Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens'- of cover. 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. I would love to hear what everyone else thought of it though? Did you find it as much of a page turner as me? What did you make of Maya as the main character? And how was the ending for you? (Spoiler alert: probably best to avoid the comments if you haven’t read the book but plan to).About the Book 'Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden. (Though perhaps it is more worrying that I found the portrait of the psychotic gardener far easier to believe). It was just too much of a stretch of probability for me. I won’t say any more for fear of ruining it for those that haven’t read the book (and you might disagree with me) but in just a few short pages, my investment in the story went from high to rock bottom. It was certainly unique, but I have to say (like several of the reviews I had read before picking up the book) the end sorely disappointed me. You can probably tell that I liked this thoroughly gripping read. It is cleverly navigated with twists and turns that really draw you into the garden and let your imagination run wild. Dot Hutchison paints a vivid picture of the haunting terror that those in the garden experience through her evocative and descriptive prose. What unravels is a gripping, dark and intriguing story that will make your skin crawl. We learn about the garden in the wake of its discovery, through a survivor, Maya, who is brought in for questioning by FBI agents. A dark and twisted man known as the gardener tends the garden and its inhabitants. Not the winged creatures that you or I would imagine, but a group of young women who have been kidnapped and intricately tattooed to resemble different species of butterflies. The garden is home to a collection of beautiful butterflies. The Butterfly Garden is the tale of an isolated mansion that houses a beautiful garden. And it was certainly a good choice I devoured it during a long haul flight on my holiday. I resolved to change that starting with The Butterfly Garden. I frequently pore over these kind of lists, but rarely remember to actually get the inhabitants of the list onto my reading pile. I found The Butterfly Garden on a ‘must-read’ list for 2016. We might have to ask you to review the Rock My Wedding book too 😉 Over to our favourite literary critic… On a side note huge congratulations to Ms Kingston on getting engaged recently. The lovely Emma Kingston from Year Of The Yes joins us again today to share her first Autumn/ Winter book club review.

The butterfly garden book dot hutchison