I loved The Butterfly Garden so I was excited when I heard she had a new book. This book covers sexual assault taking place at the University of Florida. The men committing these crimes are found dead having been eaten by alligators.

I thought this was good but I enjoyed The Butterfly Garden so much better!

Thanks Netgalley for the free copy.

A good read, it never loses its momentum and keeps the reader guessing until the end.
Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for providing me with a galley in exchange for my honest opinion.

I love Dot ‘s writing as she has a way of creating twisty plots that are fast pasted and keep you guessing till the end . She is an excellent writer and I have read all her books

I'm a huge fan of Hutchinson since I read The Collector series so I jumped at the chance to read this one. And there's some great vigilante justice on this college campus. Rebecca, Ellie, Hafsah, and a few others are suite-mates at their Florida campus. When a fraternity boy is found dead, mangled by an alligator (ironically their mascot as well), suspicions arise as their parties are notorious for alcohol-fueled groping and manhandling of the girls who attend. Ellie is the angry one and Rebecca is the philosophical one who speaks of social contracts: "When men are the murderers, people remember them, not their victims. But when men are the victims, people still remember them." Campus police try to protect the women but it's unclear if they are actually helping or not. Is there a female murderer among them and if so, what makes her so brazen? Highly addictive!

I absolutely 100% would recommend any of Dot Hutchison’s books to any reader. Reading her wonderful weave of stories is my own personal “itch” per say. The ending was unexpected and completely changed everything. It left me wanting more and more though just like with the Collector series.

I have always considered myself a man hater. I actually have reasons for this. Yet, I'm not unreasonable about it. I had to quit this book at 25%. I really did have to. I have my own reasons for my feelings, but not all men are hateful. Matter of fact, most aren't. This book is full on hate. I love horror, but this shit will pollute my mind. Not recommended.

4-5 stars. Beware if you have triggers, and read synopsis to see if you think it’ll be one that triggers you! I thought this was a fast paced, disturbing, unputdownable read! I was a huge fan of her first book, and didn’t love the others, but did love this! I think it was well written, engaging, chilling, thrilling, and many ways real! I would highly recommend to those who love dark and demented thrillers!
Will make sure to buzz it up on all the different platforms!

Dot Hutchinson provides a well written suspense novel with compelling scene setting and a few strong characters. With the plot supporting a revenge or even vigilante justice theme, the reader can find themselves at odds identifying the antagonists from protagonists. This can be riveting in and of itself but due to the fact that Hutchinson portrays almost every male character in the book as a predator, it leaves the reader hesitant to commit to the story line. The immense amount of foreboding makes for a difficult read. 2 stars.

Thank you to #NetGalley for this ARC

While the writing is solid and somewhat compelling, the story was just hard for me to get into and enjoy. We are introduced to a lot of chapters that gets confusing. side characters are just not well developed, there are a lot of over the top characters and characters that just don't resonate!

3.5 rounded up for writing and characters

I can’t lie. The Butterfly Garden is one of my favorite books. It was so different, haunting and heartbreaking. I couldn’t stop reading it.

This wasn’t that. But it may become that and I hope it does. The writing is still spot on and the characters are fantastic so it probably will. It just is a bit too much in its head at times for me.

I know this is a reality in today’s society (women not ever feeling entirely safe in such a variety of situations, especially when alone) but the amount of time these woman live in that headspace was all encompassing throughout this story. Besides Det Corby there isn’t another decent male character. That was a drawback for me. I think the story could have used a decent male presence to counterbalance the story, even just one.

I wasn’t shocked by the revelation, having read Dot before I kind of expected it. It didn’t deter from the enjoyment of the story. Will I read the next one? Positively, can’t keep me away.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Thomas & Mercer for a copy in exchange for a review.

Rebecca Sorley, a Florida undergrad studying journalism, is like any other college student. She has plenty of studies and her friends keep her busy. Her roommate Ellie, keeps her very occupied. She is the always looking for a fight and regularly getting kicked out of bars for fighting with men who get too close to women and can't take no for an answer. Rebecca gets suspicious of Ellie when male students start to die. At first everyone really didn't think any of it when 1 died by an alligator. People thought he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. But more men end up dead in the same way..men who had reputations for treating women bad, and getting away with it.
Could Ellie be capable of murder??

