The lovely Emma Kingston from Year Of The Yes joins us again today to share her first Autumn/ Winter book club review. On a side note huge congratulations to Ms Kingston on getting engaged recently. We might have to ask you to review the Rock My Wedding book too 😉 Over to our favourite literary critic…

I found The Butterfly Garden on a ‘must-read’ list for 2016. I frequently pore over these kind of lists, but rarely remember to actually get the inhabitants of the list onto my reading pile. I resolved to change that starting with The Butterfly Garden. And it was certainly a good choice; I devoured it during a long haul flight on my holiday.

The Butterfly Garden is the tale of an isolated mansion that houses a beautiful garden. The garden is home to a collection of beautiful butterflies. 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. A dark and twisted man known as the gardener tends the garden and its inhabitants.

We learn about the garden in the wake of its discovery, through a survivor, Maya, who is brought in for questioning by FBI agents.

What unravels is a gripping, dark and intriguing story that will make your skin crawl. Dot Hutchison paints a vivid picture of the haunting terror that those in the garden experience through her evocative and descriptive prose. It is cleverly navigated with twists and turns that really draw you into the garden and let your imagination run wild.

You can probably tell that I liked this thoroughly gripping read. 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.

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 just too much of a stretch of probability for me. (Though perhaps it is more worrying that I found the portrait of the psychotic gardener far easier to believe).

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).

BOOK CLUB READS
  • The Butterfly Garden
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  • Love From Boy
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  • Go Set a Watchman
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  • The Marble Collector
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