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The Butterfly Garden The Collector Book 1 eBook Dot Hutchison

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The Butterfly Garden The Collector Book 1 eBook Dot Hutchison

This review does not contain spoilers, however, I do discuss points included in Amazon's summary description; if you consider those spoilers, avoid this review. :)

I read this as my Kindle First selection for May.

The novel contains violence, profanity, sexual violence against minors, pedophilia, and rape (both of minors and adults). The majority of this type of content is non-graphic, but it is very prevalent (rape is often referred to, but is rarely shown 'on-screen.') Given what the story is, none of the content felt gratuitous. but for those who are triggered by it, or prefer stories without it, avoiding this story might be advisable.

-o-

'The Butterfly Garden' is told in alternating first and third-person-limited perspectives: the main character relates her story to FBI agents following her rescue from the Garden. I have mixed feelings about this approach. When used by experienced writers (Rothfuss' 'Name of the Wind' is a good example), a nested story can be very effective. Unfortunately, in 'The Butterfly Garden's' case it ruins much of the suspense: the audience knows the protagonist escapes. From Amazon's summary/blurb, we know most of the other details of what she endured during her captivity. There is little left to surprise us. I found the sections containing the protagonist's backstory to be somewhat needless, and a little long in exposition.

The writer's style is competent and accessible, making for a quick read. Not too many clunky sentences, although the dialogue (especially at the beginning) isn't natural. I found the first-person much smoother than the third-person; perhaps if the entire novel were told linearly in first-person, I would have enjoyed it more. The style is engaging enough that I would likely read another of this author's stories to see her improve.

The protagonist was somewhat unbelievable, as I found her vocabulary, mannerisms, emotional maturity, and so on to be that of an adult. It takes a lot of suspension of disbelief for me to buy that a child who had her background, also had that level of polish. This seems to be more of a YA trope, and I was surprised to see it in an adult thriller novel. (Her knowledge of classic literature is an example of this, and an author making a heroine just a little too cool.) The side characters were underdeveloped in the third-person sections, although in the first-person bits were better.

While on the subject of suspension of disbelief...I don't expect present-day thrillers to require the level of suspension this one does. It was hard to believe in the setting, both that it could exist (how do you find contractors to build this sort of thing?) and that it was never discovered. Maybe in a futuristic science fiction novel, where things can be a bit surreal this Garden would have been more believable. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The pacing was just 'okay' for me. The third person portions tended to exposition, which made those times in the story feel like they moved more slowly.

The 'twist' at the ending was unnecessary, without adequate foreshadowing to make it satisfying for the reader.

Bottom line? No two ways about it,this book was weird for me. I can't say I 'liked' it, but I didn't dislike it, either, despite my criticisms above. If Amazon allowed half-stars, I would give it 3.5 stars, and I would likely read another of this author's future novels.


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The Butterfly Garden The Collector Book 1 eBook Dot Hutchison Reviews

