His older son, Avery, is a sadist who tortures and kills the girls for fun. The Gardner uses the butterflies as sex slaves but also deludes himself into thinking he is protecting them.
If the girls become injured, pregnant due to a birth control failure, or can’t acclimate to life as a kidnapping victim, they are killed early. Once a girl turns twenty-one, the Gardner murders her, then embalms and encases her body in resin to be displayed like a trophy. Maya is the name that the Gardner gives to the narrator Inara is the name she gave herself. The Gardener is a wealthy older man who kidnaps teenaged girls, tattoos butterfly wings on their backs, and imprisons them in a soundproof atrium called the garden. Even though the narrative tension has been spoiled, what happens to the kidnapping victims in the flashbacks is still terrifying. It opens with Maya/Inara talking to the FBI agents, so we know from the beginning that something big has happened and at least some of the butterflies are safe. But the more she shares, the more the agents have to wonder what she’s still hiding…ĭiscussion: This book is exceptionally creepy. But the girl, known only as Maya, proves to be a puzzle herself.Īs 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. FBI agents Victor Hanoverian and Brandon Eddison are tasked with piecing together one of the most stomach-churning cases of their careers.
When the garden is discovered, a survivor is brought in for questioning. Overseeing it all is the Gardener, a brutal, twisted man obsessed with capturing and preserving his lovely specimens. 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. Near an isolated mansion lies a beautiful garden. I decided to pick it up because I have been frightened and fascinated by stories of people who were kidnapped and held captive ever since I read Jaycee Dugard’s memoir, A Stolen Life. Why I Chose It: I found the title and a brief synopsis on a list of best horror books.
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