The Butterfly Garden by Don Hutchinson

The Butterfly Garden 

By Don Hutchinson 

Rating 3.5/5

Genres : Thriller, Mystery, Fiction 

This book didn't meet the hype surrounding it for me. I expected something more darker and nauseating but only got a vanilla version of something truly sinister. Some of the reasons  made towards explaining away the events didn't sound convincing enough. For example, the man - the Gardener - has been committing his atrocities for 30 years without getting caught. And there is a fire breakout and police arrival at the same time when the girls escape. Maya/Inara who is sort of the leader behind the managing of the girls and running things with the Gardener has known of the place before being kidnapped because her friend was an escaped victim from the very same place in the past? Far too many coincidences to overlook. 

So the story is this. A psychopathic man calling himself the Gardener kidnaps young girls between ages 16 to 21 and locks them up in his harem/garden. He carves wings of butterflies onto their backs and when someone falls sick or becomes uncontrollable or reaches an age past 21, they are killed and put on display in glasses with resin. He and his elder son share the girls on a regular basis and some of the acts absolutely break them down. He explains to a captive Inara/Maya that his father was a butterfly collector and lost his collection in a fire accident..this butterfly/girls garden happens to be his way of cherishing his father's memory..which is outright perverse and obnoxious. His elder son happens to be a sadist and his younger son a soft hearted empathizer. All of them run the garden without outside interference until a minor girl is brought by Avery, the elder son and abused. Then all hell breaks loose and the girls escape..the man behind the crimes put to the goal..his sons meet their respective justice.. 

I think the Gardener truly believed he was giving the girls a home and protecting them..loving them..immortalizing them..but was unaware that they loathed him all the time they kept him there awaiting a slow death. How come he is not caught for 30 years? How could he have had such a long run when some of his victims happen to be daughters of senators?? Hard to believe for a bit.