A young boy is found in woods outside Amsterdam. Broken and bloody, he appears to be the victim of a brutal hit-and-run. When the police at the hospital ask what happened, the one word the boy repeats they don't understand. But journalist Farah Hafez does. She left Afghanistan as a child and she recognizes her native tongue. As the boy is taken into surgery she finds herself visiting the scene of the crime, seeking to discover how a little Afghan boy came to be so far from home.
Instead, she comes across a burnt-out car with two bodies inside - a sinister clue to something far darker than a simple road accident. It is just the start of a journey that will lead her from one twisted strand to another in an intricate web of crime and corruption that stretches across Europe and deep into a past that Farah had sought to escape, a past that nearly killed her.
This is a very well written book with plenty of twists & turns but I struggled with it. The characters are very well described but I didn’t like them & I particularly didn’t like Farah, she set my teeth on edge, so pretty & cool but it didn’t work for me. The plot is complicated, hopefully as it’s a trilogy then all will be revealed in the other two books. I’ll certainly give it another try once the other two books are published & I can read the series in one go

Well this book is a bit of a conundrum- a really interesting premise for a story however the idea of 'show don't tell' in this work fails slightly! Is this the authors fault or is it the translation? It didn't grip me but it did interest me and the ending was certainly compelling- if open! Clearly setting up for a follow up! I will be anxious to read the sequel but TBH I don't know where this Millennium Trilogy comparison comes from!

Thanks Netgalley. I am not sure I can comment on this book because I sort of enjoyed it but I didn't so will leave other readers to form their own opinion

Good idea - weak execution. Whilst the plot lines are OK I agree with others that this book lacks the necessary background knowledge by the author in respect of the technical aspect of some of his scenes. I also felt there was a lot of stereotyping. I will not be reading the follow ons.
4 stars for effort 3 for executions.

The title of this book is brilliant. It totally sums it up. A very atmospheric well written storyline that made me want to keep reading until the end. Fast paced and full of action. I am really looking forward to reading the next instalment.

I had to suspend the sceptic in me a bit of often to give this book five stars but that said it is an exciting read by anyone's standards. After finishing the story I did conclude that it could have been considerably shorter without losing any of its trill factor. Maybe just a bit less analysis by the characters themselves.

This review is written with thanks to Michael Joseph, an imprint of Penguin UK, and Netgalley for my copy of Butterfly On The Storm.
When Farah Hafez is visiting the local hospital, she meets a boy who has been the victim of a hit and run. As the boy is not yet conscious, and appears to be alone, there are no witnesses who are able to explain what happened to him. Determined to help, Farah, who is a journalist, returns to the site of the accident to gather clues, but the discoveries she makes will show her that this was not a simple hit and run.
It becomes clear fairly early in The Butterfly On The Storm that this novel is more than a standard police procedural where the conclusion will reveal a perpetrator. It is extremely political, and I enjoyed the insight it gave me into customs from other cultures; for example Bacha Bazi, as this is not something of which I had heard prior to reading. Through the characters of Farah and Marouan, there is also a focus on the lives of those who have entered the country as immigrants, which, although this novel is set in the Netherlands, I found particularly pertinent in the current British political climate. However, as the political element of the plot became apparent, some aspects of the plot became more complicated, and this made it quite difficult to follow at times.
All the characters in Butterfly On The Storm come with intricate back stories. This makes them compelling and piqued my interest as I was reading. However, at times, it felt that the characters were so well developed that there was little scope for them to grow as the novel progressed, and this prevented me from engaging with them as well as I might otherwise have done. The Butterfly On The Storm is the first book in a trilogy, so it will be interesting to see which characters, if any, appear in the second instalment.
The Butterfly On The Storm is a slow burner, and it was part way through that it finally captured my attention. As it reached a crescendo, the shorter chapters and fast paced writing increased the tension and made the novel a thrilling read, However, I didn't feel that this was maintained and this made it difficult for me to give the book my full concentration.
Overall, I feel that the issues that Lucius explores in Butterfly On The Storm are very interesting and often pertinent to modern society. However, I found that the novel was only able to maintain my interest in short bursts and this made it slightly underwhelming for me.

The words I immediately think of to characterize this refreshing and unique crime story is its darkness and the personality of journalist chasing up story of boy found nearly dead: how it hooks up to larger crime but also links intimately to her past is crux of the matter: I. could not put it down and I'm pleased it begins a series from this Dutch writer .. Farah has demons to face in the Netherlands as an outsider and that adds to texture of the whole enterprise. Local new policeman has equal troubles coping with older generation cops own demons on eve his holiday and near end to his career... Really really good ...

A really enjoyable fresh take on the crime novel. I've already dived into scandi crime now I obviously need to explore Dutch crime. The plot has great depth and the ending is gloriously chaotic.

