Review: The Dollhouse - Sara Ennis

Review: The Dollhouse - Sara Ennis - June 2021

 Not in the mood to do much but read, I decided after watching a movie called Red Notice which by the way was a fun action-comedy flick with Ryan Reynolds, Gal Gadot, and The Rock to sit out in the sun with my kindle. I scrolled through and came to The Dollhouse which had been on my mind for a couple of days.  This book starts with a story about a photograph which during the book, there are several photoshoot recreations and stories of the original photographs. The book then jumps to Sunshine leaving her kids for a couple of days - 14-year-old twins Bud and Angel. The two end up getting abducted by a woman named Jennifer and delivered to a place called "The Dollhouse". The twins met Olivia who was also abducted and the three of them are now Alfred's dolls. They are subjected to torture and his playthings, especially Bud and Angel. The book is told in three viewpoints - we have the view of the Dollhouse and what happens with the kids, then we have Paul - Olivia's dad and his search to find his daughter and the others, and then we have Edward - who is a school counselor who comes onto the scene about halfway through the story. I have to admit the book took a crazy turn when the truth was revealed about Alfred - one that I didn't see coming at all. Like most crime stories, this one does have sadness as we know what can often occur in stories of child abductions especially when the abductor starts to spin out of control and feels their world crashing. The ending too was unexpected, but in a way, it felt refreshing for one of the Dolls as she needed a fresh beginning.  The Dolls by Sara Ennis is a long read but keeps your attention as you turn the pages hoping they may be freed and saved.  As the main characters - The Dolls were 14/15 years old I found that overall, this book had more of a YA feel similar to Natasha Preston's books than an Adult Psychological thriller which it was published under.

 

Amazon:  https://amzn.to/3JMipLY