Revengeful, intense and captivating is what comes to mind when thinking about this book. An intense read dealing with some emotional charged issues in today's society. I very much enjoyed the book and looking forward to more novels by Dot Hutchison.
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced copy of the book.
#netgalley #deadlywaters

A serial killer avenging death on male college students who assault or rape young women by feeding them to alligators? When I read the synopsis of this book I thought “yes, please!”.

This book is set in Gainesville, FL at the University of Florida and follows a set of roommates who navigate through the daily in’s and outs of college life. A series of deaths start occurring in which the men are found to have been eaten by alligators. At first the deaths are chalked up to it being mating season until connections are made between the men. The men are known for spiking women’s drinks at parties or in bars to either assault or rape the women. It is then that an investigation begins to find out who really is taking vengeance on these men.

I have mixed feelings on this novel. I really enjoyed what the novel was intending to do; however, I am not sure that the execution really worked for me. There were times in which I felt that this novel would have been better suited to a Young Adult audience. I also had an issue with the way in which the novel implied that every man in this book (except the main detective) was a rapist. It was a bit unbelievable and made it seem like there were not any good men out in the world. The author did include many good points on what it means to be a woman and what we are expected/not expected to do/deserve.

Overall, I think it was a decent read but I can say that I enjoyed The Butterfly Garden more. 😊

Thanks to NetGalley/Thomas & Mercer for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book.

I have love Dot Hutchison books for a while now. This book was really interesting with strong female roles that I really enjoyed and connected with. I enjoyed the main character and felt like she was like able character to lead the book. The story definitely had me guessing the whole way through and I throughly enjoyed the twist at the end.

I was really thrilled to get this ARC, as I LOVED Dot Hutchison's Butterfly series. This book is very different, but not in a bad way. The story revolves around a group of college friends, one who is brutally raped, and a vigilante who is killing rapists. This is very dark subject matter and not for everybody as it deals with sexual assaults and gruesome murders, but I really enjoyed it. I did figure out who the the vigilante was, but that may have been intentional and in no way detracted from the storytelling. The only issue I had was that most of the men were horrible predators. I would like to think this is not the case in real life. On a side note, I am a long way from college age and I really enjoyed the mundane discussions among the friends about what to do, where to hang, etc. That did add some levity. Definitely recommend if you can take the darkness.

Thank you to NetGalley, Dot Hutchison and Thomas & Mercer for this ARC!

This was my first book by the author and I really wanted to like it, but I guess the book wasn’t for me.
That said, it was well written and the plot was intriguing.

Body parts of a male student are found in the waters. His death is blamed on the alligators. But when other bodies of male students are found, it is realized that the deaths are no accidents. Someone is feeding the men to the hungry alligators. There is a vigilante in town and is targeting the male students who were known to hurt and assault women.

My reasons for giving 3 stars to this book are:

Being introduced to too many characters in the beginning.
College students getting drunk at bars almost every night? They obviously need to attend AA meetings before going to college if even cheap vodka is better than nothing for them.
The characters are either saints or demons.
Almost all men are horrible and nasty creatures. The ones that are not, are saints.
Too much exaggeration to the point that an issue as serious as an assault or rape has become a caricature in the book.

Thanks to the author, Thomas & Mercer and the NetGalley for the advanced copy.

Warning: much discussion (with details in some cases) of rape and sexual assault; murder by dismemberment via alligator; suicide.

Rebecca and her dorm mates are students at the University of Florida, where suddenly men who have raped and sexually assaulted women are turning up dead after being fed to alligators. The book begins with a first person narration from the killer's viewpoint and continues in third person, with the first person narrative popping in now and again as the killer goes about their business of ridding the campus of the bad guys.

The book ties in with the scrutiny of the #MeToo movement at this time, and there are extended conversations about it. It's an obvious message, of course, and an important one, but the book bogs down in these from time to time.

