The Doll's House by M.J. Arlidge

The Doll's House by M.J. Arlidge
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A young woman wakes up in a cold, dark cellar, with no idea how she got there or who her kidnapper is. So begins her terrible nightmare.

Nearby, the body of another young woman is discovered buried on a remote beach. But the dead girl was never reported missing - her estranged family having received regular texts from her over the years. Someone has been keeping her alive from beyond the grave.

For Detective Inspector Helen Grace it's chilling evidence that she's searching for a monster who is not just twisted but also clever and resourceful - a predator who's killed before.

And as Helen struggles to understand the killer's motivation, she begins to realize that she's in a desperate race against time . . .

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I've discovered a passion for audiobooks this summer thanks to long working hours. The Doll's House was one that made the hours a bit more bearable.

The Doll's House is book 3 in the Helen Grace series and this time, Helen has to find a kidnapped girl and fight a battle with her boss that has taken a dislike to her and will try to get her off the team no matter what. What so special this case is that the kidnapper has done this before, taken a girl and then pretended through tweets and text messages that she is still alive and well and that she just doesn't want to have any contact with her family. And, it works like a charm until a dead body is discovered and an observant police think that there is something rotten with a missing girl, despite the text messengers that her family gets.

I loved listening to this book, and I found myself enthralled with the story. I was worried that Helen would get into trouble because of her, let's say, not that legal way of trying to find her nephew. And, it doesn't help that her boss is hell-bent on bringing her down. I did love the big confrontation between them both. 

As for the case itself. It's scary to think of how easy it is to fake that someone is alive and well by having someone's phone. The kidnapper is a real psycho and the last part was very thrilling to listen to. If you have read the previous books will you love this book, and it works well as a standalone as well, even though some events from the past is mentioned.