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Vanessa Michael Munroe #3
Die Geisel
Mission Munroe 3.0 – Wenn man bedroht, was sie liebt, kennt sie keine Gnade
Die Wohnung von Vanessa Michael Munroes bestem Freund Logan ist verwüstet und von ihm selbst fehlt jede Spur. Kurz darauf geschieht das Undenkbare: Munroe selbst wird am helllichten Tag in Dallas überwältigt und entführt. In der Gewalt des Mädchenhändlerrings eines Mannes, der sich nur der „Puppenmacher“ nennt, stellt man sie vor eine schreckliche Wahl: der Organisation eine entlaufene junge Frau wiederzubringen oder Logan qualvoll sterben zu sehen. Doch der mächtige „Puppenmacher“ kann nicht ahnen, wozu seine Geisel fähig ist, wenn man das bedroht, was sie liebt.
Die Wohnung von Vanessa Michael Munroes bestem Freund Logan ist verwüstet und von ihm selbst fehlt jede Spur. Kurz darauf geschieht das Undenkbare: Munroe selbst wird am helllichten Tag in Dallas überwältigt und entführt. In der Gewalt des Mädchenhändlerrings eines Mannes, der sich nur der „Puppenmacher“ nennt, stellt man sie vor eine schreckliche Wahl: der Organisation eine entlaufene junge Frau wiederzubringen oder Logan qualvoll sterben zu sehen. Doch der mächtige „Puppenmacher“ kann nicht ahnen, wozu seine Geisel fähig ist, wenn man das bedroht, was sie liebt.
510 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 4, 2013
87 people are currently reading
1646 people want to read
About the author
Taylor Stevens
50 books823 followersTAYLOR STEVENS is a critically acclaimed, multiple award-winning, New York Times bestselling author of international thrillers. Her books, known for high-octane plots populated with fascinating characters in vivid boots-on-the-ground settings, have been published in over twenty languages. THE INFORMATIONIST, first in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series has also been optioned for film by James Cameron’s production company, Lightstorm Entertainment.
Stevens came to writing fiction late. Born into an apocalyptic cult, separated from her family at age twelve and denied an education beyond sixth grade, she lived on three continents and in a dozen countries before she turned fourteen. In place of schooling, the majority of her adolescence was spent begging on city streets at the behest of cult leaders, or as a worker bee child caring for the many younger commune children, washing laundry, and cooking meals for hundreds at a time. In her twenties, Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond.
In addition to writing novels, Stevens shares extensively about the mechanics of storytelling, writing, overcoming adversity, and the details of her journey into publishing through email, podcast, and video tutorials.
You can find her at:
* taylorstevensbooks.com/connect.php
* taylorstevensshow.com
* patreon.com/taylorstevens
* facebook.com/taylorstevens
* twitter @taylorstevens
Stevens came to writing fiction late. Born into an apocalyptic cult, separated from her family at age twelve and denied an education beyond sixth grade, she lived on three continents and in a dozen countries before she turned fourteen. In place of schooling, the majority of her adolescence was spent begging on city streets at the behest of cult leaders, or as a worker bee child caring for the many younger commune children, washing laundry, and cooking meals for hundreds at a time. In her twenties, Stevens broke free in order to follow hope and a vague idea of what possibilities lay beyond.
In addition to writing novels, Stevens shares extensively about the mechanics of storytelling, writing, overcoming adversity, and the details of her journey into publishing through email, podcast, and video tutorials.
You can find her at:
* taylorstevensbooks.com/connect.php
* taylorstevensshow.com
* patreon.com/taylorstevens
* facebook.com/taylorstevens
* twitter @taylorstevens
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 395 reviews
May 4, 2014
I'll start by summing up my review: I loved this adventure with Vanessa Michael Munroe!!!!! Taylor Stevens has made a fan of me after only reading one novel, out of order in fact. Sure it's not flawless but is exactly what I want in an action, suspense thriller.
The novel begins with Bradford checking out leads for where Vanessa Michael Munroe could be. The teams' intel suggests that she was involved in an "accident" that set the stage for her kidnapping. This kidnapping was orchestrated by the infamous Dollmaker. He specializes in ripping women away from their lives in order to supply an endless variation of young women for his wealthy clientele. Only this time he's chosen to kidnap the wrong person.
The Dollmaker forces Munroe into an undesired mission by holding the fate of the person she loves most over her head. Munroe reluctantly agrees to completing the mission so long as the one she holds dear remains alive. Although she isn't naive, and is convinced she's dead along with Logan once the Dollmaker's requests are granted, she still moves forward with moving precious, human cargo to the big-wig that's demanding the product. Not only is she faced with delivering this famous cargo in one piece, she's responsible for maintaining the "doll" in a certain condition.