Butterfly on the Storm is a multi-layered thriller with an original premise, it was something that I haven't seen tackled in another thriller before. It wanted to achieve so much, and the story and characters were so ambitious, and while in the end it didn’t really work for me, I can acknowledge the mastery in which the author presented themes such as corruption, sexual slavery, political games and greed, all in a way was that felt extremely genuine.

It was well written and you can clearly see how much research went in creating the story and the world but unfortunately, at times, it’s hard to care about the story when the characters don’t resonate with you. The only character that I liked was the doctor, Danielle, but she gets the most page-time at the start of the book, which is probably the reason why I liked the first part of this book better than the last.

If you’re into complex political thrillers that are not only fun to read, but also reflect on the current issues of our society, then you should give Butterfly on the Storm a go.

I received this book from Netgalley and it grieves me to say that after reading one third of the book I did something that I rarely do, and put the book aside.

The writer is obviously incredibly talented but I found that all of the characters were so multi dimensional that the actual plot faded into the background. Unfortunately I also didn't really 'believe' in the main character either.

I'm sure the fault lies with me, sorry.

This had all the elements to be a great story. Regrettably, the author continually got in the way of the presentation. Here’s a rundown on the book, without spoilers:

Author Walter Lucius has crafted a world that is filled with interesting characters. The plot is woven with care, and the cast of characters aid in the telling of the tale. Some of the characters are brilliant. Detective Marouan Diba, part of the supporting cast, reveals much of what drives him, and the mysterious, regular caller to his cell phone is a fantastic and scary creation.

You can tell the author has taken great care to understand his characters. Readers are allowed deep glimpses into their thoughts and actions, which is a positive. Understanding the motivations help to drive this book forward. The problem, though, is in the method Mr. Lucius presents this information. We are not given the chance to see how the characters are affected by viewing their actions. Instead, we are taken into that person’s thoughts, and given lengthy explanations on every tiny facet of a reaction. While informative, this is more telling than showing, and adds pages and pages unnecessarily to the book. More pages, more opportunities to slow down the conversations and the plot.

Mr. Lucius also tends to rely on a particular writing technique, and uses it over and over and over. There are constant instances in the book where a point is made, and then it is emphasized with a partial sentence. Numerous chapters end this way, and the method is employed throughout the book. Additionally, the habit of using incomplete sentences pops up a lot. Employed sparingly, this technique can be powerful. Used habitually, it becomes an annoyance.

Because of the nature of the book, it is imperative for the writer to have a solid understanding of the different professions he assigns to his characters. Some of the events that happen in the hospital appear melodramatic and staged, as well as clashing with the reality of how doctors are assigned their tasks within the daily operations of a large medical facility. The police procedures described are not what are usually followed in an early investigation (for instance, allowing the public to walk around in a crime scene area, to allow a forensic expert to ignore their important tasks and instantly fall into a conversation with the crime scene intruder, or to completely ignore the obvious and cordon off or at least investigate the possibility of a larger crime scene area). I recognize that by disregarding the usual procedures the heroine is seen as a strong character with incredible investigative skills, but ignoring standard police procedure in order to create this character drops a powerful, realistic story down to the level of a fantasy.

The strongest part of the book is the plot itself. Mr. Lucius winds first this way, then that, twisting all the different strands until you wonder how he will be able to bring them all together. The author effortlessly drives the story to its conclusion, managing to do this without dropping a single strand.

Bottom line: Strong, well-designed plot, with an interesting story and motivated characters to go along with it, weakened by constant partial sentences and a disregard for basic police (and possibly hospital) procedures. Even so, I was leaning toward three-and-a-half stars rounded to four until I reached the final page and discovered this long book ends with a cliffhanger. Authors should rely on the strength of their finished product to bring readers back rather than force them to buy the next book to find out the ending. Three stars.

A tense, edge-of-seat thriller: A child’s inert body is found on a road on the outskirts of Amsterdam and a burning car containing charred bodies is found nearby. Farah Hafez, an Afghan refugee who fled to the Netherlands as a child and is now an investigative journalist is determined to find justice for the child.

Farah is an instantly likable, independent, strong character who is an expert in Afghan martial arts. She is a modern Dutch female with a disturbing past dating from her youth in Kabul where her father was assassinated. A good multicultural mix of characters gives the book an extra layer of interest together with the different attitudes of others to refugees and immigrants.

As the clues build the story moves from the Netherlands to South Africa and Russia; to corrupt multi-national business and political dealings, hitmen, violence, torture, double-crossing, blackmail, and coercion. The corruption reaches the highest levels in the Dutch, Russian and South African governments.

As the first of a trilogy, you’re left very suddenly with an urgent hunger for more! Bring on the next instalment...

