The Butterfly Forest

By: Tom Lowe

Narrated by: Michael David Axtell

He hid the old pencil-drawn map for 40 years.

The guards never found it.

After 40 years in San Quentin, Luke Palmer leaves with a state-issued suit, $100 dollars to buy a bus ticket, and a map that will lead to a promise and into the heart of a dark forest.

College graduate student Molly Monroe is about to release rare butterflies not far from where the FBI used 4,000 bullets in a shootout to kill Ma Barker and one of her gangster sons in 1935. Molly snaps a picture that will frame something she never sees coming.

Sean O'Brien does see something -- a predator. Between the sea of cars in a Walmart parking lot. Walking quickly. Stalking two women.

As O'Brien tries to prevent the abduction, he opens the door to a new relationship. And he opens a dark door to a horror that is secluded within the forest. He follows veiled tracks that lead him farther into the woods where an evil from the past intersects with a frightening presence to form a volatile trap with only one way out.

©2011 Tom Lowe (P)2014 TomLowe

Unbelievable--Not Worth It!

Not only was the police and hospital procedures in this book unbelievable, it is amazing that there are more in the series. Narrator was good, but the overall story seemed to be little more than a view into what cannot happen in real society. The killing of the daughter was gratuitous at best. Someone compared this to Jack Reacher, but it is a far cry from being that good.

Sean O'brien

What made the experience of listening to The Butterfly Forest the most enjoyable?

Narrator very good at voice changes for all the different charcters in the book.

Any additional comments?

Loved all the charcters in book especially Obriens friends at the marina.

A Good and Easy Listen

I really enjoyed listening to this novel. I discovered that it was the third in a series of Sean O'Brien novels, five novels to date, 2014. Unfortunately, Audible only offers this one. I would really love it if Audible would get the rest of them recorded since I feel that I'm missing out on the beginning of the main characters life. I may even get the other stories on Kindle. To me I thought this was a well done and very interesting story. Sean O'Brien, the main character is a retired Miami homicide detective living on a boat off of central Florida. He is thrown into the middle of a murder mystery which he decides to look into after realizing that he is the only one really interested in solving the case. The story takes you into the Ocala National Forest in Florida where you learn many interesting facts. The story had a lot of action and great characters. Really worth the listen.

Evil in Eden

The third in the Sean O’Brien series finds him in a Walmart parking lot, when two women are attacked by thugs. Coming to their rescue, he manages to thwart their attackers, and a friendship with the mother and college aged daughter ensues. At first thinking it may have been a random attack, Sean digs deeper into who the men may be. Leading deep into the forests of Florida where once Ma Barker and her son were killed in a stand off by the FBI in 1935, many things seem to collide. A recently released convict, Luke Palmer, is roaming the area after spending 40 years in San Quentin . . . with a map of what is said to be the hiding place of the Barker’s money, which was never recovered. College student, Molly Monroe is about to release rare Atalla butterflies into the only place that will sustain them, and the only spot where they will reproduce, where their caterpillars feed on the almost extinct Coontie plant. As Molly ventures into the forest with her boyfriend, she snaps pictures of the native beauty around her . . . capturing something she was unaware of. This book is ripe with descriptions of the raw beauty of nature, God’s creation as pure and unflawed as it was in Eden . . . contrasted with the chill of pure evil. I love Tom Lowe’s ability to draw these clear contrasts for the listener/reader. The narration is superb. This was another all nighter for me.

Well-Written and Narrated

The story was well-written, and fairly fast-paced. No aspects of the story were left hanging--they got to the meat of the action in each scenario without you feeling as though you'd have to wait until the end of the book for the resolution. And the narration was superb. Michael David Axtell really understood the author's voice, and read accordingly. I'll definitely be looking for more narrations by Axtell.

Certain aspects of the story, however, seemed to fall a bit short of reality in regards to how certain characters dealt with and moved beyond the pivotal events. There was a bit of a laissez faire attitude by a female character towards a major event that took place; it clearly bothered her, though she got past it and made to move on a little too smoothly for my taste.

Beyond that, it was a good listen and I would certainly recommend this particular book to others. I'll definitely seek out other books by Tom Lowe (this was the first of his books I've read--I may have to look into books 1 and 2 in his Sean O'Brien series, this current title being book 3).

Things Just Didn't Always Ring True

Narration is superb, although there are several "flaws" in the recording where short sentences are repeated. The story, while somewhat interesting, just didn't ring true for me. Improbable events and actions left me hanging a bit and feeling a little "used" by the author. There is plenty of mayhem, death, destruction and such in this book and the "detecting" by the actual detectives and a former detective are often in conflict. The former did more detecting than the actual, which just didn't seem plausible.

Nevertheless, it is an interesting 3-star story. . . average in many ways. But on sale, it's a buy.

Mystery yes, thriller no!

Hidden Gem buy, good price but not a gem. It was just ok for me. Nothing that will keep me thinking about the story for days. The narrator was ok, just so soft-spoken, he didn't live up to the main character's cop persona. This is #3 in the Sean O'Brien series, I have no desire to continue.

First time !! And loved it!!

completed first audible and Tom Lowe. It captured me immediately and took only a few days to complete the book!!! looking forward to the rest of this series.

Outstanding, need more from Lowe.

Where does The Butterfly Forest rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

One of the best, wish there were more.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Not on the edge but firmly planted. Would like to listen to more from Tom Lowe but Audible doesn't have the 2 before nor the 1 after. What gives? The characters were well thought out and enjoyable to see them evolve. I expect Mr. Lowe will have a good long run if any of his other books are like the Butterfly Forest.

Which scene was your favorite?

I can't chose just one. There are far to many good scenes for that.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Sit back and enjoy. If they make the movie like the book was written.

Any additional comments?

I hope to hear more of Sean O'Brien he is a good character.

Great story, characters... give me more

Where does The Butterfly Forest rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

WHERE is the rest of the series??? From the Amazon reviews, it's clear that this is just one in the serious.....bring on the rest!