The Butterfly Garden was, without a shadow of a doubt, the worst book I have ever read. First, I’d like to say that I enjoy the horror/thriller genre. I don’t consider disturbing depictions of murder or rape a reason to rate a book poorly. Secondly, I’m not the kind of person who just hates on books because I don’t like the ending or I didn’t like one of the scenes. I dislike books that are unbelievable or otherwise don’t make any sense.This book is the worst book I have ever read because the premise was mundane and tired, the choice of first-person narrative was a huge mistake, and the final “twist” at the end will leave you not only angry at how much time you wasted, but curious as to how such a terrible book made it through the editing process. This review will not contain any spoilers that aren’t already in the synopsis of this story (which, admittedly, are the only interesting parts of this novel in general). All quotations used are from the synopsis.
Part One Plot and Story Failures
Firstly, and I hate to insult your intelligence with this statement but, the main point of a suspense/thriller novel is to be suspenseful and thrilling. This book is neither of those things. Within the first few pages (and in the synopsis), you know that an undisclosed number of girls called “butterflies” were held captive by a “brutal, twisted” man called “the Gardner” that would go to any length “to hold beauty captive.” And you know that the FBI has one of the “butterflies” in an interrogation room Maya. The book tries to make her out to be a mysterious figure that might be hiding something that could break the case wide open, but at this point, there is seemingly nothing to tell. Nothing they would need from her in order to convict “the Gardner,” anyway. Still, they hold her there for hours on end prying information out of her. That’s a joke. The story oscillates between first-person (Maya) and third-person, and if a story is in first-person, then that means that person is doing a lot of talking. And if a person is doing a lot of talking, it isn’t much of an interrogation. On that point, you find out there isn’t much of a mystery either. This book is not a mystery, it’s a diary; a diary written by a girl that can’t write.
Maya talks endlessly about her time in the garden and describing what happened there without ever really helping the reader understand how terrifying a situation like that would actually be. You’d expect her to be too shook-up to talk about some of the details of her time there, but the book might as well have been written in bullet-point form given the lack of style and emotion. The reader never, ever feels like they are in the Garden. She describes a would-be horrific incident or event with as much emotion as I use when I tell people what I ate for lunch, but with less detail. The reader isn’t given a single opportunity to connect with the main girl or any of the other “butterflies” in the story because everything is written so matter-of-factly. Not to say that the author gives the main character a cool detachment from her recent trauma; instead, the author spends more time trying to convince the reader how horrible it was, than to adequately describe the mood of the garden, or give some thought into how captured, young girls would actually act in such an environment. Just because the character finds something indescribable, does not give the author an excuse not to describe it! If a character in a book I’m reading is crying, I want to have tears in my eyes. The author telling me that a character feels a certain way does not automatically make the reader feel that way. There is no emotion in the author’s writing style, and to be honest I was absolutely shocked to find out that she was a woman. In the end, and after nearly 300 pages, nothing happened in the book that someone who’s watched even a single episode of Law and Order SVU couldn’t guess.
The pacing doesn’t help either. Most of Maya’s accounts in the garden begin with her saying some terrible thing happened, and then describing that event in a lackluster manner. You already know what’s going to happen! She’s just describing how it happened! That’s not suspense! This book could have been partially (like, I would have given it 2 stars instead of 1) saved if the book was written while these events were happening instead of after the fact. Despite the relative shortness of the book, each of Maya’s stories feel very long, because you already know how each is going to end.
Also, if you’re going to write a semi-horror, mystery thriller, don’t spare the reader the disturbing details. That’s why the reader chose this genre over romance or a self-help book. Diluting all the would-be disturbing moments that would make the reader’s hair stand on end to thoughtless euphemisms defeats the entire purpose. The reader wants to be scared of gardens, the reader wants a shiver to run down their spine the next time they see butterflies, but the author makes none of this happen. So, what was the point?
Part Two Character Failures
Not to be outdone by the terrible writing, the characters in this story are equally infuriating. First, I’ll start with the cops because they are easy to dismiss. Their entire role in the story could be substituted by the words “and then.” All they do is prompt Maya to continue her story. With backstories as derivative as “a loose-cannon cop with nothing to lose!,” they add absolutely nothing to the story. They don’t ask thoughtful questions that help Maya reveal pertinent information, and they aren’t out on the streets piecing clues together (mostly because the crime was solved on page 6), they are listening to a girl read a long diary, and bringing her water and food. Additionally, does the author really expect the reader to believe that the FBI would allow two men to question a woman that’s been through what Maya has been through? This is just one of many details that are incongruous with how life really works.
Probably the most disappointing character is the Gardener. The Gardener is a poorly done version of the very popular sociopathic-villain trope. I can’t say too much about him without spoiling the book I’m trying to spare you from, so I’ll just say this making someone you know to be crazy seem normal is one of the most unsettling things an author can do, but making a crazy person seem normal is not as easy as making a crazy person do normal things. The end result is a villain that doesn’t make sense not because the author does a great job making him teeter between sane and insane, but because the author expects the reader to just accept that he is insane because he has a garden full of girls that he kidnapped. I do think he’s crazy because of that, but it’s the author’s job to make me feel it. The Gardner’s character never creeped me out or made me feel sick to my stomach. The most emotion his depiction evoked out of me was annoyance.
Finally, this brings us to the last character mentioned in the Synopsis Maya. She is nothing more than the laziest and most out-of-touch attempt at a strong female character. This is a critical flaw because so much of the book is written in the first-person. In order for this style of writing to be effective, the character needs to be critical, empathetic, descriptive (can’t stress that enough), and self-aware. Maya is none of these things and the book suffers for it. The author writes the character as if crying is the weakest thing a person can do, and if a person never cries, then they are strong. Incorrect. Maya is an unbelievable character in the sense that it is impossible that a person with her background could exist as she does in this book in real life. The author doesn’t write her with any flaws, so she is not relatable, and her current personality does not match her backstory. She’s too cool under pressure, too comfortable with men, and too clever for a girl of her years and experiences. The fact that she outsmarts one of the detectives several times is completely ludicrous. Maya does not make any sense as a character, and further dooms this mess of a novel.
The rest of the cast does not help this ensemble. They are a sporadic display of the most one-dimensional characters ever conceived, and I am including the seven dwarves from Snow White.
Part Three Conclusion
Not all books have to be Pulitzer Prize contenders to be considered good. A book just needs to be entertaining. They should evoke an emotion of some sort. Boredom is not an emotion, and anger at the author for wasting my time doesn’t count either. Despite the positive reviews, objectively, this is not a good book. Far too often I felt like the author thought, “I’ve heard that when XYZ happens in someone’s life they act like ABC, so I’ll have XYZ happen so it’ll explain why she’s like ABC,” without actually explaining why she’s like that! I’m not dumb. I don’t need handholding to help me connect dots (not that this book had dots to connect), but this “style” of writing is lazy and shows a lack of creativity. A book is supposed to paint a picture! The author’s choice to shy away from the more gruesome details or difficult to fathom emotions show a lack of understanding of the story she was trying to tell the reader. Maybe suspense/thriller just isn’t her genre. Maybe the author was trying something new. Whatever the case, it was not a success.

