The Butterfly Collector

Title: The Butterfly Collector
Author: Tea Cooper
Major Themes: Adoption, Butterflies, Entomology, Australia
Synopsis: When Verity starts investigating a story, she finds more mystery than she imagined—can she solve a 50-year-old mystery, as well as learn where her own family came from?

I don’t normally request review books that aren’t Christian-based, but when I read the description of The Butterfly Collector, I was so intrigued that I decided to give it a chance. What a story! I was a bit baffled, in the first few chapters, about what was going on, and flipped back and forth a few times to see who the previous chapters were about, but I was soon captivated by all three main characters. Before too long I was so drawn into this story that I even spent one night dreaming about it, after I read a couple of chapters just before going to bed!

This is one of those split-time novels that is extremely well done. Part of the story is set in 1922, and the other part is in 1868. The thread that connected the two was quite a surprise to me! The first chapter introduces Verity Binks. She wants to be a reporter, but has just lost her job with the newspaper to returned servicemen. Then, she is sent an invitation to the Sydney Artists Masquerade Ball—along with a butterfly costume. Who could have sent it to her—and why?

The next chapter features Theodora, whose parents and brother have recently died in a steamboat accident. She and her three sisters have been left alone. The older three are desperate to get back into society—but Theodora just wants to paint butterflies! Chapter 3 switches to yet another person, which confused me for a few minutes. Clarrie was thankful for her job as a housemaid for the reverend, but she had a problem. Her baby would arrive soon—and she hadn’t been able to marry Sid yet. Eventually, she helped Theodora to find an elusive butterfly that had never been seen before in Australia, but before the discovery could be reported, Clarrie’s baby went missing.

As Verity followed the trail of a story she had been put on the scent of, she found herself discovering her family’s history—and uncovering a terrible mystery some fifty years in the making. Could she find the truth—and if she did, would she be able to expose it for what it was and make a difference?

Whew! What a story. Butterflies, adoption, baby farming, and journalism, all set in Australia. The Butterfly Collector is an unusual book. As I said, I rarely read books that aren’t labeled Christian, because I don’t want to deal with off-color scenes or bad language. This one is very clean, however. There is a bit of romance—but there was no hint of it in the 1922 story until I reached about 37% of the way through the book! There is some between Sid and Clarrie, and reference to what they did earlier that created their baby—but it’s totally off-page. So, I’m impressed with Tea Cooper, and will be watching for more books by her.

I received a review copy of this book from NetGalley, and these are my honest thoughts about it.

WARNING: Chapter 12: bloody and damn. Chapter 22: damn. Chapter 28: bastard and bugger; a fight in which a man tries to harm women and is himself knocked out. Chapter 31: I’ll be damned. Chapter 33: damn. Chapter 35: be damned.

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