“Risk and danger exist with each turn of the page, with readers never quite knowing who to trust….”

Wow, wow, wow! That’s just one of the lines from this boffo review of The Butterfly Trap by BOLO Books! I am beyond thrilled.

Here’s the whole review (or you can just read it here:

The Butterfly Trap – The BOLO Books Review

by Kristopher | Mar 10, 2025 | Review |

Across her career, Clea Simon has proven that her writing skills can tackle just about any style choice. She’s written comforting cozies to paranormal romance to gritty noir with settings as disparate as Cambridge, Massachusetts or Boston’s underground music scene. Her characters range from scrappy investigative journalists to cats…yes literal cats. With The Butterfly Trap, Clea Simon is now turning her pen towards domestic suspense and with this he said/she said recounting of a troubled relationship, she digs deep and manipulates tropes to give her fans another unforgettable reading journey.

The Butterfly Trap begins the night Greg first meets Anya. Readers experience things from Greg’s point of view, learning how this man’s traditional values and lifelong goals dictate his choices. Readers follow along as this accidental meeting evolves into a full-fledged relationship, with those in their orbit seeing them as the perfect couple. Greg’s version of events takes up the first half of this tightly constructed novel.

As readers will expect, the second half of the novel then shifts to Anya’s point of view—where things don’t necessarily match up. Things that once seemed like fact shift into something very different. Anya’s artsy and exuberant personality is in direct contrast with Greg’s more sensible and shy nature. Any reader will anticipate that a conflagration is about to occur and it’s unlikely to end well for someone. But the question remains, for who?

The Butterfly Trap is very much a novel about perception and how that manifests in relationships. Each of us views our lives and decisions in unique ways that may look very different to those witnessing things from the “outside.” It’s a look at how individuals can manipulate reality to suit specific needs. Domestic suspense can take on a variety of different shades, but more often than not, there is a dark undertone to the proceedings. That is very much what Clea Simon is giving in The Butterfly Trap. The He Said/She Said structure of the novel lends itself to obfuscation. Risk and danger exist with each turn of the page, with readers never quite knowing who to trust.

Clea Simon knows the craft of writing, so The Butterfly Trap is a highly readable book that hooks readers early and never lets go. However, perhaps her strongest asset for this particular novel is her knowledge of the tropes so common in crime fiction. This is an author well in control of her narrative and it will be the rare reader who doesn’t fall into the traps she has buried within the tale. In many ways, The Butterfly Trap is almost too authentically real, reflecting a version of human nature that may make readers uncomfortable—in the best way possible. Neither Greg nor Anya is particularly likable, but they are never less than fascinating—and viewing their “courtship dance” knowing that things are heading towards trouble keeps the reader invested to the end.

If you are looking for a relationship book that seems both familiar and fresh simultaneously, Clea Simon’s The Butterfly Trap is an excellent choice.