Doll House Kindle Edition

I was really interested in the book's synopsis, but as soon as I got a few chapters in (too far to stop reading in the hopes things would turn around) I started regretting my purchase. It reads like the author wrote it after scanning one Wikipedia article and declaring himself an expert. Was any research done? None of the abducted young women were seeing therapists. Olivia buys a dog so she can train it to protect her but then never follows through in training it. The idea of the main character going through five years of torture and then murdering her abuser, then less than a few months later blushing and fawning over a crush on the detective in charge or her case, made me feel sick. And, the worst offender of all, after the big bad is finally revealed, Olivia monologues with perfect clarity and detailed reasoning exactly how he must have done it and why, no hesitation, no mistakes or errors. Suddenly she's clairvoyant! Otherwise the reader might have actually had to think a little about what happened, and god knows the reader can't be trusted by this author to put anything together themselves. Rife with grammatical errors, switching back and forth from past to present tense in the same sentence, and rambling run-on sentences with no punctuation to break them up; I was disappointed this even made it to publishing. Just a shame.

My expectations were pretty high for this book, considering all the glowing reviews, so maybe I feel more disappointed than I should? For as short as this book is, I felt it meandered a lot. The first part and the last few chapters are pretty intense, but it lags quite a bit in the middle. There's just so much mundane stuff: thinking about buying a dog, looking at real estate listings, renovating a house...all it did was make me want to skim to get back to the story.You know what wasn't mentioned in the story? Therapy. Olivia is kept prisoner for five years (not really a spoiler because this is revealed early on in the book), and no one thinks to suggest psychiatric help? Physical therapy? How does one walk without a big toe? I was completely baffled that no one thought the poor girl needed help! And the lead detective is wondering if he can ask her out when the case is closed? Dude, WHAT????I'm not adverse to reading disturbing subject matter, but this was quite gruesome. Graphic violence/mutilation and rape all happen in this book, I think more often than was necessary.

Rape/torture porn, and much too hardcore for a typical reader. As I am always obligated to mention, this type of thing is often in my wheelhouse, but if it's part of a story rather than the entire story, and the only point of that story.

Very stilted writing, like a first try. Violence was so over the top it stopped being disturbing and moved into the ludicrous zone. I couldn't make it all the way through.

This is an intense psychological thriller. It kept the suspense at a high level throughout, even when things seemed to be "normal," because I was always waiting for "something" to happen. I thought I had figured out the mystery several times, but I kept changing my mind as new "clues" were introduced.The primary character is a young, intelligent, determined female, which is always nice to see. I liked and admired this character for her strength and her unwillingness to remain a victim of her circumstances. Her relationship with her father is beautifully written. He is also a man to be admired, even through his weaknesses, because he will do anything for the daughter he loves so much.As other reviewers pointed out, there is a lot of sexual violence and depravity, but that is just part of the story. I wasn't quite sure if that was the reason behind the girls' abductions or if the real purpose was to break them. The two perpetrators are very different in their approaches to the girls, which further adds to the psychological torment.This is the kind of book where you jump at every noise, question what you see with your own eyes, and feel your heart pounding in your chest, both as seen from the perspective of the girl and as you're reading it. I had to stop myself over and over again from turning to the end of the book to know the outcome because the intensity is so high. The book is so good you want to get to the end so you know the answers, but, at the same time, you don't want it to be over.I very highly recommend this book. As other reviewers have mentioned, I also would have liked more closure at the end--one extra chapter or an epilogue--to find out what happens to the characters I became so invested in, but I'm not going to change my rating because of it. Maybe the author wanted it left open to our imagination.Read this book.

Scary, disturbing, creepy, suspenseful. It might be too intense for some people. Could cause nightmares and paranoia for the "faint of heart" (not kidding), but it's a good horror book with a good mystery. I thought I'd figured out who it was before I was half-way finished. But I was wrong. I did think it ended too soon, too abruptly, I wanted MORE. At least fifty pages more.

