The Butterfly Garden falls under the genres of both a thriller and a police procedural as Hutchison weaves the story through Inara’s words now in a police interview room and as she reminisces on her past, including being held as a prisoner at the Garden. I would love to hear what everyone else thought of it though? Did you find it as much of a page turner as me? What did you make of Maya as the main character? And how was the ending for you? (Spoiler alert: probably best to avoid the comments if you haven’t read the book but plan to).The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison was released in April 2016 and it is the first novel in The Collector Series which follows the same three FBI agents (Eddison, Vic, and Ramirez) throughout the novels. (Though perhaps it is more worrying that I found the portrait of the psychotic gardener far easier to believe). It was just too much of a stretch of probability for me. I won’t say any more for fear of ruining it for those that haven’t read the book (and you might disagree with me) but in just a few short pages, my investment in the story went from high to rock bottom. It was certainly unique, but I have to say (like several of the reviews I had read before picking up the book) the end sorely disappointed me. You can probably tell that I liked this thoroughly gripping read. It is cleverly navigated with twists and turns that really draw you into the garden and let your imagination run wild. Dot Hutchison paints a vivid picture of the haunting terror that those in the garden experience through her evocative and descriptive prose. What unravels is a gripping, dark and intriguing story that will make your skin crawl. We learn about the garden in the wake of its discovery, through a survivor, Maya, who is brought in for questioning by FBI agents. A dark and twisted man known as the gardener tends the garden and its inhabitants. Not the winged creatures that you or I would imagine, but a group of young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble different species of butterflies. The garden is home to a collection of beautiful butterflies. The Butterfly Garden is the tale of an isolated mansion that houses a beautiful garden. And it was certainly a good choice I devoured it during a long haul flight on my holiday. I resolved to change that starting with The Butterfly Garden. I frequently pore over these kind of lists, but rarely remember to actually get the inhabitants of the list onto my reading pile. I found The Butterfly Garden on a ‘must-read’ list for 2016.

We might have to ask you to review the Rock My Wedding book too 😉 Over to our favourite literary critic…

On a side note huge congratulations to Ms Kingston on getting engaged recently. The lovely Emma Kingston from Year Of The Yes joins us again today to share her first Autumn/ Winter book club review.

The butterfly garden book dot hutchison