Enter Steven's weak link. Neeva is probably one of the most recognized faces at the time she's been kidnapped. Her celebrity makes the mission especially difficult but to add insult to injury, she's one of the worse hostages possible. Initially she comes off as a brat. I personally couldn't stand her but I understood that her role was necessary in moving the story forward. I guess I was so busy rooting for Munroe that I failed to realize that Neeva was fighting for her own life just the same.
Pushed up against the ropes, Taylor Stevens presents to newbies (like me) a woman who's more than capable of holding her own. A master of disguise, a true polyglot, and skilled in the art of complete badassery. I mean really!!!! Is there nothing Munroe can't do? Actually, that brings me to my first gripe. Stevens wastes no time to remind readers, newbies and dedicated fans alike, of the many ways in which Munroe is not to be messed with. After hearing for the umpteenth time that the men were speaking languages, assuming she couldn't understand but in fact really could, it got a little redundant. Then to keep reminding me that she's able to use anything, I mean absolutely ANYTHING as a weapon got to be grating. In my opinion, Munroe's Rambo-esque ambition needed no more justification.
My final gripe is one of my own doing. When I entered in the Goodreads Giveaway to win this novel it was only because I was slightly interested in the blurb and wasn't going to be heartbroken if I'd lost. To top it off, I didn't pay attention to the fact that this was a part of a series. Usually I can read books out of succession so long as the author is good enough to keep me posted on trivial background aspects without ruining previous novels should I read them at a later date. Ultimately, I felt that all the characters, even Munroe, were a little one dimensional. Again I say that's my fault because I didn't take the time (time I really don't have) to catch up with all the characters in a manner that wouldn't leave me wanting more. I take some of the blame, but for the rest I'm giving Taylor Stevens the honor. A great author writes each novel, even in a series, as if they are reaching out to an audience that hasn't been following the characters from inception.
My gripes aside, The Doll was gripping from page one. Taylor Stevens manages to never allow me one moment to become bored with her story. She goes inside of the corrupt, despicable world of human trafficking and forces readers to consider what morals they will dismiss in the hopes of saving the one they love. And then leave you wondering if the life of the one you love is truly worth more than the life of an innocent. I look forward to reading another adventure of Stevens' featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe. Munroe proves that you don't send any man in to do a woman's job. Yes!!!!!!
Copy provided by Broadway Books (Random House) via Goodreads Giveaway
The novel begins with Bradford checking out leads for where Vanessa Michael Munroe could be. The teams' intel suggests that she was involved in an "accident" that set the stage for her kidnapping. This kidnapping was orchestrated by the infamous Dollmaker. He specializes in ripping women away from their lives in order to supply an endless variation of young women for his wealthy clientele. Only this time he's chosen to kidnap the wrong person.
The Dollmaker forces Munroe into an undesired mission by holding the fate of the person she loves most over her head. Munroe reluctantly agrees to completing the mission so long as the one she holds dear remains alive. Although she isn't naive, and is convinced she's dead along with Logan once the Dollmaker's requests are granted, she still moves forward with moving precious, human cargo to the big-wig that's demanding the product. Not only is she faced with delivering this famous cargo in one piece, she's responsible for maintaining the "doll" in a certain condition.
Enter Steven's weak link. Neeva is probably one of the most recognized faces at the time she's been kidnapped. Her celebrity makes the mission especially difficult but to add insult to injury, she's one of the worse hostages possible. Initially she comes off as a brat. I personally couldn't stand her but I understood that her role was necessary in moving the story forward. I guess I was so busy rooting for Munroe that I failed to realize that Neeva was fighting for her own life just the same.
Pushed up against the ropes, Taylor Stevens presents to newbies (like me) a woman who's more than capable of holding her own. A master of disguise, a true polyglot, and skilled in the art of complete badassery. I mean really!!!! Is there nothing Munroe can't do? Actually, that brings me to my first gripe. Stevens wastes no time to remind readers, newbies and dedicated fans alike, of the many ways in which Munroe is not to be messed with. After hearing for the umpteenth time that the men were speaking languages, assuming she couldn't understand but in fact really could, it got a little redundant. Then to keep reminding me that she's able to use anything, I mean absolutely ANYTHING as a weapon got to be grating. In my opinion, Munroe's Rambo-esque ambition needed no more justification.
