The Butterfly Garden

The Collector, Book 1

By: Dot Hutchison

Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo, Mel Foster

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 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...

©2016 Dot Hutchison (P)2016 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

the Butterfly garden

loved the book. Finish it in 7 hours. very good.five stars enjoy it. love it

A new favorite

I found the story very interesting and precise and the butterfly garden would be amazingly beautiful if it weren’t so gruesome.

Good story, female narrator was good

Liked the story and the way it was told. The female narrator was excellent... the man, not so much. His voice and delivery is better suited to non-fiction.

Great book!

Would you listen to The Butterfly Garden again? Why?

Yes! It held my interest in every moment. I enjoyed getting to know each character personally and feel their struggles. Most characters were very likeable, including The Gardener.

What other book might you compare The Butterfly Garden to and why?

It is very unique so that is hard to decide. I suppose "Behind Closed Doors" just because the main antagonist leads a double life very successfully in each book.

Which scene was your favorite?

When Desmond first entered the Garden.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes!

Any additional comments?

This book was very enjoyable. It is an escapist type book, which means listen to it and don't look too closely at some plot holes (like escaping or fighting your attacker). The only part I did not care for was the twist at the end. It was not much of a twist and felt very forced. It also makes me question certain characters in a way that left me feeling uncomfortable with the end result.

Narrator performance

Lauren Ezzo's performance was filled with sincere emotion appropriate for the context of the novel. I enjoyed the change of voice with narrators, however, I felt the tone of all the female scripts read by Mel Foster sounded too melancholy for what was happening. The main character sounded cheesy when read from the different perspective, which at times was off putting for the seriousness of the story.