Reviews

On a family fishing trip, young Rosa finds a barnacle-covered, bedraggled doll under the waves and begs her Mother to keep her. It may not be pleasant but it seems harmless enough so she agrees but posts a photograph of the doll to see if she's missing her family somewhere.

The next day, Rosa's mother is dead and the doll is gone.

Years later on the seabed, Detective Huldar comes to a realisation that his case and the cases of many of his colleagues from homicide to sex crimes have one thing in common - a teenager called Rosa who is nowhere to be found - but what she knows might be the answer to everything.

Now, this book is definitely not the supernatural thriller about a possessed doll you might think from the cover, but still manages to be haunting all the same. The fifth in a series, but the first book by Yrsa I've had the pleasure to read, can definitely be read as a standalone but it's worth reading the others for a better sense of the style and the background of the characters that feature.

The Doll was an atmospheric, nerve-wracking criminal story that raced at 100 miles per hour before coming to a neck-snapping halt and starting up all over again - plenty of twists I didn't see coming or completely confused me until they were all neatly tied back up for the finale. In parts, this book felt like several books haphazardly thrown together, but this was written so well that they slowly fused together as we went along.

An enjoyable, slightly chilling read - I'm definitely intruiged to check out the rest of the series.

cajengirl's review against another edition

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4.0

Book #5 of the Children's House series was another hit for me. I loved the mystery and the creepy doll. I felt it was a little disjointed in some parts but overall a great read! I already have the 6th and final book in the series waiting for me. I just live this author!

sofiem98's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

thevagabondangel's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

stinajohanns's review against another edition

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4.0

Þetta var fínasta Yrsubók með ágætis fléttum. Það sem ég myndi kannski helst kvarta yfir er hvernig eiginlega allir lausir endar voru leystir í einu alveg í lokin. Yfirleitt finnst mér skemmtilegra þegar maður fær lausnin aðeins hægar. En það hefði kannski verið erfitt að gera það þarna.

justineharvey's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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