Dot Hutchison

Now that the Butterfly Garden has been raided and its former captives are trying to adjust to life outside, the detectives are working on a new serial killer case. This one leaves his victims in churches, posed with flowers. Priya's sister was one of them, and now someone is leaving flowers on her doorstep - even after she and her mother move to another city. She's studying at home before their next move, and doesn't see anyone except a group of chess-playing vets who hang out in the park. The detectives are staying close to the women from the butterfly garden, and have put Priya in touch with Inara, the tough survivor of the garden, knowing the two have a lot in common.
The thing that I like about the previous book and this one is the characters and their development and that makes up for some flaws. I'm glad we're seeing how Inara and the others are doing, and how the detectives are managing to stay sane given the work they do and their own pasts.
I was actually expecting a scene in which the killer attacks Priya, but is fought off by the elderly vets, and to make it more poignant, the oldest and sweetest one dies defending her. Surprisingly, this did not occur.
Anyway, I figured out the killer pretty early and wasn't fooled by the red herring. I hate it when that happens. I want to be surprised (yet have the surprise make total sense). It's hard to do.… (altro)

Weird police procedural. Two FBI agents are interviewing Inara, a young woman who has escaped from a impossibly rich, James Bond villain type megalogmaniac. He kidnaps young girls, tattoos them with a butterfly, and keeps them as sexual slaves in his "garden", a prison with walls that raise or lower at the touch of a button, and a large glassed in garden with a waterfall. Inara is a tough cookie who grew up in a neglectful family, but she slowly tells the agents the whole story, including how she came to take care of new girls, explaining what's happened to them and helping them stay sane.

Four stars because I was fascinated but it ended with an unbelievable feel-good plot twist. Somehow I could accept a millionaire killer who's able to kidnap women over a 20 year period and keep them in a walled garden without getting caught, even by his wife, but that twist? Nope.

I started the sequel anyway.… (altro)