The Butterfly Sister - by Amy Gail Hansen (Paperback)

About the Book

In The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen a moving Gothic tale that intertwines mystery, madness, betrayal, love, and literature a fragile young woman must silence the ghosts of her past.

Ten months after dropping out of all-girl Tarble College, Ruby Rousseau is still haunted by the memories of her senior year, a time marred by an affair with her English professor and a deep depression that caused her to question her sanity.

When a mysterious suitcase arrives bearing Ruby's name and address, she tries to return it to its rightful owner, Beth a dorm-mate at Tarble only to learn that Beth disappeared two days earlier.

With clues found in the luggage, including a tattered copy of Virginia Woolf s A Room of One's Own, which Ruby believes instigated her madness, she sets out to uncover the truth."

Book Synopsis

In The Butterfly Sister by Amy Gail Hansen--a moving Gothic tale that intertwines mystery, madness, betrayal, love, and literature--a fragile young woman must silence the ghosts of her past.

Ten months after dropping out of all-girl Tarble College, Ruby Rousseau is still haunted by the memories of her senior year, a time marred by an affair with her English professor and a deep depression that caused her to question her sanity.

When a mysterious suitcase arrives bearing Ruby's name and address, she tries to return it to its rightful owner, Beth--a dorm-mate at Tarble--only to learn that Beth disappeared two days earlier.

With clues found in the luggage, including a tattered copy of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, which Ruby believes instigated her madness, she sets out to uncover the truth.

From the Back Cover

The past just arrived on Ruby's doorstep . . .

To uncover the truth about a friend's disappearance, a fragile young woman must silence the ghosts of her past in this moving debut tale that intertwines mystery, madness, betrayal, love, and literature.

"My past was never more than one thought, one breath, one heartbeat away. And then, on that particular October evening, it literally arrived at my doorstep."

Twenty-two-year-old Ruby Rousseau is haunted by memories of Tarble, the women's college she fled from ten months earlier, and the painful love affair that pushed her to the brink of tragedy.

When a suitcase belonging to a former classmate named Beth arrives on her doorstep, Ruby is plunged into a dark mystery. Beth has gone missing, and the suitcase is the only tangible evidence of her whereabouts.

Inside the bag, Ruby discovers a tattered copy of Virginia Woolf's A Room of One's Own, the book she believes was a harbinger of her madness. Is someone trying to send her a message--and what does it mean?

The search for answers leads to Tarble. As Ruby digs into Beth's past, she has no choice but to confront her own--an odyssey that will force her to reexamine her final days at school, including the married professor who broke her heart and the ghosts of illustrious writers, dead by their own hand, who beckoned her to join their tragic circle.

But will finding the truth finally set Ruby free . . . or send her over the edge of sanity?

Review Quotes

"Hansen's first novel is heartfelt, suspenseful and very, very satisfying!" -- Nancy Woodruff, author of My Wife's Affair

"I LOVED IT. That book is the perfect beach read... girls who like dishy romantic thrillers are going to go nuts for it this summer. I myself couldn't put it down til I was done, like it was a big fat pina colada." -- Meg Cabot, New York Times bestselling author

"That rare thing, a dark mystery that also works on your heart, 'The Butterfly Sister' is a beguiling, terrifying story and Amy Gail Hansen a true find." -- Jacquelyn Mitchard, New York Times bestselling author of The Deep End of the Ocean

"Hansen's debut cleverly entwines these literary ghosts into a suspenseful and swiftly paced light mystery." -- Kirkus Reviews

"Rewarding reading." -- Publishers Weekly