The Butterfly Forest
About
Some crimes never fade. Some secrets never stay buried.
When botany graduate student Molly Monroe enters the Ocala National Forest to release rare butterflies, she stumbles upon something violent and illegal. Her discovery makes her a target—and the forest becomes a hunting ground.
Terrified for her daughter’s life, Molly’s mother turns to Sean O’Brien, a former detective who knows how easily evil hides in plain sight. As O’Brien tracks the threat deeper into the woods, he uncovers a web of brutality rooted in greed and history.
Fresh out of San Quentin after forty years, Luke Palmer carries a fragile secret—a pencil-drawn map leading to treasure hidden long ago by members of the Ma Barker gang. He wants one last chance at freedom. Instead, he finds himself crossing paths with Molly Monroe—and a ruthless force determined to leave no witnesses.
In the depths of the forest, past and present collide, and survival depends on choices made under fire.
THE BUTTERFLY FOREST delivers classic Sean O’Brien—atmospheric tension, relentless suspense, and a haunting setting where beauty masks brutality
Praise for this book
"I really like the way that Tom writes. His descriptions are as though you can see the picture he is painting in words. The story has a lot of intrigue in it and is very interesting. I will definitely read more from this author."
"In The Butterfly Forest author Tom Lowe creates a haunting tale of murder in a primordial Florida wilderness where rare butterflies struggle to live and savage men spill the blood of innocents. Tom Lowe's writing is within the tradition of James Lee Burke and the late Tony Hillerman: like them, his exquisite descriptions of nature serve as a counterpoint to evil's ugliness; at the same time the descriptions heighten the sense that life is fragile and that death is always about to strike."
"Not often can you use beautiful and thriller in the same breath. Most worthwhile book in the 'thriller' category I've read in a long time - possibly ever."