The Butterfly Collector

Thank you NetGalley and Harper Muse for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

Clarrie and Sid just discovered their son has been taken, but by whom they don’t know.  This young couple – she a maid and he a newspaper worker – are trying to get their life together in 1868 Morpeth, Australia, but this is set to derail everything.  Their employers are determined to help them find their son and deploy their resources.  More than 50 years later, their descendants reopen the investigation and discover family secrets can rock the community even decades later.

Tea Cooper delivers a striking dual timeline story in The Butterfly Collector that will play to your emotions.  This novel is an ode to chaos theory, taking the reader on a decades long journey to see how one action can change the course of history.  Moreover, it is an intimate historical retelling of two important events in Australian history – stolen infants and the arrival of the Monarch butterflies to the continent.

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I give The Butterfly Collector 4 out of 5 stars. I appreciate the way Cooper weaves together two separate timelines that seem so independent at first.  I was surprised at some of the twists later in the book and enjoyed the plot of this novel.  However, some parts of the story and characters felt like they were missing details and needed to be further developed to sync with the rest of the story.  I was impressed by the details Cooper included about the butterflies and other natural aspects of the area during the time.  I did find it difficult to determine which character was speaking in the audiobook – the reader had distinct voices for each character, but slipped and used incorrect voices a few times.  This caused me to have to pause and replay the scene to grasp the full story.

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This book would be great for book clubs and individual readers alike, especially those interested in butterflies or mysteries.  I would also recommend this for readers interested in Australian history – the book juxtaposes several historical events in a way that gives the readers a feel for life in those eras.  With light references to death, this book may be best suited for readers over 13.

I was excited to see this book available with Netgally – the beautiful cover caught my eye immediately!  Monarch butterflies have a special meaning for me and I appreciate any time a butterfly can become a character in a novel.  I also appreciate Cooper’s work as an Australian historical fiction writer – so much of the historical fiction available to me and that I have read centers on American or European events.  I am not as familiar with Australian history and it was nice to learn so much while I read!

The Butterfly Collector will release on November 28^th – preorder your copy today!

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What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Command and Control, Marc Cameron
• Current audio book: The Summer Book, Tove Jansson
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Triptych, Karen Slaughter