My final gripe is one of my own doing. When I entered in the Goodreads Giveaway to win this novel it was only because I was slightly interested in the blurb and wasn't going to be heartbroken if I'd lost. To top it off, I didn't pay attention to the fact that this was a part of a series. Usually I can read books out of succession so long as the author is good enough to keep me posted on trivial background aspects without ruining previous novels should I read them at a later date. Ultimately, I felt that all the characters, even Munroe, were a little one dimensional. Again I say that's my fault because I didn't take the time (time I really don't have) to catch up with all the characters in a manner that wouldn't leave me wanting more. I take some of the blame, but for the rest I'm giving Taylor Stevens the honor. A great author writes each novel, even in a series, as if they are reaching out to an audience that hasn't been following the characters from inception.
My gripes aside, The Doll was gripping from page one. Taylor Stevens manages to never allow me one moment to become bored with her story. She goes inside of the corrupt, despicable world of human trafficking and forces readers to consider what morals they will dismiss in the hopes of saving the one they love. And then leave you wondering if the life of the one you love is truly worth more than the life of an innocent. I look forward to reading another adventure of Stevens' featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe. Munroe proves that you don't send any man in to do a woman's job. Yes!!!!!!
Copy provided by Broadway Books (Random House) via Goodreads Giveaway
October 13, 2020
4 ☆ a rapid fire thriller with nothing but bad choices
OK, The Doll merits all the hype for the Vanessa Michael Munroe (VMM) series. For a thriller story to be really fantastic for me, among many other requirements, I need to understand the head and heart of the main protagonist. I don't have to like the mental or emotional motivations (though that never hurts) but I have to "get it" beyond basic comprehension of the words on the page.
The Doll offered a double-layered tale which involved multiple moving parts. The GR synopsis is good and I don't want to give away too much information. Suffice to say, one major story strand followed Miles Bradford, boyfriend and owner of a private security firm (cough, mercenaries, cough), and who had witnessed VMM's abduction off of the Dallas streets in broad daylight. His subsequent actions were the stuff of the investigation procedural without the legitimacy and bureaucracy of law enforcement. I didn't get a deep look into his character and the story moved briskly here - people were in danger, no time to waste.
The second strand focused upon VMM as she learned the reason and purpose of her abduction. The villain - the "Doll Maker" - was a psychopath delighting in his control over people and was of 007 films' caliber. The name sounded utterly ridiculous until I realized that it referenced his highest value product
[The Doll Maker] paused from his papers to pet the silky hairs of a nearby doll, the action distracted and peaceful in the same contented way an old woman might stroke a cat. This had always been the way of the old man: love and attention lavished upon nonliving things while breathing flesh and blood held no space in his heart.
VMM had been pushed into a precarious position. Only bad choices were available.
An attempt to survive, to push beyond the anguish of the living and the voices in her head, which though muted, had not left her since Blocking them out could only go on so long before the darkness overtook her ...
The Doll was a page turner from the very beginning, which caused me to delay sleep for half the night (ouch, but worth it). Regardless of my enthusiasm, I'm not giving the series 5 stars. My basic objections to the characterization of VMM remains. Essentially, VMM is presented as a superhero with nearly beyond mortal capabilities, and this beggars belief, especially when contrasted against the realistic description of Miles in this installment.
#1 The Informationist 2.5 ☆
#2 The Innocent 3.5 ☆
#3.5 The Vessel 3.5 ☆
#4 The Catch 3 ☆
#5 The Mask 3.5 ☆
June 27, 2013
THE DOLL: A Novel
Taylor Stevens
Its official I’m a complete Taylor Stevens junkie now!!! After three books I’m convinced she is the real thing. There is so much that could be said about her thrillers from the sensational, scary and violent character of Vanessa Michael Munroe to the pulse pounding, spellbinding plots.
THE DOLL is a riveting action plot driven adventure that begins with Munroe being kidnapped and thrown into an underground world where women and young girls are merchandise. The mastermind has the nickname the doll maker and has kidnapped a high profile young woman for a particular sadist and depraved wealthy client. Munroe is given the job of delivering the young woman to the client or the people she loves will be killed. For Munroe to hand this young woman over to some of the horror of her past traumas becomes impossible. Munroe must find a way to save her, hopefully herself and her loved ones by facing her dangerous nemesis and delivering her trademark brand of justice.
We are experiencing a wave of thriller fiction featuring women who possess the same instinctual qualities of mercenaries or military experts. You’ve come a long way baby is not just a tag line anymore. It would be fascinating to trace this evolution which I’m not equipped to do, but in the meantime I am just going to look forward to more of Ms. Stevens’s books.
The driving force, the plot and the adventure are all centered on Vanessa Michael Munroe. In that light it is imperative that some of her background and motivation be addressed. Estranged from missionary parents in Africa, she became a pawn for a gunrunner, was tortured by an extremely brutal man, had to learn how to defend herself and survive. She became skilled in tactics and strategy and learned to fight, adapt and blend. Her education on the streets and in the world has made her a prolific linguist, with exquisitely honed killer instincts. This haunted, violent woman with a scary dark streak is painfully aware of her closeness to sanity’s edge.