First of all, this book is definitely not going to be for everyone. That is not to say that it isn't good, but Dollhouse does feature scenes of rape and extreme violence, this is not going to be something all people want to read about, so make sure you are ok with the subject matter before ordering this book.That out of the way, it's a hell of a story. Olivia is kidnapped on the day she moves away to start university. What follows are five years imprisoned in purpose built prison (the Doll House of the title) where she is subjected to unimaginable horrors. Then, somehow, she manages to escape, along with two other girls who were kept separately from her in the same conditions. Going back to her ordinary life was never going to be easy. While she was gone her father became an alcoholic, and with one of her kidnappers still at large, she struggles to feel safe. She is sure that he will come back for her...Parts of this book are shocking and uncomfortable to read but it is always compelling and thrilling and keeps you guessing for quite some time. The characters are well written and give some insight into the minds of the insane killer and torturer, the survivor looking to rebuild their life, and the family members left behind. Recommended for fans of horror and thrillers, Doll House is a great read.

Doll House felt very 'Scooby-Doo' as it headed to the conclusion. An 18+ version may I add, because it was sick and very gory in places. Scabby blood clot anyone? And a side order of ear maybe.So, 2 stars? It didn't deserve 1 star, as there were a fair few bits I really enjoyed and I think 1 star is too harsh for this.The first quarter of the book wasn't written very well. It seemed that the author struggled to get the momentum going, using very basic language and descriptions.As the story became established, and the action got going, John Hunt found his feet. He's rather good at creating a dark, tense scenario. I had feelings of foreboding and high tension at regular intervals, which is my reason for finishing this.I thought I knew who the serial killer was, and prepared myself for the ultimate anticlimactic end ever, when, I was proved wrong! And for some reason I can't quite put my finger on, it still felt a tad disappointing, but it pleased me that I was wrong. Had I of been right, it would have received just the 1 star.I found this book difficult to review, as I always feel bad about not really liking a read. I am always thankful for the opportunity, however, reviews are personal and honest, and this is all I can find to say about this one. This book was initially heading for my DNF shelf, but I'm glad I persevered as there were snippets of good horror writing amongst all that naff!!

I downloaded this book over a year ago when it was on offer for free on kindle. I kept in my To Be Read folder all this time, choosing other books over this one until recently when I thought I'd give it a go.I honestly don't know what kept me from it for so long. Depraved and twisted? Tick. Gory and suspenseful? Tick. A little bit twisted but oh so page turny? (a proper word??) Tick!This for me was a rip roaring horror/crime read. I couldn't stop reading and found myself creeping up to bed early each night to get a few extra chapters in before falling asleep.I half guessed who the "jackal" was but wasn't disappointed even so.Please read if you like dark, macabre torture kind of books that help you escape real life for a bit! Not for the faint hearted anyway.

Olivia has just moved away from home to start college when she's abducted. What follows is imprisonment in a 'doll house.' So labelled because it's decorated and furnished in pink, and it's captives are seen as dolls to play with.I've read a lot of dark fiction that covers topics including kidnap, violence, torture and rape, but some scenes in this book made me wince. They didn't seem used just for their shock factor, they showed the evil nature of the captors, and how Olivia's determination to escape kept her from giving up completely. Some parts are hard to read though.Overall the story flows well and Olivia is a likeable and brave character. Some small parts seemed a bit repetitive, but the plot was interesting so I kept reading. And, because you can't beat a great fictional dog, a special mention has to go to Brutus, Olivia's dog who has a very important part to play in the story.

I loved this book, was suspenseful kept me guessing right up until the very end of the book.A girl is abducted - that is pretty much the plot, but the story shares the fallout from the incident the effect it has not only on her but the people around her & inside the predators mind.I have not only recommended it I've given it to multiple people to read, it's a great talking point as it's not only well written and dead creepy it's something that can & has happened to people which makes it that much more scary & thought provoking.