Thought provoking, unsettling and thrilling. The characters intertwine continuously weaving differing parallel views of the unravelling events. All of the main characters have flaws and it becomes difficult to warm to them but their demise is still shocking. The fast pace makes the book a page turner and the ending of part one leaves you breathless with anticipation for part 2.

This book had me gripped from start to finish. It's exciting to know this is book one of a trilogy and it's a brilliant answer to all the Scandi crime books.

Glorious conspiracy thriller that grabs from the start all the way to the end. A newspaper and police procedural with many strands that twists and turns at breakneck speed. Set mainly around Amsterdam it reaches its climax in Moscow with an ending that leaves one wanting part two right away. Superb!

DNF @ 20%

I gave this until 20% to give this a bit of a chance before I decided to give it up (I wanted to give it up at 5%).

I'm disappointed to put this one down because I thought it could be a new series to get into... but no. This is not a badly written book and already the premise for the crime is pretty unique. But I have an issue with our main character, Farah, and the fact that this was already overly sexual for a police procedural type novel.

My issues with the main character are as follows:
- She is some sort of kung fu master, with an aggressive rage she can't control, but she's soft as anything really... Cliche.
- She is a model... Or rather she is described as a model lookalike. Why does she have to be so pretty? So she gets her way with everyone that she meets? Give me a break.
- She drives a fancy old "badass" car. Oh, she's soooo cool.
- She has the most expensive of clothing brands to wear and is sleeping with a movie director? It's time to stop.

As for the sexual bits, here's my issues:
- Farah just happens to walk into the blast from a fire engine? Results of this? Wet tshirt, and she's not wearing a bra. Lots of breast talk. Gross.
- Before the first 5% of the book is over we have a sex scene that's semi graphic. I'm no prude but it just didn't feel right.

So that's why I put this book down so early. I feel bad, it's a Netgalley book and I don't like DNFing a book given to me for the purposes of a review, but I wouldn't have been able to finish this one before publication date, or even within a week, probably.

Note: if you're into police procedurals you may very well like this book, this is just my personal preference for the kind of crime novels I like to read.

Thanks to Netgalley and Penguin UK - Michael Joseph for giving me the opportunity to read this in exchange for an honest review.

Great book! It took off at a pace and had me reading longer than I would normally. Based in Holland with insight into South Africa and Afghanistan was a wonderful change from the USA or the UK. Current topics of immigration, corruption and the power of the media, made it very relevant. The description of corruption and power play in South Africa was spot on! I enjoyed both Farah and Joshua - and Diba, too. Interesting, multi-layered characters representing the cosmopolitan society of Europe.
Some sections felt too contrived - I found the flyover scene unlikely , even though it was an effective way to bring all the parts of the plots together from multiple viewpoints.
The end left me feeling dissatisfied, but that is no criticism of the book, rather my dislike of trilogies. Having said that, I eagerly await the second book.

This is the first part of the Dutch Heartland trilogy by Walter Lucius. This is certainly a multi-layered and multi-contexted novel. The plot and characters cross continents, moving from the Netherlands to South Africa and Russia, with Afghanistan as a constant background. This was not a 'nice' book. There are lots of nasty characters and many even nastier events. Even the 'good' characters are flawed and their history affects their responses and actions. The narrative concerns not only individual characters but also professsions (journalism, medicine and police) and how these professions are motivated and can come into conflict. It is very much a contemporary European novel, with narratives of refugees, migration, racism, alongside the growth of the far right, the power behind the media, paedophilia, human trafficking and corruption in government and industry. Sometimes it seems as if the author is perhaps trying to cover too many themes but this is 21st century reality. The first half of the book establishes characters, locations and a 'who (and why) done it' thriller but suddenly there is a violent storm in Amsterdam and this sends the second half of the book into an unrelenting and cataclysmic tempest of events, each more unsettling than the previous. The 'who (and why) done it' questions are answered but the book leaves so many more questions unanswered and will ensure many readers will want to return for the rest of the trilogy. I have some concerns about the way in which Farah is described so frequently by her physical attributes although the author does seem to indicate this is a male gaze point of view and to an extent it emphasises the way in which media can be distorted and used for specific ends. The final words of this novel (and this is not a spoiler) will stay with me until I read the second part of the trilogy: 'And then the sun broke into a thousand fiery pieces and the butterfly garden turned as white as snow'. This sentence is full og images and it did not surprise me to find that the author is a screen writer: there are many scenes in the book which are very filmic in the writing.

Love that this book is set in the Netherlands and also expands to Russia, Africa and Afganistan. There are several threads running at the same time which is not an easy task to do. I suspect an awful lot of research went into writing this book. The plot centres around a young Afgan boy involved in a hit and run accident. The doctor called to the incident forms an attachment to the boy and becomes his ally. There is a lot more to this story that involves immigration, arms trade and power. I certainly can't wait until the follow-up comes out.