The Butterfly Girl: A Novel

By Rene Denfeld

“A heartbreaking, finger-gnawing, and yet ultimately hopeful novel by the amazing Rene Denfeld.” —Margaret Atwood, via Twitter

After captivating readers in The Child Finder, Naomi—the investigator with an uncanny ability for finding missing children—returns, trading snow-covered woods for dark, gritty streets on the search for her missing sister in a city where young, homeless girls have been going missing and turning up dead.

From the highly praised author of The Child Finder and The Enchanted comes The Butterfly Girl, a riveting novel that ripples with truth, exploring the depths of love and sacrifice in the face of a past that cannot be left dead and buried. A year ago, Naomi, the investigator with an uncanny ability for finding missing children, made a promise that she would not take another case until she finds the younger sister who has been missing for years. Naomi has no picture, not even a name. All she has is a vague memory of a strawberry field at night, black dirt under her bare feet as she ran for her life.

The search takes her to Portland, Oregon, where scores of homeless children wander the streets like ghosts, searching for money, food, and companionship. The sharp-eyed investigator soon discovers that young girls have been going missing for months, many later found in the dirty waters of the river. Though she does not want to get involved, Naomi is unable to resist the pull of children in need—and the fear she sees in the eyes of a twelve-year old girl named Celia. Running from an abusive stepfather and an addict mother, Celia has nothing but hope in the butterflies—her guides and guardians on the dangerous streets. She sees them all around her, tiny iridescent wisps of hope that soften the edges of this hard world and illuminate a cherished memory from her childhood—the Butterfly Museum, a place where everything is safe and nothing can hurt her.

As danger creeps closer, Naomi and Celia find echoes of themselves in one another, forcing them each to consider the question: Can you still be lost even when you’ve been found? But will they find the answer too late?

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Oct 1, 2019
• ISBN: 9780062698186

Rene Denfeld

Rene Denfeld is a bestselling author, licensed investigator, and foster mother. She is the author of the novels The Butterfly Girl, The Child Finder and The Enchanted. Her novels have won numerous awards including a French Prix, and The New York Times named her a 2017 hero of the year. She lives in Portland, Oregon.

Book preview

title page

Dedication

For Luppi, Tony, Markel, and Tamira.

Loving you gives me flight.

Contents

Cover

Title Page

Dedication

Contents

One: Caterpillar

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Two: Chrysalis

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Three: Butterfly

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Acknowledgments

About the Author

Also by Rene Denfeld

Copyright

About the Publisher

One

Caterpillar

Chapter 1

Celia knew a bad place when she saw it.

The abandoned-looking house was in the industrial area next to skid row, where loading docks glistened with moisture and train tracks crossed the broken streets. The windows were covered with boards. What looked like blankets peeked out from under the slats. The front door was heavy and covered with locks.

Celia had been hunting for returnable bottles when she noticed the place. The few houses left in this area were usually empty. Not this one.

She balled her hands in the pockets of her jean jacket and studied the house. Her hair, dirty and musty, but still with a copper sheen, was cut short into wayward curls. She may have only been twelve, but she knew more than most. Or so she told herself. But deep inside her was the fear that she didn’t know enough.

A shadow seemed to move behind the boarded-up basement window. Celia froze, then made herself breathe. Someone was looking at her through a tiny pane of glass. She could feel the heat of their gaze. For a second, it seemed that their eyes locked.

Celia disappeared inside herself. She was used to doing that. She could make herself vanish even as she stood there, just another street urchin with no future in sight.

Celia, who believed in nothing but herself and the butterflies, knew that the worst fears of the streets were always real. You can find this out the hard way, or you can be watchful. She backed away, and then ran back to skid row. But she could still feel those eyes in the window, burning into her with something that could have been anger—or might have been hope.

Chapter 2

Naomi awoke, and for one brief moment, she thought she was back there. In the place. She heard her sister’s voice, calling through the years: Come back and find me. I’m twenty-five now. The water drips we once felt are gone, and the chariot has flown away.

