Doll House by John Hunt  (Bookshop.org)

 Black Rose Writing, 2017

ISBN: 9781612968070

Available: paperback, Kindle

Doll House is a white-knuckle horror/thriller that takes a common plot device and spends most of the book on “well, what about after it happens?'” The plot you know: young person abducted by a psycho or two, held captive and tortured for months or years, then escapes at the very end of the book, often killing their torturers in the process.  It’s been done before, sometimes well (Jack Ketchum, Whitley Streiber) and sometimes not so well (Ryan C. Thomas).  In Doll House, that basic plot is wrapped up in the first fortysomething pages.  It’s the “what next?” part that makes up the majority of the book, and it makes for a compelling story.  How will Olivia, the victim, cope with the rest of her life, knowing that one of the abductors got away?  Will the abductor give up and move on, or come back and try again?  How long can the cops provide protection, as the story fades from public eye and budgets are stretched thin?  All good questions, and the book delivers on them all, while providing a rip-snorting good read.

A critical part of this story type is hiding the killer’s identity until the end, keeping the reader guessing. The author does an excellent job concealing it, using red herrings and a few scattered clues extremely well.  The clues are there, but you have to read pretty carefully to catch them.  I didn’t guess right, and most readers probably won’t either.  It is very well done.

It’s worth nothing that the book is definitely heavy in the narration department, and pretty light on dialogue.  It’s a stylistic choice, but a bit more dialogue would have helped break the story up a bit and pushed it the extra mile. There’s still plenty to generate reader interest, and the story doesn’t drag at any point.  Some of the most interesting parts concern the police and their struggles to track a killer who left no evidence: it’s interesting how difficult detective work really is, and that unfortunately, it can be limited by financial constraints.  As far as nastiness, the author wisely shows restraint and only uses it where needed.  There are a few ugly scenes like toes getting snipped off and an ear getting razored off, but there’s not much blood, and no graphic rape sequences. It’s a horror novel with a few quick bouts of ugliness, and it’s a good one.  There is a sequel to Doll House due to be released later this year, and it will be reviewed here shortly.  Recommended.

Reviewed by Murray Samuelson