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paulabrandon's review
4.0
Twins Gretchen and Mary have moved with their mother Barbra to Canaan, after Barbra divorced their father. He sends both girls gifts. Mary gets an apron, but Gretchen gets a lifelike doll that looks just like her. Little does anyone realise, the Doll-Maker creates these dolls using Aztec mythology, enabling them to take on the child's personality and grant their wishes. Unfortunately, Gretchen is a budding psychopath, and what she wishes for most of all is to hurt Mary and get rid of her!
The cover is a bit of a lie - there are no live dolls running around with knives in the pages of this book! Think of the movie "Annabelle" and you'll get a better idea of how the doll in this one operates. The plot actually went in directions different than I was expecting. There's a bit too much padding in regards to Barbra's job (she's been sent in to modernise a lumber mill), and the perspective of characters often changes within the same paragraph.
However, I loved the 80s horror vibe this tale sported. With its book cover looking just like a video might have done back then, I almost felt transported back to a different time! It's cheesy, but fast-paced and a real guilty pleasure to read!
The cover is a bit of a lie - there are no live dolls running around with knives in the pages of this book! Think of the movie "Annabelle" and you'll get a better idea of how the doll in this one operates. The plot actually went in directions different than I was expecting. There's a bit too much padding in regards to Barbra's job (she's been sent in to modernise a lumber mill), and the perspective of characters often changes within the same paragraph.
However, I loved the 80s horror vibe this tale sported. With its book cover looking just like a video might have done back then, I almost felt transported back to a different time! It's cheesy, but fast-paced and a real guilty pleasure to read!
millah's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
ghostinthepages's review
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.0
it was published in 1986 so there are a few outdated things but pretty much things you’d expect to see during that time. Without giving anything away this actually didn’t go the direction I thought it was going to but it was definitely still a fun fast read for me
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