Naomi opened her eyes to find herself in her friend Diane’s sunny guest room, curled with her husband, Jerome, in a bed once reserved for her alone during her rare visits. She breathed out in relief that the dream was over but still felt the anxious echo of the call.

I’m getting closer, she thought. This was why she was here in the city with Jerome. After almost a year of searching for her long-lost sister, their investigation had brought them here.

Her nose twitched. She could smell fried ham and coffee. The room was filled with sunshine, and Jerome was next to her, the cap of his shoulder rising against the sheet. In a moment she would get up and make her way down the narrow stairs to eat breakfast with her friend.

Diane served the ham with redeye gravy and scrambled eggs flecked with chives. Naomi poured cream in her coffee. She knew Jerome was probably awake upstairs but giving her these few minutes alone with Diane—she appreciated that.

Diane drank her own coffee black, wincing at the taste. She looked at Naomi’s cream like it might spite her. To be young, she said.

You never worried before, Naomi said cheerfully, adding sugar to her cup.

Diane had aged in the last year. Silver laced her abundant red hair, and lines crossed her face. Her usual warm demeanor had quieted, and Naomi could see the loneliness in the slack skin under her jaw. And in her eyes.

Staying long? Diane said hopefully.

Probably not, Naomi responded, cutting into her ham and tucking a piece into her mouth. Thanks for letting Jerome come along.

Of course. He’s your husband. Diane said this mildly, but Naomi caught a whiff of disapproval. Disappointment with Naomi? The last time she had seen Diane was a year ago, at their wedding, right here in Diane’s living room. Both Naomi and Jerome were thirty. It was their first serious—and for Naomi only—relationship.

She let it go, there among the matching breakfast plates with flowers on the rims, the linen-colored cups, the cream pitcher. Outside the birds were calling, and Naomi heard a crow silence them. She had been raised in the country and could identify a dozen birds by their sound. Yet she could not find her sister.

Diane’s hand reached for hers. You think she might be here, she said, softly.

We heard about some missing girls, Naomi said, cautiously.

One might be your sister?

Diane knew that Naomi had escaped captivity as a child. For most of Naomi’s life her only early childhood memory had been running through a strawberry field at night after escaping from a rotten trapdoor in the woods, deep in the Oregon farm valley. A group of migrants had found her and driven her to Opal, a small town an entire day away. Naomi had grown up there, with a loving foster mother named Mrs. Cottle. She was nine when she was found, but no matter how hard she tried, she could remember nothing more of her past. Terror had wiped her memory clean. Naomi had grown up to become an investigator, dedicated to finding missing children. She thought she wanted to find children like herself—but the real truth was that she wanted to find the little sister she had left behind.

Naomi shook her head. I don’t think so. They’re too young. But I wanted to check it out. They were dumped in the river here. Those who have been found, at least.

Diane frowned, letting go of her hand. I hadn’t heard about that.

Naomi blinked at her plate. The Green River Killer murdered at least seventy-five women. Dozens before anyone even noticed.

Diane looked sympathetically at Naomi. She knew how hard it must be to stay inside the center of the storm. Were these prostitutes, too? Diane asked.

Street kids. Does it matter?

You know me, her friend said tartly. Of course it doesn’t.

Behind them, she could hear Jerome’s soft descent from their guest bedroom upstairs. The man who had once been her foster brother, now her lover, friend, and more.

Diane reached for her coffee, sat back. She didn’t know Jerome well.

Naomi looked up, smiled briefly. Jerome. You explain.

The narrow form of her husband took a chair. He smiled at Diane, dark eyes on her, a hank of black hair falling. The shoulder cap of his missing arm—taken in the war—twitched. We were visiting the task force in Salem when we heard street girls are going missing here. They’re all Jane Does—even their street friends don’t know their real names. Some have been murdered; their bodies have turned up in the river. Naomi wants to talk to her detective friend, visit the medical examiner, put up some flyers about her sister—rule out that she might have been one of the girls. He paused. And maybe use her expertise to do something for these girls.

