Shooting Butterflies in Aussie Readers

Aug 06, 2014 Brenda rated it it was amazing

Shelves: own-read, autographed-book, aussie-authors, contemporary-fiction, mystery, 2014-release

It was 1981 in Zimbabwe when twelve year old Tara Wright was excitedly begging her father to let her ride with him and her uncle; they were heading back to the homestead, Whispering Winds Farm and to ride with her father on the big stallion, Apache was Tara’s dream. She adored her father – her life with her sister, Dela and her mother and father on their property was only enhanced when she saw her cousin Gabe. Though she didn’t get to see him that often as he was away at university, when he did It was 1981 in Zimbabwe when twelve year old Tara Wright was excitedly begging her father to let her ride with him and her uncle; they were heading back to the homestead, Whispering Winds Farm and to ride with her father on the big stallion, Apache was Tara’s dream. She adored her father – her life with her sister, Dela and her mother and father on their property was only enhanced when she saw her cousin Gabe. Though she didn’t get to see him that often as he was away at university, when he did return to his family farm, Gabe always visited Tara and her family.

Not long after they parted ways, with Gabe heading toward his home, tragedy struck. The devastating murder of her father and her uncle on that terrible day meant that along with Tara’s mother and sister she fled the sanctuary of Whispering Winds Farm for a new life in South Africa. Starting school, making new friends; it was all strange to Tara. But she had her sister and her mother, as well as Gabe now and then.

Thirty five years earlier, ten year old Kirk Potgieter lived with his father on the Mission Station in Southern Rhodesia. His best friend was Impendla; the fun they had was the same as boys everywhere – and there was always mischief to be done too. But the day it all went wrong was etched on Kirk’s mind forever – in his dreams and nightmares; he couldn’t escape.

Now an ex-soldier who had excelled in the PSYOPS military unit, Kirk was known as Buffel. He had run his unit with precision, but the nightmares continued to keep him on edge, awake when he should have been sleeping. But was Buffel something else? What was he hiding – what secret was he keeping? And why was Shilo, a fellow member of his unit and one he had kept close, so intent of escaping Buffel’s clutches. Would the butterfly bring peace?

Shooting Butterflies is an absolutely brilliant novel. The pace was intense, the tension gripping; an incredible murder mystery that had me on the edge of my seat and really stressed at times. The beauty of the country was painted vividly by the author; although I’ve never been to Africa I could see its splendour in my mind’s eye. I really enjoyed the characters that were strong and well developed; my favourite would have to be Shilo. The story came to a satisfying conclusion with a perfect blending of events. The obvious research and attention to detail by the author made the story very real, and when I read the Glossary, then the Fact V Fiction section at the end, I was impressed. I have to say Shooting Butterflies blew me away, and I have no hesitation in recommending it highly.

With thanks to the author for my copy to read and review.
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Dec 06, 2014 Helen rated it it was amazing

This is a totally amazing book powerful emotional about two people who have gone through so much but never stop loving each other. I felt so much while reading this one and I am kind of speechless with how to describe it I loved it from start to finish and I highly recommend this one it really is one not to be missed.

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Jan 06, 2023 Anne Hamilton rated it really liked it

Shelves: australia-nz

Spoilers follow.

Young Kirk, a missionary's son, is traumatised by the ritual death of his friend Impendla at the hands of a sangoma, a spirit medium for Nehanda, what some people call a Karoi, a "little witch". Running deep through his tortured psyche is the need to save Impendla and free his soul.

Years later, after a long and savage period in black ops and Special Forces, he sees a young girl he believes can fulfil the role. He becomes obsessed with her, with the "butterfly" who can release Im ...more

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Aug 13, 2023 Rena rated it liked it

Shelves: first-reads

What I liked:
- The superstitions and rituals
- The murder mystery
- The African backdrop
- Animals!

What I didn't like:
- The romance

Something I've noticed while reading this book is that the aspects that I liked about the book were thoroughly researched by the author. I guess you can't really research romance, but I find that part of the book to be woefully inadequate as compared to the rest of the book. It read like a really bad YA romance...I was cringing the entire time, I'm guessing romance isn' ...more

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