The Dollmaker
by Amanda Stevens
Delightful
creepy, dark spine-tingling thriller
The Dollmaker
is
one of the best thrillers I have read in years! Amanda Stevens creates
a perfect mix of allowing the reader to have enough clues --- and even
to hear the voice of the perpetrator --- to understand the interlacing
psychological aspects behind the characters and to maintain the
suspense. Nevertheless, she withholds just enough to peak the reader's
interest on every page. I was drawn into her characters, their
weaknesses and depth and watching them change as the story developed.
Even though the reader knows certain aspects of the ending from the
very beginning, the suspense builds and builds. The ending has
unexpected, shocking surprises. Everything is not all tied up with a
pretty bow at the end, and yet the reader feels very satisfied. The
ending was well-planned....a surprise and one also true to the
characters.
A doll....normally such an innocent charming item certainly gets
transformed here! Delightfully creepy!
Even days after finishing the last page, I am still delighted with this
book. The imagery, the haunting Southern setting and the amazing
writing captured my interest then and now. Amanda Stevens keeps all the
spine tingles and darkness AND did it without crossing that line into
gratuitous (and often boring) gore and violence too common in lesser
works in the genre. Bravo!
Warning: This book may cause you to remain awake until 3 or 4am reading.
Publisher: Mira
(March 2007)