I hope this all works out, Diane said quietly, blowing on the hot, bitter coffee.

Jerome reached with his one arm, found the cream pitcher with his long slender fingers, and, without asking, poured a rich stream into her cup. His eyes told Diane he understood what it was like to love Naomi. Diane found solace in his glance.

Hope is enough, he said.

Chapter 3

A heavyset man with a mashed face was watching Celia. He wore a blue jacket zipped up to his reddened neck, the kind of jacket worn by guys who work in automotive shops, only this one didn’t have an i am pete name tag stitched on the front pocket.

He could be anyone. That was the truth of the streets: If there was danger, anyone could hold it. No one could be trusted, not in the end.

Celia believed this.

The beefy man, his eyes like tiny periscopes on her, could be him. The man prowling the downtown streets, making her friends disappear. Some turned up as corpses, floating in the river. Others just vanished. Not that such things didn’t happen anyhow, but lately—in this heady spring of rain showers and streets that ran blood dark with freshets—it was happening more and more. Like all the time.

She stole another glance at him. His mashed face, pinched through the nose and eyes, was still watching her. Under his damp silvery hair, two funny-shaped ears protruded like little cabbages. His mouth was torn with scars.

Celia was down on skid row as dusk fell, the last of the businesspeople rushing, briefcases against their hips, like horses spurring themselves home. Oil puddles, sheened with water, made rainbows under the streetlights, and the night sky rushed away, reminding her the universe was vast. The gay bars were lighting up, the first of the cross-dressers coming out after dark when the night lights were kinder to their coarse faces, the stubble that the razors never quite got. Some had fake eyelashes so long they poked you when they came in for a hug. Which they liked to do, plenty.

She told herself she had nothing to fear. She had her friends for protection: Stoner and Rich, the two boys she hung around, street kids like her. Numbers in safety, Rich once joked. The boys were on the corner now, panhandling, their cold palms damp and empty. Spare some cash? they asked the suits whirling by. I’m hungry, mister. Celia watched as the flood of commuters rushed down the street. Soon all that would be left would be the street people because the night was made for them.

She looked back over at the scar-faced man, but he was leaving. She saw his back and wet shoulders as he walked down the street. The brick wall where he had stood was empty. There was a dry shadow where he had been, like the outline of a shape from an atomic war.

Rich waved to her, a bill held triumphantly in his fist. Some fool gave me a twenty, he bragged as she came closer. Let’s get some food.

Sometimes Celia thought she was a bird, flying over these streets. Sometimes she felt more like a slip of air that could disappear, like the tendrils of mist rising from the gutters. But mostly, in her secret heart, she was a butterfly, with magic wings beating hard for escape.

*  *  *

That night Celia called her mom.

The other street kids didn’t know she had a mom. None of them talked about that stuff anyways—it was too raw. Some of the kids said they were orphans, but Celia thought probably they were not. Orphans of the heart, maybe.

Celia borrowed a cell phone from another girl and tapped in the newest numbers written on the damp scrap of paper from her jacket pocket, fully expecting this number, too, would be out of service.

But the number was still alive. Maybe, too, the voice on the other end.

Who is this? her mom asked softly.

It’s me. Celia, she said, turning away from her friends. She remembered the first time she had heard the term opioid addiction and realized they were talking about her mom.

My baby. In the background Celia could hear the television blaring. She strained to hear any sound of her sister, Alyssa. Now six, the same age Celia had been when her sister was born. The voice lowered. I miss you.

How is Alyssa? Celia asked.

She could hear the airy high in her mother’s voice. She’s fine.

When Celia talked to her mom her very pores cried with sadness, and in just moments she became heady with despair, dizzy enough she had to reach for something to hold on to, which turned out to be the brick wall where she so often stood.

You coming home?

You know I can’t, Mom.

There was silence. She could hear her mother’s slow breathing. Celia wished she understood this world, the things it did to you.

The other girl wanted her phone back—she poked Celia in her back with a broken nail. I got to go, Mom. I was just saying hi.