Part Four Small Things that Threw Salt in the Wound
Where was the zoning board when this beyond enormous greenhouse was being built? The HOA won’t let me have an iron-wrought fence, but this guy can build a cage the size of Six Flags in his back yard? Please…
Since I bought a digital copy, I won’t be able to burn this book for warmth during an apocalypse.
The Gardner kidnaps and tattoos girls with dark skin. Color tattoos don’t show up well on dark skin! Why would someone obsessed with butterfly tattoos choose girls with skin tones that wouldn’t show the tattoos? I understand that this is probably for diversity, and as a dark-skinned woman, I am all about that, but not when it is incongruent with the story. My feelings aren’t hurt when there aren’t any black people in 17th century British dramas, and it would not have hurt my feelings here either.
This review does not contain spoilers, however, I do discuss points included in 's summary description; if you consider those spoilers, avoid this review. )

I read this as my First selection for May.

The novel contains violence, profanity, sexual violence against minors, pedophilia, and rape (both of minors and adults). The majority of this type of content is non-graphic, but it is very prevalent (rape is often referred to, but is rarely shown 'on-screen.') Given what the story is, none of the content felt gratuitous. but for those who are triggered by it, or prefer stories without it, avoiding this story might be advisable.

-o-

'The Butterfly Garden' is told in alternating first and third-person-limited perspectives the main character relates her story to FBI agents following her rescue from the Garden. I have mixed feelings about this approach. When used by experienced writers (Rothfuss' 'Name of the Wind' is a good example), a nested story can be very effective. Unfortunately, in 'The Butterfly Garden's' case it ruins much of the suspense the audience knows the protagonist escapes. From 's summary/blurb, we know most of the other details of what she endured during her captivity. There is little left to surprise us. I found the sections containing the protagonist's backstory to be somewhat needless, and a little long in exposition.

The writer's style is competent and accessible, making for a quick read. Not too many clunky sentences, although the dialogue (especially at the beginning) isn't natural. I found the first-person much smoother than the third-person; perhaps if the entire novel were told linearly in first-person, I would have enjoyed it more. The style is engaging enough that I would likely read another of this author's stories to see her improve.

The protagonist was somewhat unbelievable, as I found her vocabulary, mannerisms, emotional maturity, and so on to be that of an adult. It takes a lot of suspension of disbelief for me to buy that a child who had her background, also had that level of polish. This seems to be more of a YA trope, and I was surprised to see it in an adult thriller novel. (Her knowledge of classic literature is an example of this, and an author making a heroine just a little too cool.) The side characters were underdeveloped in the third-person sections, although in the first-person bits were better.

While on the subject of suspension of disbelief...I don't expect present-day thrillers to require the level of suspension this one does. It was hard to believe in the setting, both that it could exist (how do you find contractors to build this sort of thing?) and that it was never discovered. Maybe in a futuristic science fiction novel, where things can be a bit surreal this Garden would have been more believable. Your mileage may vary, of course.

The pacing was just 'okay' for me. The third person portions tended to exposition, which made those times in the story feel like they moved more slowly.

The 'twist' at the ending was unnecessary, without adequate foreshadowing to make it satisfying for the reader.

Bottom line? No two ways about it,this book was weird for me. I can't say I 'liked' it, but I didn't dislike it, either, despite my criticisms above. If allowed half-stars, I would give it 3.5 stars, and I would likely read another of this author's future novels.