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The Butterfly Garden
- The Collector, Book 1
- Narrated by: Lauren Ezzo, Mel Foster
- Length: 9 hrs and 13 mins
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Summary
An Amazon Charts bestseller.
Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden.
In this garden grow luscious flowers, shady trees...and a collection of precious “butterflies” - young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble their namesakes. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.
As her story twists and turns, slowly shedding light on life in the Butterfly Garden, Maya reveals old grudges, new saviors, and horrific tales of a man who’d go to any length to hold beauty captive. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding...
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What listeners say about The Butterfly Garden
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- Simon
- 03-06-16
An Hypnotic Danse Macabre
Fascinating, intriguing, gentle and brutal. An hypnotic Danse Macabre that genuinely surprised me. They say never judge a book by its cover and well in this case you should beware the innocent sounding title as well! Hidden behind it is as twisted a story as you’re ever likely to read. There is insanity, brutality and the extinction of hope yet the quality of the writing within and the ultra-smooth delivery of Lauren Ezzo lead you on an almost surreally tranquil journey through the story's stark landscape.
The book is structured around an interview of one of the survivors of the garden. It’s a clever device which actually works better than I expected and gives the book a good rhythm without disrupting the flow. Foster’s gruffness provides a growling counterpoint to the smooth narrative sections from within the garden. There are some lighter, very human moments as the relationship between the FBI agents and the girl develops. There are also some surprisingly gentle interactions within the beautiful yet horrific world created by The Gardener.
For all those gentle touches though this book deals with the disturbing including moments of extreme cruelty. It really is no light holiday fiction for all the delicateness of its title and moments of genuine humanity. What it is, is a darnn good read though. If you have the fortitude to enter these dark places and appreciate the good writing you find when you get in there then you’ll find this a genuine treat from Dot Hutchison.
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44 people found this helpful
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- KRISTINA
- 30-05-17
A good page turner
It was hard to stop listening, despite the dark twisted nature of the story. The main character is likeable and she draws you in to her life story, I respected her strength and attitude having suffered the way she has. However, throughout listening you feel as though you are constantly waiting for something, a twist or a turn ... that never comes. The ending is really disappointing and silly, it discredited the rest of the book for me. Because of the ending I lost interest and won't be listening to Dot Hutchinson's follow on book.
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41 people found this helpful
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- Devon67
- 05-07-17
A toe curling, well written, uncomfortable audio.
I bought this audio book because I'd read on a blog that is was similar to Riverdale, as in, ' A town with a dark secret'.....its not like Riverdale at all. It is a book, however about a Family with a horrific, HORRIFIC secret, which thankfully is uncovered. I don't want to spoil the story so I'll say nothing more specific about it, but I would say that tales like these are not for the faint hearted and 'I am' firmly in the faint hearted category of human being and the subject matter did knot my stomach. Once Id started listening I didn't want to abandon the girls terrible story, so I saw it through. I commend the writer as she skillfully edged us into the horror of the girls situation via the main character Mia who didn't in any way over describe the vile things that happened to her or the girls which kindly spared both the listener and the detectives who bore witness to her testament. I can't fault the writing, but I think the guy who read the male parts of the book may have been a little Off with some of his inflections , but that's just personal taste and I'm British ; we're a lot less flippant about such horrors. Anyway, I'm frightened of your imagination Dot Hutchinson, your story will haunt me for a long time. Five stars.
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13 people found this helpful
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- MISS ENGLAND
- 31-01-18
Unputdownable!!
Every now and again you get a book you just can’t put down. This is one of those. I have listened to lots of books but never felt like sharing a review - but had to share how good this book is.
Original storyline, characters have depth and believability. Narrators were well suited for the roles, unpredictable and interesting plot. Could not stop listening.
Enjoyed immensely and will listen again. Now to listen to the second in the series.
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8 people found this helpful
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- Derek
- 18-03-18
For want of a nail...
‘For want of a nail the city is lost’
Bad choice of narrator in Mel Foster.
I very nearly gave up on this solely due to Mel Foster’s awful narration. just about every vocal inflection is wrong and the transition between Lauren Ezzo’s sensitive interpretation and Mel’s third grade drama class style is grating.
The story is very good, well written, disturbing yet compelling.
Would have been much improved if it was narrated by Lauen Ezzo alone.
I am pleased I didn’t give up but Mel Foster is on my list of narrators to avoid at all cost.
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7 people found this helpful
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- Sigrin
- 17-03-18
Poetic writing of a deeply disturbing tale.
Not for the faint hearted.
I would like to know what made Dot Hutchison write such a deeply disturbing story. But wrote it in such gentle poetic way, it’s almost an oxymoron.
This will remain with me for a while, and every time I see butterfly’s.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Samantha Collins
- 12-10-17
Brilliant
Fabulous, gripping from start to finish. Absolutely loved this book. Brilliant plot, and great narration.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Stephen
- 20-09-16
Twisted
Really enjoyed listening to this book - honestly made me wonder for the sanity of the author though! What a twisted story.
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4 people found this helpful
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- Karen
- 14-07-17
loved every word
kept me gripped throughout. interesting theme although didn't quite get the plot twist at the end
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3 people found this helpful
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- Theresa A T
- 09-07-17
intriguing
I loved the way the story gradually unfolded as an interview. there are a lot of deep ethical questions being asked throighout the story. I just couldn't put it down.
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3 people found this helpful