Her mother yawned. Celia. Is that you?

Celia ended the call. A life can now be extinguished with the swipe of a finger. Then she went and sat on the curb, the car lights scoping the dark. The men in these cars, like her stepdad, were part of her. Her very cells had tasted them. Her blood coursed with them. But this was her life now, and she had to make something out of it.

*  *  *

Oh, the butterflies. They soften the edges of this hard world. Caught up so high in the sky, they fall to earth like meteorites, their iridescent wings trailing red thunder and liquid gold and the kind of purple only nature can provide.

Celia felt her back scrunch against her denim jacket, then relax. Sometimes she thought she had wings, bare nubs under the skin, and if others said these were her shoulder blades, she would say, Naw, that is where my wings are hiding. She could imagine the other kids along the row having wings, too, folded tight against their backs, wet and pulsating, opening now to feathered wonder. Bright green that flashed, the kind of silver that became light, white that became gold.

There could be legions of us, she thought, flying into the night sky. If all the street kids suddenly took flight, why, the night sky would glow with gold currents. Or maybe, she thought, it would just be her.

With a deep exhale, she flew.

Chapter 4

Naomi understood that in investigations, the ground matters.

She had worked dozens of missing child cases, and each search began on the ground. It might be soft and dappled, with fir needles, as in one case of a Boy Scout who stepped off the trail. Or frosted and covered with snow, as in the case of a child gone missing in the Pacific Northwest woods. Or it might be rutted with concrete, a spill of black asphalt steaming on a city street.

The ground mattered because it led her someplace, always. She would find her sister on this earth because of the steps Naomi took on the ground. The thought filled her with impatience to begin.

Naomi knew to go to the darkest streets first. She went looking for the street people.

The place was called Sisters of Mercy, and it existed on a street known for winos and junkies. As night fell, Naomi passed crowds of street nomads, dusty in black leather, and skid row alcoholics with faces like bruised cherries. She saw a skinny old woman with tufts of hair on her balding dome digging through the loam of a gutter, cackling. There was a troubling number of families—mother, father, one or two kids, all with the tired, tense faces of poverty but not much else to say they were homeless but this: the long line.

It snaked around the corner, with the orderly discipline of the hungry. Having worked many missing cases involving the poor—they were usually the ones who needed her the most—Naomi had found they were the most orderly of all. Desperation was a profound governing force.

Cutting past the line, Naomi walked in the front door with scarcely a murmur behind her. That, too, was being poor. They were afraid of not being served, of going hungry. The empty café was filled with tables and rickety chairs, like any other restaurant. Only this one had a nun behind the counter, and her tired, warm eyes caught Naomi’s.

It’s not time yet. Back of the line.

In the open kitchen, volunteers were busy cooking: giant vats of what smelled like beans and vast industrial sheets of cornbread coming out of the oven. At a table nearby stood self-serve jugs of water with paper cups. On the wall was a blackboard menu: Rice, beans, and cornbread, pay what you can. Or work for your meal.

I bet you get a lot of dishwashers, Naomi said, stepping close to the counter. She pulled her investigator’s license out, expecting the suspicion. I’m not a cop, she said. I’m looking for someone. My sister, actually.

The tired eyes met hers. There was a permanent wimple crease in the woman’s forehead. We don’t talk about our customers.

That’s nice, that you say ‘customers.’ Naomi smiled. Usually I hear ‘client,’ like they are here on sufferance, or a boulder around our necks.

