Love, art, commerce, sex... who do you believe?

A psychological suspense novel that plays with gender roles and expectations, The Blue Butterfly is a dark “he said/she said” that changes point of view at a critical point in the middle and ends in a tragedy that may have been inevitable from the start. As much a novel about toxic relationships as it is about suspense, the story unspools like a Megan Abbott take on The Girl on the Train, with a very complicated heroine and some Patricia Highsmith (Ripley) creepiness thrown in.

"Darkly inventive, and full of grit and suspense, The Blue Trap is a deliciously sinister take on he said/she said, sexual politics, and what we do for what—or whom—we love. Truly, film noir on the page."
– Caroline Leavitt, New York Times bestselling author of Pictures of You and With or Without You

"A sense of foreboding builds from the first page until the shocking conclusion of The Butterfly Trap, Clea Simon’s mesmerizing, slow burn he said/she said tale of obsession and desperation. Block out time for this one—you won’t be able to put it down." – Karen E. Olson, award-winning author of An Inconvenient Wife

"Obsession and possession. Authenticity and intimacy. Clea Simon delivers a cautionary and dark tale about love and art, Decisions and consequences, and whether you can ever truly know another person. By the last page, you might think that the three most dangerous words in any language might be ‘I love you.’ The Butterfly Trap won’t be pinned down by easy labels, and you won’t be disappointed."
– Gabriel Valjan, Agatha, Anthony, and Shamus nominated author of the Shane Cleary series