I was given an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest and independent review.
This book came highly recommended and I loved it. This is a crisply written thriller with interesting, well executed characters. Whilst the book had a fairly steady pace, there is enough intrigue and building of the plot, to keep me reading it constantly so as to find out how the story ended.
I cannot wait to read the next book in the series!!!
5 stars from me

I'm afraid I was a bit disappointed with this book. I had high hopes it would be the start of a trilogy I would enjoy but I just felt there was something missing.

I read the book to the end but I didn't feel I 'connected' with any of the characters and to me, none of them seemed particularly likeable.

There were some elements to the story that were promising but it just never seemed to gel. As I progressed through the book the plot got a bit disjointed and, for me, confusing. The closer I got to the end the more random the plot seemed to become. I kind of felt I was reading 3 different stories? Perhaps things become clearer/get resolved in the 2nd and 3rd installments.

I'm not sure if the book was originally written in Dutch and later translated to English. If so, perhaps something was lost in translation.

On the positive side, I did manage to finish it. If it had been really awful, I would have abandoned it at some point.

I don't like being negative but personally speaking, it just didn't work for me. Sorry.

Such a gripping story, it had me from the first chapter!

Butterfly on the Storm by Walter Lucius

A boy is found dressed as a girl in what appears to be a hit and run car accident on the outskirts of Amsterdam. As he is rushed to hospital Farah, who originates from Afghanistan, overhears him speak one word and asks to act as interpreter for the boy.

Farah, who is a journalist, immediately recognises a story - that an age-old Afghani tradition of sexual abuse of underage boys, has found its way to the Netherlands. Acting on impulse she heads to the woods of the Amsterdamse Bos, the area where the boy was found, where she encounters the emergency services at the scene of a burnt out car with two bodies. Farah and two police detectives, Diba and Calvino, soon realise that this must be connected to the boy's injuries, suspecting a criminal retaliation.

The case develops into a crime on an international level. It is a complex plot with huge themes, such as political corruption, child trafficking, the Russian oligarchy, political asylum and a worldwide crime ring, which are just the tip of the iceberg.

None of the protagonists are particularly likeable, or sympathetic. We are given quite a lot of information about them, but some of their personality traits are contradictory. For example, Farah seems to undergo strange metamorphoses; she is quite an aggressive Kung Fu master, who seriously injures her opponent to the point where it may be touch or go. Farah almost immediately loses interest in her welfare even though she has been hospitalised. Farah has a partner but is promiscuous on a whim, showing no remorse. The story glosses over how she squares her conscience on this. Later in the company of her uncle we are asked to believe that she is like a timid little girl.

Both Farah and Danielle, the medic in charge of the boy, have had undesirable past histories and still have unresolved issues or neuroses that have been triggered by the boy's predicament. Diba has enough emotional baggage to stall a plane; Paul Chapelle, a journalist who emerges halfway through the book, also deals with guilt and intimacy commitments.

There are occasional sex scenes that feel gratuitous and add nothing to the story. There are scenes of brutality, which possibly don't need to be so graphic. The plot has so many characters, threads and themes that it can become quite a wearing experience. Whilst the issues raised are worthy topics for discussion, they add to the complexity of the story without making it compelling or thrilling.

My thanks go to Netgalley, Penguin UK and Walter Lucius for giving me a copy of the ARC in return for an honest review.

This starts very much like a normal thriller/crime story, yet it evolves into so much more. I found it fascinating that it was set in the Netherlands, with the police detective being of Afghan origin. This brought a lot of interest to the story. It was quite complex, but not too many characters or events that it wasn’t easy to keep track of them all. The author definitely doesn’t mind killing his characters off! You can definitely see this as a television series, rivalling those scandi dramas.
I normally like twists at the end of a story, but this almost had me screaming. When I looked back I saw that it is the first of a trilogy, so perhaps it wasn’t as bad as it seemed? I certainly hope so, and await with fascination the next part of this story. I received a review copy but I must admit I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I did!

Farah Hafez fled to the Netherlands as a young girl, a refugee from the war in Afghanistan. Years later, now a journalist with a Dutch paper she realises that a young Afghan boy, who was an apparent victim of a hit and run, was actually trafficked to the country to be sexually abused by powerful politicians and businessmen. Although not an investigative journalist, she is determined to uncover the story and expose the perpetrators.
This is a fast paced thriller, with the action taking place not only in Amsterdam but in Kabul, Moscow and Johannesburg. There are many twists and turns with a truly unexpected and explosive ending. This book is the first in a trilogy and I cannot wait to read the next one.

A real page turner, love this type of cliff hanger novel. Will definitely look out for this author in future

Thanks to Net Galley & Pengiuin UK for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
The story is set in Amsterdam and begins with a young boy, who is dressed in girls clothing, being seriously hurt in a hit & run accident. Why has the boy been left for dead & where did he come from. Farrah who is a journalist is on the scene when he is brought in to hospital and makes it her business to find out more
There is a lot going on in this book, politics, history, corruption, paedaphile ring, violence and murder. There are a few strong well created characters, Farrah the journalist, Danielle who is a doctor and two detectives.