This nun apparently was not ready to be charmed. Naomi could feel the body across the counter, under the cloth: the exhaustion, the heavy-boned fight against injustice. Look. I don’t want to make trouble, Naomi said. "Do you have a community bulletin board where I could leave

Reviews for The Butterfly Girl

[beamis12 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A second outing for Naomi, the child finder. She has vowed not to work anymore cases until she finds her sister. The problem is she remembers so little of the place she escaped from, she only remembers singing to her little sister when she was afraid. Young street girls are bring murdered, their bodies pulled from the river. This gets Naomis attention and she and her husband travel to find out whatever they can. She meets a young girl, Celia,only twelve living on the street, who may have answers she doesn't know she has.As a former street child herself, our authors paints these scenes with accuracy and poinancy. Another group of throwaway people, children, that as a society we look away from. Denfeld also includes something that makes her stories memorable, in this case butterflies. You will have to read to find out what they mean in the book. Lastly, it is a book about sisters, the ties that bind, showing how far one will go to protect someone they love. I love her books because besides being mysteries, they are darn good at poking holes in the way we view our society. There is always a message, but are we strong enough to see. ARC from Edelweiss.

[stahl2ricco · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Well done sequel! A year after the events in "The Child Finder" Naomi is fully focused on finding her sister. This takes her on quite a few journeys, and she ends up in the skid row section of Portland, Oregon and meeting a street kid named Celia. Several story lines are shooting around this book, and when they intersect, well it's magic! This is my third Denfeld read, and all 3 have been a treat! The only reason I didn't give this a full 5 stars, is that I grew a bit tired of all of the butterfly references and descriptions. HOWEVER, the ending really made those even more magical! A very satisfying, and well written read!

[thewanderingjew_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Butterfly Girl, Rene Denfeld, author; Alyssa Bresnahan, narratorTwo children, who were living in an orphanage in a farm town in Oregon, suddenly went missing and were never found. The Child Finder, Naomi Cottle, was one of those children. When she escaped, at age 9, she had left her younger sister behind. She was in shock, and could remember very little, she did not even remember her sister’s name. She was unable to lead the authorities back to where she had been captive. They could not find her little sister.Naomi was placed in the care of a kind and loving foster parent who helped her recover. It was there that she met Jerome, a Native American Indian, who was now her husband. He had also been a foster child living with Mrs. Cottle. He, too, recovered from his painful past with the help of this wonderful woman. Now, just about two decades after her escape, both 30 years old, they are searching for her sister. Naomi believed that her sister might still be alive. Their efforts have taken them back, full circle, to the place it all began, in Oregon. She and Jerome were staying with Naomi’s friend Diane.Although she was hoping to find her alive, even though so much time had passed, when she heard of the Green River Killer, a murderer who was dumping women into the river, she feared one of them might be her sister. She was drawn into the investigation which was so close to the place where she had been abducted so many years ago.As she walked about town posting flyers and questioning residents about her sister, she met street children, young kids living from hand to mouth on handouts. They were always in danger. Celia was one of the kids on skid row. She was 12, almost 13 years old, and had been on the street for 9 months. She had brought criminal charges against her stepfather. When he was acquitted she ran away from home to escape further physical and sexual abuse. Her mother, addicted to drugs because of him, had vouched for him, and so Celia was branded as a liar. Now she goes back home occasionally, only when he is gone, in order to check on her 6 year old sister, Alyssa, and to clean up the house. Her mother is generally stoned. She doesn’t think that her stepfather has sexually abused her sister yet and has no idea how to protect her. Meanwhile, Naomi is looking for a needle in a haystack. She doesn’t know her sister’s name, first or last, and she has no photo of her, but she relates her story and tells those that she meets that her sister is approximately 25 years old now. She and her sister had been kept underground. It was a terrible story. She notices a scar-faced disheveled man watching Celia who hangs out at the library reading a book about butterflies. She puts notes into the book so that someday, someone will find them and know that she existed. She imagines that she is a butterfly and can fly away. Naomi wonders if the scar-faced man is a danger to Celia. She is drawn to Celia and Celia is drawn to her.Will Naomi find out anything about her sister? Will Celia be safe? This novel skillfully delves into the lives of runaways. Their reasons, experiences and various deprivations are explored compassionately, offering insight into the lives of troubled youth. Is there hope for their future?

