Dot Hutchison’s The Roses of May (2017) is a psychological thriller and the second installment in The Collector Trilogy. The novel continues to follow FBI agents Brandon Eddison, Victor Hanoverian, and Mercedes Ramirez as they grapple with the aftermath of the “Butterfly Garden” case, particularly its ongoing impact on the survivors and the agents involved. At the same time, the narrative follows Priya Sravasti, a teenager whose older sister was murdered years earlier in a series of killings marked by a recurring pattern involving churches, flowers, and ritualized violence. As new evidence and communication suggest that the killer remains active, the investigation intensifies, bringing Priya into closer contact with the agents as they work to prevent further attacks. The novel explores themes including Female Innocence as Justification for Violence, Living With Grief as Identity, and The Failure of Justice and the Turn to Violence.

The series, which began with the international bestseller The Butterfly Garden, explores the long-term psychological consequences of violent crime for victims, their families, and law enforcement. The first novel focuses on captivity and rescue, and The Roses of May examines the ongoing process of recovery in the aftermath of violence. Hutchison writes crime fiction that centers on the psychological impact of violence. The first book in the trilogy won the 2016 Goodreads Choice Award for Best Mystery & Thriller and was a finalist for an International Thriller Writers Award. The trilogy also includes the final book, The Summer Children.

This guide refers to the 2017 Thomas & Mercer Kindle edition.

Content Warning: The source material and guide feature depictions of death, rape, sexual violence and harassment, child sexual abuse, child abuse, disordered eating, mental illness, death by suicide, suicidal ideation and/or self-harm, graphic violence, emotional abuse, gender discrimination, and cursing.

Plot Summary

The narrative opens from the perspective of an unnamed killer, who recalls murdering his first victim, Darla Jean Carmichael. After seeing her share a kiss with a young man in their church, he feels betrayed and believes her innocence is tarnished. He confronts her in the empty building, assaults her, and kills her with a hunting knife. He leaves her body on the stone floor, surrounded by jonquils he had picked for her, reflecting that she will not be his last victim.

In the present day, FBI Special Agent Brandon and his partner, Mercedes Ramirez, work under their supervisor, Victor Hanoverian, at Quantico. The team is hunting the “Church Killer,” a serial killer who murdered the older sister of 16-year-old Priya Sravasti; Eddison maintains a close friendship with Priya. The agents are also managing the aftermath of the “Butterfly Garden” case, in which numerous young women were held captive. While attending the funeral of a survivor from that case, they encounter another survivor, Inara Morrissey.

Priya and her mother, Deshani, have recently moved to Huntington, Colorado. Priya, who is taking online classes, finds a sense of community among a group of veterans who play chess in an outdoor pavilion. They nickname her “Blue Girl,” and she forms a bond with a World War II veteran named Harold “Gunny” Randolph. However, she is made uncomfortable by another player, a nondescript man named Landon. When Priya receives greeting cards from all three agents on the same day, she becomes suspicious, especially after noticing that Ramirez has covered butterfly illustrations on her card with glitter.

In another flashback, the killer describes murdering his second victim, Zoraida Bourret. He considers her a “good girl” for her devotion to her family and decides to kill her to preserve her purity. He chokes her unconscious in her church, slits her throat, and arranges her body with a halo of purple-throated white lilies. Back in the present, Priya calls Eddison, who confirms that the deaths of several survivors from the case prompted the agents to reach out. Priya then receives a letter from Inara, forwarded by Vic, which begins a supportive correspondence between them. Priya writes back, detailing the traumatic night she discovered Chavi’s murdered body in their neighborhood church and reflecting on how the murder affected her family.

Landon continues to bother Priya at the local Kroger café until a man named Joshua intervenes by “accidentally” spilling coffee on him. Soon after, Priya and Deshani find a bouquet of jonquils on their doorstep with a card that says “Priya.” Recognizing the flower’s connection to the first victim of Chavi’s killer, they contact Eddison. He alerts the Denver FBI office, led by Vic’s former partner, Agent Takashi Finnegan. The investigation is complicated by the new Denver Section Chief, Martha Ward, whose rigid adherence to profiling and past conflicts with Vic and Finney threaten to obstruct their efforts. Another flashback reveals the killer murdering Sasha Wolfson, leaving her body with honeysuckle.

In March, a series of flower deliveries arrives at Priya’s house, with each bouquet corresponding to one of the killer’s previous victims. Denver agents Archer and Sterling install security cameras. Eddison flies to Colorado and intimidates Landon at the chess pavilion, after which Landon disappears. Meanwhile, Keely Rudolph, a 12-year-old Butterfly Garden survivor, is attacked at a mall, though Inara subdues the assailant.

The investigation reveals that the flowers are being left by various couriers hired anonymously. An officer from the Boston investigation, Michael Clare, becomes overly attentive to Priya in a way that raises concern among the agents. The police then discover Landon has been murdered. A flashback shows the killer raping and murdering Laini Testerman, whom he deemed a “harlot,” and leaving hibiscus flowers on her body.

The FBI soon identifies Landon as Landon Cooper, a convicted sex offender using the alias Landon Burnside, and confirms he was in prison when one of the Church Killer’s victims was murdered. The team concludes that the serial killer, who has been stalking Priya, murdered Landon for harassing her. The violent nature of Landon’s death, which included castration, suggests a deliberate and retaliatory act.

In April, the killer disables the security camera, interfering with it before later cutting the wires. The mounting stress, combined with the anniversaries of her sister’s and father’s deaths, leads Priya to engage in a cycle of bingeing and purging. She and Deshani reaffirm their secret plan to lure the killer.

While reading Chavi’s old journals, Priya finds an entry describing a sad-looking man who spoke to them shortly before her sister’s murder. Later, while viewing an online memorial for Darla Jean Carmichael, Priya sees a family photo and recognizes the man as Darla Jean’s older brother, Jameson Carmichael. She realizes he is also Joshua, the man from the café. Fearing a lack of evidence will result in an acquittal, Priya and Deshani decide to set a trap for him themselves instead of informing the FBI.

In early May, the final flower in the murder sequence, dahlias, arrives. On her 17th birthday, Priya manipulates Agent Archer into taking her to a remote chapel in Rosemont, claiming it is to honor her sister’s memory. She makes sure the veterans at the chess pavilion overhear her plans, knowing the killer will likely learn of them. At the chapel, Archer leaves Priya alone and drives away, intending to use her as bait. Jameson, using the name Joshua, appears and states that he killed Chavi and the other girls to preserve what he believed was their goodness. He attacks Priya with a knife, but she fights back and gains control of the weapon. Archer returns to find Priya wounded and Jameson dying. Priya later reveals to Inara that she stabbed him 17 times, once for each of his victims and once for herself.

The Quantico team flies to Denver. Priya is hospitalized but stable; Jameson dies without regaining consciousness. Evidence from his apartment definitively links him to all 16 murders, and the “Church Killer” case is officially closed. The agents, suspecting Priya’s self-defense claim is incomplete but satisfied with the outcome, support the official report. As Priya and Deshani prepare to move to Paris, they say goodbye to the agents, Inara, and Bliss. In a final internal monologue, Priya addresses the dead Jameson, reflecting on his crimes and her own actions. She concludes that she is ready to heal and is no longer a victim.