Book Review: Karma Butterflies

Reviewed by Eric Mayrhofer

A hint of Stephen King meets the supernatural grit of Deathnote in this jaw-droppingly twisted supernatural thriller

How far do you bend the definition of “justice” before it breaks? That’s the brain teaser readers will find driving them at the beginning of Karma Butterflies by Jeremy Fulmore.

Beginning with the somber opening of a family drama, we first meet Joe Silver, whose father Zadie has passed away. Joe and his family are at Zadie’s longtime home to empty it, removing and sifting through the remnants of his life. But the story isn’t about Joe. Instead, like a film camera, readers pan across each member of the family, until they just happen to land on Adonis Silver, the family’s eldest son. Adonis is deep in the lineup—he couldn’t possibly be the protagonist, let alone the villain.

At least, it doesn’t seem that way until he finds a magical eye (and no, not one of those Magic Eye books filled with illusions )—a literal, juicy eyeball with the power to let Adonis see through anybody’s eyes. Its powers extend from the present to the past, and to the future, where Adonis sees something gruesome:

“He heard his sister calling out to him…She was somewhere else. A room of some sort. Dark and private.”

From there, readers will follow Adonis on his quest to find his sister’s would-be attacker and stop them before they have a chance to strike.

And then? The story will expand.

This is one of the delights of reading Karma Butterflies. The whole story feels built around Adonis’s pursuit of the person who will attack his sister. Once those events reach their climax, though, readers will realize so much more of the book remains. What seems like the whole book, however, is just the beginning, and seeing that turning point unfold is thrilling.

Another turning point is Adonis pivoting down a path into villainy, rationalized by the thought that he is bringing justice to evil people.

Readers might think such a thing is impossible at first. A teenager as good-looking as his namesake, he comes across as wise beyond his years. He gets things that most middle-aged adults don’t grasp, like this gem: “What fun was a game you knew you could never lose?”

But at the same time, readers will get small hints of something darker lurking beneath his outward beauty. “He felt nothing… neither embarrassed nor intimidated. [He] knew he was not gay and he was not asexual either. There was no passion.” The person readers will first perceive as their protagonist has a chilling, clinical, and shark-like mind. Anyone familiar with the manga (or Netflix movie) Deathnote will love it.

For the uninitiated, the Deathnote vibes mean the introduction of a specter who warns Adonis that he’ll reap what he sews, an under-pressure detective who gets hot on his heels, and a trail of bodies. For the right readers, this book will be a bloody good time.

That bloodiness is what gives the Karma Butterflies just a taste of Stephen King too. I wouldn’t say this is eye-to-eye with the horror master—the prose could use some fine-tuning to give the gore and villainy some more dramatic heft, and a few cultural references and philosophical conversations could use a little more nuance—but the book’s descriptions of a dead person’s bloody bits and bobs don’t disappoint. Here’s just one example: “The fall to her death was…Messy…Her hip was contorted, and she ended up looking like a rag doll filled with stuffing that a child had thrown out of a moving car.” In passages like this, the Karma’s not just a b***h. It’s fun how unnerving it can be.

All that to say: any readers lusting for twisted supernatural thrillers that zig and zag and hold you breathless should pick up Karma Butterflies.

Word of advice, though: you might want to leave any weird eyeballs you find alone.

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