[romonko · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I read The Child Finder by Rene Denfeld awhile back, and have been wanting to read this sequel to that novel. As in the first book, this book is hard to listen to (I listened on audiobook). Denfeld spares no punches when she describes what all the lost and missing children go through in their short lives. Naomi and Jerome, at the end of the last book, were on a mission to find her missing sister, who Naomi hasn't seen for twenty years. Both girls were taken when they were young--Naomi at age 4 and Sarah at age 2. Naomi manages to escape from where they have been held, but can't come back for her sister, and now 20+ years later, she has tracked her down to Iowa. Naomi remembers nothing about her life before her abduction. She can't even remember the name of her little sister. While searching Naomi comes across a young street girl called Celia. Naomi is strangely drawn to this girl, and she tries to help her, but Celia was horribly abused as a young child by her stepfather, and doesn't trust anyone. Naomi discovers a large number of nameless graves in the local graveyard. The graves belong to small children and none are identified, and while she and Jerome are in town, children's bodies are being found in the river. Naomi and Jerome know that something terrible has been happening in this small town for a long time. The book moves along at a quick pace, and more and more horrors are uncovered, but they don't seem to be leading Naomi to her lost sister, until they get a break from something they find in the town archives. This is a terrific two-book series which I highly recommend. The books are raw and horrific, but somehow the book appears to be filled with hope too.

[charlotteburt · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I loved the child finder and was really excited when I saw that there was a sequel but it didn't quite live up to its predecessor, but it almost did and it's still a five-star read. This is Naomi's search for her sister, who she abandoned when she ran away from captivity age nine and has been carrying the guilt around ever since. It also ties in with a serial killer who has been targeting street kids. Rene Denefield was a street kid herself and you can tell, as she writes from the point of view of a 12-year-old girl, homeless due to a junkie mother and a predatory stepfather.

[carriewuj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

2.5 Jumped into the second in the series unknowingly, and felt a little lost because of it, though got the gist. Naomi is the "child finder" (title of book 1, duh) and has dedicated her life to being a private investigator who specializes in finding lost children. This is due to the trauma she suffered in her own life of being held captive in some bunker and escaping, but leaving her younger sister behind. This is all she vaguely remembers, but it haunts her every move. She is searching for this same sister, even though she is now 25 years old. Currently her search has brought her to Portland, OR, where young women and girls on the street are disappearing and turning up dead in the river. Naomi's story runs parallel to Celia's, one of the street urchins, who also tried to 'save' her younger sister (from a sexually abusive step-father) but at age 12 has ended up on the streets instead though she still has occasional contact with her mother (drug addict) and her sister. Celia is wary, worn, and like many of the other homeless children, almost feral. She withdraws into a world of butterflies and the public librarian is kind enough to find books that foster this obsession. It is a transparent metaphor for Celia herself. This story is gritty and somewhat compelling, but sometimes the pieces slide too conveniently into place and sometimes I felt like I was missing something (book 1 probably, which explained better - I'm guessing - her marriage to Jerome and her friendship with Diane since they don't figure prominently here). The author has a personal connection at stake with this topic, so I don't want to judge too harshly, but this wouldn't make my highlights of the year cut.

[streamsong_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In the first book of this series, we were introduced to PI Naomi Cottle, known as the Child Finder due to her specialty of finding missing children.Naomi remembers fleeing captivity as a small child and leaving a younger sister behind. Beyond that she has no memory of her life before foster care.In this second novel, she is obsessed with finding what became of her little sister. She follows the slim details she has – the area where she herself was found. Focusing on Portland, she hopes to find news of her sister among the street people and the street kids. She befriends Celia, a homeless girl Celia whose story is told in alternate chapters. Naomi is also horrified to find evidence of a series of murdered and missing street girls. She can only hope her help does not come too late.I found this riveting – and all too believable. The subjects of child abduction, sex slavery, and the uncared for street kids are hard to read – and yet come together in this hard to put down book.

[kbranfield-837433 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4.5 stars.

The Butterfly Girl by Rene Denfeld is an emotionally harrowing mystery. Although this second installment in the Naomi Cottle series can be read as a standalone, I highly recommend book one, The Child Finder, as well.

