I love the cozy mystery vibes of this series. It’s such a fun time. The setting of the Romance Bookstore in a beach town is just amazing. This one is set after the Pandemic and the first instore author event since restrictions have been lifted is happening on Valentine’s day. I really appreciated the brief mentions of the pandemic. It wasn’t overpowering but just hinted at the reality of returning to life after and also the affects that it had on retail stores.

The characters in this series are my absolute favourite! Everyone is so precious. From the MC, Summer to her family Mia, Agatha, Piper, Sam & Fatimah, the book club including Marilyn & Glads, Cash & his dad, Ben and of course Mr. Darcy. This book has such a strong feeling of family & community and I just love it. Of course there were some unsavoury ones, this is a murder mystery after all but even so, all the characters were very fleshed out and all had a distinct voice and personality. Maggie Blackburn just has a way of writing characters you can’t help loving.

The only reason this book didn’t get a higher star rating is because the end felt a little rushed. There was so much build up and mystery and discovers leading up to finding the killer but then when it was revealed it happened so quickly. I was left a little disappointed in the ending but I do still love the book and the reveal did make sense it just happened so suddenly.

Overall I really enjoyed this series. It was a fun cozy mystery with an amazing group of characters and such an incredible atmosphere. I will definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever Maggie Blackburn writes next. While I don’t want these characters to have to deal with more murder I hope she decides to write another installment! Especially after that Epilogue!

The Dollmaker by Morgan Shamy

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mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Now I want to start with saying that I wouldn't really put this in the Horror category. There are two very short instances that could be considered a little tense but even that is pushing it. There is really nothing scary about this book. It's no different than any other mystery really. You might be able to push for Mystery/Thriller but it would be a stretch. Like Stalking Jack the Ripper was more horror than this and it isn't even marketed as horror.

Due to this genre issue I'm kinda disappointed. When I see Horror I want hairs to raise on the back of my neck, I want to feel creeped out & on edge. I got none of that here. While I do love a good mystery, with the marketing for this one, it was a bit of a expectations vs reality situation.

While we are on a bit of a negative already, let's continue in that realm. Can we talk about the love interest admitting to stalking her and knowing a lot about her to the point he fell in love with her and she's like that's cool... Sorry what? I won't say more as I don't want to spoil anything for potential readers but that situation just rubbed me the wrong way. In fact both of the male major characters kinda gave me the ick. Actually, add Rose's betrothed, the ballet teacher, the brother's creepy uncle, the cop & Dawn's father to the mix and make it all 7 that give me the ick. The only decent male in the place was the Dr.

Okay this next paragraph is kinda spoilery but I'm feeling petty....

We have Mr. goes to a brothel every night but I love her so much, Mr. stalks her and then saves her from an arranged marriage by making her only other choice to marry him, Mr. obsessed with a chick he was one of multiple suitors of and loses his mind when she dies, Mr. my son got sick as a child and blames his daughter who wasn't even at fault, gets into a heap of debt and then is happy to marry her off to a creepy old man to save said debt, Mr. creepy old man that will tell her to 'warm his bed' or he will ruin her reputation, Mr. straight up incompetent at his job and is happy drugging people instead of actually solving a crime & Mr. abuses his power as a teacher and a man and sexually assaults younger women.

Yep we have some top blokes in this book.

As for the other characters. Dawn was kinda annoying but the strong female MC side comes out occasionally. And all the other characters played so minimal of a part that I honest don't have any thoughts about them. They are just cardboard cutouts. Even Rose, who is a main part of the plot, all I know is that she loves ballet...

Now plot wise it definitely had potential. It was one of those mysteries where I did not see the reveal coming from a mile away. Yet the pacing was a bit off and I just wasn't invested as so many of the characters annoyed me. The idea of the Dollmaker killer who Jeepers Creepers style chops people up but instead of making a nice wall tapestry instead tries to Frankenstein them into a perfect doll...? That has POTENTIAL! But this author just didn't hit the mark.

ANOTHER issue I had was again this was marketed as a horror but it was also marketed as that murders were going to be the main plot point. Yet it really felt more like a book about Dawns life and there just happened to be a murder going on and her best friend gets taken.

The more I'm writing this review the more I'm realising I can't think of anything actually positive besides 'it wasn't horrible'...

Wait actually I found a positive. I did really enjoy the audiobook itself. The narration was really good and kept me engaged the entire time. I'll definitely keep an eye out for other books narrated by Kate Rudd.

I want to thank CamCat Publishing for providing me with the audiobook ARC of The Dollmaker in exchange for an honest review.

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duskangelreads's reviews 904 reviews

duskangelreads's reviews
904 reviews