Dot Hutchison Books In Order

Publication Order of The Collector Books

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

Dot Hutchison is a bestselling author of Thriller and Young Adult novels with a background in free-falls and chessboards. Hutchison was first published in 2013 when her standalone book, A Wounded Name was published. She then embarked on writing a trilogy that saw the first book in the trilogy; The Butterfly Garden published in 2016, the second The Roses of May (2017) and The Summer Children (2018).

The Butterfly Garden

The Butterfly Garden is the first book in The Collector trilogy by Dot Hutchison. It is a story about a wicked man known to the world as the Gardener. The story kicks off with a former captive in the care of the FBI. The cops have raided the so-called, Butterfly Garden and have some women dead and more recovering in the hospital.

He has a beautiful garden with creeks and waterfall and adorable butterflies. However, this man also has other butterflies, and these butterflies are his girls. He takes these girls mostly at the age of 16 years so that he can preserve them until their 21st birthday when he can keep them forever; that is, if the girls manage to live to see their 21st birthday.

The Gardener tattoos these girls with elaborate butterfly wings on their back and forces them to wear dresses that have their backs exposes so that he can always see these wings. He is a very different type of kidnapper; he rapes these girls but treats all them kindly until their 21st birthday. The story is narrated by a third person and first-person points of view interchangeably. The third person being perspective being told while in the interview room while the first person perspective kicks in when one of the Gardeners victims recounts of how she ended up becoming a butterfly.

Each of the girls the Gardener took all have a different namesake and a butterfly tattoo. The kidnapper lives in a mansion that has an outer garden, but it is only in the inner garden where the girls are kept, and this is how the kidnapper has managed to keep the girls without anyone ever knowing of their presence. Each of the girls also has their own designated showers and room, and are all well fed and given clothing to wear- dress that the Gardener wants them to wear.

All the captives seem to have Stockholm Syndrome- but this is not true, as they have been conditioned to behave as such except for one girl who does have Stockholm syndrome. In case one of the girls dies, there is always another who will take her place especially after the Gardener goes out hunting for a replacement.

When the garden is finally discovered, one of the survivors is brought in for questioning by the FBI. Agents Brandon Eddison and Victor Hanoverian are tasked with investigation and piecing together the clues of one of the most stomach-churning abduction cases of their careers. The girl interviewed is Maya who also proves to be a puzzle herself. She had a dysfunctional childhood that saw her transform into a super street smart girl. She is manipulative of people as she knows how to read one’s minds and actions, but she neither uses any of her skills to escape. Instead, she ends up getting to know them and gets emotionally connected to them more than she ever thought- especially when one of the girls dies. Through her narrations, the readers get a chance to learn more about the dynamics inside this garden and the man who is responsible for all the kidnapping. Maya is straightforward, resilient, and a no-bullshit lady but at the same one that inspires awe and sympathy.

This emotionally filled narrative is not about the struggle between life and death, but instead, it details what such horrors can do to a human being. The author, Hutchison delved deeper into the topic by providing lots of insights on her characters’ struggles and thoughts as well. She also included a contradiction between the beauty and the evil ways of this world- for instance, how death and abuse occurred in such a beautiful place such as garden.

Roses of May

Roses of May is the second book in The Collector trilogy. Even though the book picks up right from where the first book left off, it can be viewed kind of a companion novel than a sequel since it follows a different thread. Brandon Eddison, the FBI agent, introduced in the first book is featured more heavily in this book. The second title is not a story of the same depravity, horror as the first book. Instead, it is an excellent suspense that is captivating, engaging and with a mystery that will keep the readers hooked from the first page to the last.

While this book is not about the butterflies introduced in the first book, it does have some of the characters featured in the first book. The primary focus of the story is Priya. She is an exceptional young woman who has been struggling to pull her life together after her sister was murdered when she was only 12 years of age. However, this seems to be almost impossible since now it appears that she has been the killer’s latest obsession. Priya is a strong woman but yet very vulnerable, but she has a fantastic mom who is super intense and a little scary.

Then there is Ramirez, Vic and Eddison characters from the first book that have been working to help bring into justice the serial killers and were also part of the investigative team into Priya’s sister killing. These characters have somehow become like family to Priya and her mother.

Roses of May is a beautiful woven Young Adult mystery novel with an atmosphere that is both dark and creepy. The characterization is brilliantly done taking into consideration that some of the characters in the first book are also featured in this novel as well. This enables the readers to have a deep understanding of the FBI agents (since most of the featured characters are FBI agents) and the various roles they play into the investigations, and the victims live as well.