Still searching for her missing sister, Naomi Cottle and her husband Jerome are staying with her friend, Diane, in Portland, OR.  Naomi has scant information about her life before and during captivity due to her memory loss surrounding their horrific kidnapping as very young children. She managed to escape the underground bunker where the kidnapper was holding them and she has never seen her sister again. Naomi is drawn to Portland where numerous homeless girls have been murdered but do these present day events have anything to do with her past?

While seeking information about her sister among the homeless community, Naomi crosses paths with twelve year old Celia on more than one occasion. Celia had no choice but to leave her drug addicted mother after her stepfather was acquitted of molesting her. She remains incredibly worried he will abuse her younger sister Alyssa but she is powerless to do anything expect try to convince her mother to leave her stepfather. Celia escapes her hopeless situation with visits to the library where she pores over books about butterflies. She and two other kids stick together in an effort to stay as safe as possible. But will Celia manage to avoid becoming the killer's next victim?

While not working any active missing children cases, Naomi does uncover valuable information about the murders of the young girls. Turning these details over to the local police and FBI,  she continues her search for her missing sister.  Shocking details about her and her sister's life before their kidnapping unexpectedly opens a new avenue in her investigation.  Naomi is inching closer to possibly learning the truth about what happened to them, but will this new information lead her to her sister?

The Butterfly Girl is a poignant mystery that provides a heart wrenching portrait of life on the streets. Celia's plight is absolutely heartbreaking as she continues to try to protect her younger sister. Naomi is clearly struggling as she puts her search for her sister ahead of her marriage and friendship. With the pieces of the puzzle quickly falling into place, Rene Denfeld brings this suspenseful mystery to a  surprisingly uplifting conclusion. I highly recommend this riveting installment to old and new fans of the  Naomi Cottle series.

[twink_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rene Denfeld follows up her last novel, The Child Finder (devoured it in a day) with The Butterfly Girl.This latest continues the story of Naomi and the search for her missing sister. Naomi is a private investigator with a specialty - she finds children - lost, stolen, missing and kidnapped. She seems to have an uncanny ability to ferret out clues and traces of a child's passing or presence. That ability is honed from experience - she too was a lost child. She escaped, but has no memory of what came before that time.A year has passed, a year of following hunches - and Naomi senses she is close when she arrives in Portland, Oregon.....The reader knows more than Naomi - we're privy to the what is happening with the children on the streets of Portland through one girl's voice. The danger is palpable and we can only urge Naomi forward. But is she any closer to finding her sister? Tension populates the pages of The Butterfly Girl. And turned this into a one sitting read for me.Naomi is such a great lead character - driven, determined, intelligent, but wounded. The supporting cast of Jerome and Diane are just as complex and have their own stories to tell. And the young players at the heart of the book will break your heart.Denfeld's measured prose conjure up detailed images and ideas. The novel is never rushed, despite the urgency of the search. Ties between the characters are explored, as is the relationship with one's self - all with a keen eye for the human condition. As with The Child Finder, love, loss, redemption and the power of the human spirit are woven throughout The Butterfly Girl.Gentle readers, note that there are abuse triggers in this novel. How is Denfeld able to capture and portray such difficult situations and events with such a keen eye and thoughtful voice? This quote from the author's notes speaks volumes...."This book was raised by libraries and love. I wouldn't be a writer today if not for the public libraries of my difficult childhood, and the books that saved me with story. I will never forget the librarians of the downtown Portland, Oregon, library who expressed care for me when I, too, was a homeless kid. Thank you for showing me a path through the pain, and the beauty in the darkness." "Thank you to my clients in my day job as a public defense investigator, including the trafficking victims, homeless, refugees, immigrants, veterans and others who have filled my life."Another excellent read from Denfeld. I'm hoping there's going to be another Naomi book.

[thomaspluck · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A solid follow-up to the stunning Child Finder, it was good to spend time with Naomi and Jerome again as they help street kids.