The Butterfly Garden Review

             I’ve never been much of a horror fan, but over time, it grew on me. My cousin picked a book up for me, handed it to me and told me, this will become one of your favorites. I took it, hesitantly. She didn’t explain the plot or even tell me the genre, but if she was so sure, maybe I would end up liking it? When I got home, I sat down and started reading, I usually only read 30-50 pages in one sitting, but I ended up reading all 286 pages in one sitting instead.  

This book takes place in Reykjavik, Iceland in November. The FBI has just captured a serial killer, they also find a survivor. They decided to interview this young woman who so miraculously survived the serial killer. Inara, to them, is seen as the leader when the FBI discovered the garden and all the girls. Inara is being interviewed by Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison. She tells them about her days in the garden, what would happen, but Victor and Brandon felt like she was holding herself back from saying something. Victor was patient, letting Inara tell the story at her own pace. She talked about how the serial killer, the Gardener, would show his ownership and the visits from his eldest son. Also, how the girls were never older than 2. The families of the girls, might I add powerful people, were demanding answers that only Inara could give.  

The Butterfly Garden by Dot Hutchison, is a horror fiction book, published in 2016. One of the main characters, Inara, seemed like the key to all the locked doors. She was seen as the leader when those girls were found, there was quite a number of girls found, but only Inara could give them the answers they were looking for. Inara’s character is the most interesting to me, she went from living a sad and horrible childhood to being kidnapped and living a hell lot worse. For her to be the solution to everyone’s problems, really captivates the reader. The Gardener, in short words, is a sad, weak, wealthy man who uses these girls to his advantage. 

Something that I think differentiates this serial killer book from others, is the plot. The gardener saw himself as a savior to these girls, he genuinely believed he was doing nothing wrong. He didn’t run or deny any of the accusations, he defended himself. He wanted to preserve beauty so much, he decided the best way to do that was to kidnap, brand them, which means tattoos, and kill young women, all in his garden. 

Overall, I think this was a very interesting read, it really had me hooked. It was a bit difficult to read because of how much abuse was described. I would definitely recommend this book to any horror fan who like the gripping, grotesque, and rich with vivid detail Hutchison does such a well job on.  

Thank you for reading! 

-Kimberly