The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison

 



Young girls are captured by a man who calls himself the Gardener. He keeps them in a literal garden and tattoos them with wings. The madness doesn't end there. He finds a way to keep them after their death and the date of their death is already decided - he knows it and so do the Butterflies. FBI agents Eddison and Hanoverian are charged with questioning survivors to know the truth, but there is one particular girl named Maya who knows more than she lets on. It is she who the other butterflies look to and what she has to say will shock and stun the FBI.

Seems intriguing right? That's because it is. It reads really well. I wanted to keep turning the pages to know more, to understand why and to get to that final chapter to know how it all ends. The language used is very polished and the pace of the book is steady.

Unfortunately, that's about it. The conclusion is very underwhelming and I didnt understand what I read initially. I actually had to go back and read it again. Now, a few spoilers ahead, but nothing that the book's synopsis doesn't already tell you. The women are kept prisoners in the garden and you can assume what the Gardener does with them there. What confused me is, how come these women never tried to attack the damn man? Maya, the enigma, literally became a leader, in that she almost took care of every girl there. Yet, never once did she bother to get the women together to rise up against their abuser despite having access to scissors, books, paintbrushes, clay cutting tools, etc.

The conclusion of a butterfly that escaped and who it turns out to be seems very convenient.. And confusing. I don't know what to make of this book because it did manage to keep me interested to get to the final chapter. I hated and still do, referencing women as butterflies. I mean! What the hell. It just goes to show how for some men, even today, women are just objects or playthings to do with as they please. This book should definitely come with trigger warnings of SA.

I'll give it a 3/5

#thebutterflygarden #dothutchison #thriller #novel #fictionbooks #theCollector #booklover #bookstagrammer

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