hence the constant presence of death in the novel.

Another incredibly strong aspect of the book is the characters themselves. The characters in the novel are extremely complex and have their own personality traits. These characters are presented in a way that it is easy to distinguish between them, due to their mannerism and behavior, and in a very convincing manner. The interactions between them also present some very memorable, enjoyable, and emotional moments. The girls throughout the story go through different events, from periods of celebration and happiness to mourning and despair. Even those characters that could be labeled as the villains have their own depth. In my opinion, these characters have certain traits and characteristics that make them easier to remember and to distinguish from past characters in similar genres.

Narration & use of language The narration shifts throughout the book. The scenes where Maya is being interrogated are narrated from a third person perspective, while the events of the Garden are told in the first person. The interplay between both narrative styles is easy to follow and suits the story well. The language used throughout the book is phenomenal. The author has managed to write the novel in such a way that it hooks the reader, despite how messed up and disturbing some of the things are. The descriptions also make the book very vivid. Lastly, the language flows very well and is incredibly easy to follow, causing it to be a fantastic page turner.

Recommendations for further reading I’d recommend this book to anyone that is looking for a solid thriller or, to some extent, a horror novel. I’d also recommend it to those that are looking for either something dark, memorable, or original. Due to the originality, there is very few books that I’d recommend that could capture the same amount of emotions, details, and creativity as The Butterfly Garden does. In the mystery and thriller area, I’d recommend Before I Go to Sleep by S.J. Watson. Leaning more towards horror, I’d recommend A Head Full of Ghosts by Paul Tremblay. Lastly, for those that want something between horror and thriller, I’d recommend Bird Box by Josh Malerman.

Thanks for reading my review, and I hope that those of you that decide to read this book enjoy it. Happy reading!

Wow, just wow. I was so on the fence about this book and had many tell me to stick with it, that it would be worth it. Oh boy, they were right. I kept reading and before I knew it I was so invested in all the characters that I couldn’t stop reading. If I couldn’t read it (being in my car) I would listen to it. I was staying up until my eyes would finally not open after a blink just to read a little more.

I did NOT expect what happened in the end and I have to say I am so unbelievably happy that I read this book.

There are A LOT of negative reviews and there are just as many if not more good reviews. Take the chance with this one and read it, listen to it, or do both like I did. Either way just go for it, stick with it and you too will not be disappointed that you did.

There is a lot to like in The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison. I first liked the simplicity yet expressiveness of the cover (at least in the Kindle selection I read.) There is a butterfly, the novel’s name, and the author’s name. There are no blaring font announcements that this is a thrilling psychological thriller (that will leave you gasping). No promises that it is a page-turner. Just a good presentation. But it is one of the best psychological thrillers I have read. There are surprises; it will leave a reader turning pages quickly and it will appeal to fans of a TV series “Lie to Me.”

The setting of the novel is in an interrogation room, although the questioners would shy away from the term “interrogation.” But that was what was taking place and naming it as anything else would not fool Maya. Special Agent Brandon Eddison and Special Agent in Charge Victor Hanoverian were skilled investigators of crimes committed against children. Maya was a few years shy of twenty-one, but she was streetwise and somewhat amused by the questioning techniques employed by the two FBI agents. After all, they didn’t even know her name. At least they knew her name wasn’t Maya and she intended to play the game out until she decided she wanted to provide her real name.

Maya is the central figure in a harem of butterflies created by The Gardener. A rich businessman, he was able to construct a private, fortified garden in which he could indulge his fantasies. Although they had a sexual component, his actual fantasy was that he was saving girls from the street and the hard lives they would have had to lead to survive. The Gardener and his son Avery would kidnap girls that The Gardener would think at risk. They would select girls no younger than sixteen and could be any age up to twenty-one. Older was not better because when a girl reached her twenty-first birthday, she was killed, embalmed, and displayed in containers filled with a resin that kept the body on display. There were many containers that attested to the success of The Gardener’s project.

Why butterflies? The gardener liked butterflies; he studied them. After kidnapping a girl, The Gardener selected a butterfly and tattooed its likeness on the shoulders and back of the kidnap victim. Having sex after tattooing each girl finalized his possession ritual. The girls were then free to live in his garden, complete with waterfall, a library and an abundance of plants and trees, until they were twenty-one when they would be expected to join previous butterflies on display. Once a girl was killed, The Gardener would search for a replacement so that the living butterfly collection remained at about twenty-three.

This size of the confined population gives the author lots of room for character development and Hutchison does this skillfully. Characters are developed well through their behaviors as near familial relationships are developed and broken. With these many characters, it would be easy for an author to give each one a one or two-line description and move on. Hutchison does not do this as characters appear, seem to go away, and then reappear with a valuable contribution to the story. There are inferences and implications seemingly made by characters, but all done through the filter of Maya’s memories. She exposes each character as much or as little as she wants. Characters “speak” through her. And she has an agenda; she will protect the identity of Maya.

Opposing Maya are two FBI agents. Eddison comes off as the heavy, the bad cop, the unintelligent one that Maya has fun manipulating. Maya has realized that Victor Hanoverian might be her equal. She needs to protect her identity until a certain event comes to pass. And she is the only one who knows what the event is. The dialogue between the agents and Maya comes across as very cerebral. The agents had training, but Maya grew up with street survival skills.

I do not believe that anyone can predict this ending. What happened to specific girls? Who is The Gardener? What life does he have outside the Garden? Is there any way to escape? The answers to a lot of these questions are answered throughout the novel. But for the big questions, Maya’s identity and Maya’s agenda, you must read the entire novel.

The novel’s subject will be difficult for some readers. This is about young girls in captivity being tortured and sexually abused by one or more pedophiles. Knowing the subject, is a warning necessary?

This is a good psychological thriller. I gave this five Amazon stars and look forward to reading more Dot Hutchison books.