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The Butterfly Garden (The Collector #1) by Dot Hutchison.

"Dark and grisly from the get go, this is a hard hitting, no holds barred, stomach churning exploration into one perverted man's fantasy and what makes it even worse is that there are people out there in the real world who would do this exact same thing. It's not an easy read, by any means but Hutchison managed to make it flow and keep your attention even though you were horrified at the mere idea of plot." 

3 Stars. 

Pros: Inara's narration was blunt, scathing but at the same time, the reader appreciated her honesty, she didn't sugarcoat anything, nor should something like that be sugarcoated. 

Cons: Sometimes the switching of POVs between Inara's first person narrative and Victor's third person narrative was a little confusing, but eventually it smoothed out. 

Full Review: 

Inara Morrisey is sitting in an interrogation room. There are cuts and burns all over her body and her voice is scratchy from smoke inhalation. But she's alive, coherent and seems willing, in a way, to talk about what she just went through. Victor Hanoverian and his partner Eddison are FBI Agents who specialize in violent crimes against children and they're hoping that Inara will cooperate. And she does, in her own time and in her own way. 

And the story she has to tell is truly horrifying. 

She was kidnapped and when she woke up, found herself in a greenhouse, a beautiful garden, complete with waterfall, trees, a pond, it was paradise, on the outside. But the darker aspect is the Gardener. The man who abducted her and all the other girls there as well. He kidnaps them, tattoos intricate butterfly wings on their backs and then he has his way with them. He keeps them until their 21st birthday and then, he kills them and preserves them forever in resin and glass, his own precious collection of beautiful butterflies. 

There's no getting around the fact that this was a messed up read. But Hutchison navigated it well, making sure the reader fully understood that all the girls, all the butterflies, despised the Gardener and what he had done. The story of how they escaped unfolds, as told by Inara and at the end, the reader is left with a sick feeling in the pit of their stomach but a small glimmer of hope that maybe, some form of justice can be done. 

This was an easy read in the sense that the prose wasn't overly complicated, in fact, Hutchison had a good flow for Inara's voice, but it was NOT an easy read when it came to the subject matter. The sad fact is that there are sick, sick, sick people out there who do this exact same thing. You just have to hope that they're eventually found out and their victims can find some peace. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone who can't handle the subject matter because it was very, very grim. 

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