Ellie, one of Rebecca's roomies, is brash and outspoken to the point of rudeness about the dead men getting what they've been due, and has a habit of kicking guys in their nether regions when she feels the need to protect other women at parties and bars. She's also naturally one of the primary suspects and does get pulled in for questioning, but is never charged with anything, as we know from the chapters from the killer's POV that the killer is deliberate and careful not to leave forensic evidence behind.

The detective in charge of the investigation and Rebecca are obviously attracted to another another; fortunately, it isn't an instalove situation, and they do have moments here and there throughout the book - there's nothing explicit here and there isn't even a kiss until the latter part of the book.

There's a subplot of one of the campus police officers creeping on the women - that is wrapped up before the end of the book, so at least it isn't dangling there. There are also two other murders that are not via alligator, but by more conventional means. Were these done by the same perpetrator feeding men to the beasts in the swam, or just red herrings?

Overall, the story is decently told, albeit a bit farfetched with everything going as planned every time the killer wants to feed the gators. I also had a question about how exactly the killer was doing all the surveillance (to learn the habits of the victims) and the killings without anyone questioning where they were.

I did guess the killer early on, although not the backstory or shared history with another person.

Three out of five stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advance copy.

Rebecca Sorley is just your average college student who is balancing her active social life with her academic career when several male students start turning up dead. While each death occurred under suspicious circumstances, Rebecca and her friends find it odd that each male student killed by alligators are also rapists. When more bodies turn up, it becomes obvious that someone is targeting rapists. There’s a good chance that this vigilante is a student, and the hunt to find them is on.

This isn’t your usual mystery as this is more of a slice of life story with a suspense and murder weaved through it. We follow Rebecca and she does not investigate the murders. However, her friend and love interest, Det Corby, is working the case and he does bring a bit of his side of things into the story. There is an occasional chapter told from the vigilante’s perspective, but otherwise, we’re following Rebecca and her group of friends through a short period of their lives.

I usually read mysteries from the perspective of characters who are investigating crimes, whether detectives or amateur sleuths, so I love that Dot Hutchison came at this story from another direction. It kept things interesting to follow a group of students who are experiencing the change in energy on campus as the crimes unfold. It gave the story a different dynamic because the primary focus was not on the murder mystery. Instead, as the story developed, it focused on survivors of sexual assault and how rape culture blames the victims.

I loved the many characters we follow throughout the story. There’s such a variety of wonderful characters that I would love to see again if this wasn’t a standalone story. I can picture the series continuing should the author choose to do that, but I also like that it’s a standalone and that we’re left to imagine what happens next based on where we last saw everyone.

As far as the mystery itself goes, I found that the chapters from the vigilante’s perspective when they were closing in on their next victim hindered the mystery. It was obvious who the vigilante was from the very beginning. I think that the mystery and suspense would’ve come through a lot better if these chapters were not included because just came off weird sitting next to the rest of the story. Plus, Hutchison’s efforts to shroud the vigilante’s identity just gave her a suddenly very masculine voice compared to every other chapter from her perspective. I seriously wondered if she had some kind of mental break down and didn’t remember killing anyone.

Otherwise, I think this is a great story and I highly recommend reading it if it sounds like a story you’d be interested in checking out.

I was super excited to receive an ARC of this book as it sounded so interesting! While I wasn't in love with this author's novel <I>The Butterfly Garden</i>, I recall finding it to be compulsively readable and was willing to give this novel a shot. This one fell flat for me with the "all men are evil" angle which came off as a gimmick. I also just hated all of the characters. I found myself constantly rolling my eyes at childish dialogue between Ellie and her friends and couldn't wait for it to be over.


Many thanks to the publisher for providing me a copy via NetGalley.

First of all I am a huge fan of dot’s work. The butterfly series was so twisted and creepy. This book is a little lighter but does delve into sexual violence and abuse. Please keep this in mind if you are sensitive to these things. Four roommates act as a vigilante group to stop any unwanted sexual advances in public, and sometimes get in trouble for it. When men who have a sordid past start dying, via alligator deaths, they become persons of interest. Can you figure out who the killer, or killers, are before the end? I couldn’t. I loved all characters and felt I could not put this book down!! I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.