This is the best read I have had in a while. The characters are very well drawn. The story is original and gripping. As part of a trilogy, the next two parts are eagerly awaited. Every character seems to carry issues from a troubled past but that is partly what makes it so unusual and compelling.

I quite enjoyed this story but I did find the narrative a bit disjointed at times. Authors usually have several themes running through a story but i found that the way this was written could be confusing at times. The change of theme was often sudden and, for me, disrupted the story rather than enhancing it.
I liked the strong characters and enjoyed the shock as one of them succumbed to preassure and 'did the wrong thing'
I would recommend it - but with reservations

Butterfly on The Storm begins with the discovery of a child, injured in a hit and run on the outskirts of Amsterdam. The child is dressed in exotic girls clothing, jewellery and make up but the emergency services soon realise that this is not a little girl but a young boy. Farrah Hafez is an up an coming journalist, who finds herself pulled into the boys story when she translates for the doctors. She quickly realises what has been happening to the boy and makes it her crusade to protect him and others at any cost.

If this book had concentrated a little more on Farrah I think I would have liked this book. As it was there are too many characters and because of this you never really get the chance to care about any of them. At just over 500 pages it's way too long for the story it tells and I struggle to see how this will extend over three books. That said it does leave some mighty cliff hangers and had I enjoyed it more I would have been curious to see what happened next. But as it is I think I'll leave it here. Maybe one just for the existing fans of Dutch crime novels.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for a copy of this novel for an honest review.

In essence Butterfly on the Storm is a great book. It's based on a complex plot that is well thought out and well delivered (although saying that I couldn't help but think that maybe things tied up a little too well at times, although I don't begrudge this as Walter sold it pretty convincingly).

I must admit that early on I battled a little with how certain scenes were narrated (one example was the wet t-shirt scene), and I tended to attribute these to translation intricacies. Regardless, this played on my mind a little too often, and I couldn't help but question what was lost (or at least not as great) because of the translation.

I really enjoyed getting a feel for Netherlands and a bit of its culture.
Additionally I enjoyed the characters and their interactions.

Walter Lucius also had a tendency to describe a scene from multiple aspects and through numerous view points and interactions which was very enjoyable.

All in all an enjoyable read.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin UK – Michael Joseph for a copy in exchange for an honest review

This wasn't for me. It was a good story but had so much going on with all the different characters that I found it a lot to take in and remember. I also felt that some parts of the story flowed better then others.

Wow, fantastic, disturbing, gripping, well written book. Highly recommend this book. Can't wait to read the next in the Trilogy

This book has too many big issues: police corruption, international terrorism, paedophila. In my opinion, the author would have been better choosing one and covering it in more depth. There were too many main characters so you didn't get to know them fully and the plot meandered slowly at times. The book may have benefited from being about two hundred pages shorter, with a more precise storyline. Ultimately disappointing, as the author can clearly write. Perhaps it needed better editing?

If you want to go on a journey, then this debut book is for you - it's fast paced, with plenty of twists & turns to keep you hooked. The main opening storyline unravels to introduce you to an array of sinister plots with some quite complex main characters.

My only criticism would be - because the story is extremely well detailed, I feel some of this overpowered the characters making it difficult to completely get to know and relate to them.

That said, I am looking forward to getting gripped in the second instalment of this trilogy

I was excited to read this book and wanted to enjoy it. However, although parts were gripping too much was not. It is a big book with ambitious themes and maybe things will get clearer in the next books in the trilogy but for me there were too many plot lines and characters with disappointing resolution. I think it will appeal to many readers but not to me.

This is a tense thriller from the outset with a dramatic crime, which is not what it initially seems and becomes even more complex with every revelation and development of the plot. The two detectives are unusual and not always sympathetic, but we become drawn into their individual lives and backstories and begin to care whether they will succeed in their discovery of the truth. The other main characters are interesting, but not always fully drawn, possibly to develop further in future novels. This is my main complaint about the book, however: the fact that it is the first in a trilogy - something I had missed before starting - means that there are unresolved threads and loose ends to be taken up in the next installment, and I found it rather frustrating to be left on something of a cliffhanger at the end of this novel. Rather a disappointment for me; I will be unlikely to tune into the second...

Superb. Looking forward to the second and third book in this trilogy. Reminds me of the Millennium trilogy by Stieg Larsson.

The premise of this book was really interesting, and initially I was engrossed in the book. However, each chapter is narrated by different characters who give their thoughts on every action. This slows the story down unnecessarily which meant it wasn't the thrilling page turner I had expected.

The plot is by far the best thing about this book. The story is interesting and very well written, so it is a little disappointing that the characters and their narrative distracts from what could be a great, gripping story.

I would read more of this author's work as I think he is a great storyteller.