Bravo, Taylor Stevens
Taylor Stevens
Its official I’m a complete Taylor Stevens junkie now!!! After three books I’m convinced she is the real thing. There is so much that could be said about her thrillers from the sensational, scary and violent character of Vanessa Michael Munroe to the pulse pounding, spellbinding plots.
THE DOLL is a riveting action plot driven adventure that begins with Munroe being kidnapped and thrown into an underground world where women and young girls are merchandise. The mastermind has the nickname the doll maker and has kidnapped a high profile young woman for a particular sadist and depraved wealthy client. Munroe is given the job of delivering the young woman to the client or the people she loves will be killed. For Munroe to hand this young woman over to some of the horror of her past traumas becomes impossible. Munroe must find a way to save her, hopefully herself and her loved ones by facing her dangerous nemesis and delivering her trademark brand of justice.
We are experiencing a wave of thriller fiction featuring women who possess the same instinctual qualities of mercenaries or military experts. You’ve come a long way baby is not just a tag line anymore. It would be fascinating to trace this evolution which I’m not equipped to do, but in the meantime I am just going to look forward to more of Ms. Stevens’s books.
The driving force, the plot and the adventure are all centered on Vanessa Michael Munroe. In that light it is imperative that some of her background and motivation be addressed. Estranged from missionary parents in Africa, she became a pawn for a gunrunner, was tortured by an extremely brutal man, had to learn how to defend herself and survive. She became skilled in tactics and strategy and learned to fight, adapt and blend. Her education on the streets and in the world has made her a prolific linguist, with exquisitely honed killer instincts. This haunted, violent woman with a scary dark streak is painfully aware of her closeness to sanity’s edge.
Bravo, Taylor Stevens
January 11, 2015
This is a natural follow-on series for anyone who likes the Stieg Larsson trilogy, or any other thriller series, such as books by Vince Flynn, Brad Taylor, Patricia Cornwell, Ben Coes, Alex Berenson, etc. While/because Vanessa Michael Munroe is deeply psychically wounded, she is also phenomenally capable and self-aware--an action heroine for the times.
Stevens gives readers nonstop conflict on every page and writes with ease about settings as diverse as Croatia, Italy...and Texas.
Stevens gives readers nonstop conflict on every page and writes with ease about settings as diverse as Croatia, Italy...and Texas.
April 3, 2014
The thing about this series is that it is so gleefully violent and dark that it makes you go with the flow. Michael is being forced to help a sex trafficker but the woman she has to transport has more mettle than Michael originally anticipates. They start to work together while on the homefront, Bradford Miles tries to save the day. I love this series but I hate how when we have tormented characters like this, they never get to stay, consistently, in a relationship. Like, BREAK THE MOLD, writers. MILES AND MICHAEL FOREVER.
January 21, 2015
This is the 3rd book in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series and I’ve read them all. I absolutely LOVE this series. From someone that reads about 60 books a year I’ve got to say that not only is this the best series that I’ve ever read but Vanessa Michael Munroe is my all-time favorite female character. She is very one of a kind and can kick some major butt.
This story was just as good as the first 2 books in the series but since Munroe played a different role in this book she didn’t get the opportunity to unleash her butt-kicking self as often as she did in the previous books. I really missed that in this book. In this book she was the prey rather than the hunter so the opportunity just didn’t rise that often. She still had some great moments but it was just a bit different from the last 2 books.
This book was near impossible for me to put down. I just couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. I had a few laughs as well as some tears along the way. This series is so good that if a new book was released every week I’d be happy reading nothing but this series for years to come. I hope Taylor keeps the series coming and I’d love to see it be turned into a movie as rumored.
I would highly recommend this book. If you haven’t read the previous 2 you won’t understand why Munroe is the way she is so I highly recommend reading all 3 of these books in order. #1 Informationist, #2 The Innocent & #3 The Doll.
This story was just as good as the first 2 books in the series but since Munroe played a different role in this book she didn’t get the opportunity to unleash her butt-kicking self as often as she did in the previous books. I really missed that in this book. In this book she was the prey rather than the hunter so the opportunity just didn’t rise that often. She still had some great moments but it was just a bit different from the last 2 books.
This book was near impossible for me to put down. I just couldn’t wait to see what was going to happen next. I had a few laughs as well as some tears along the way. This series is so good that if a new book was released every week I’d be happy reading nothing but this series for years to come. I hope Taylor keeps the series coming and I’d love to see it be turned into a movie as rumored.
I would highly recommend this book. If you haven’t read the previous 2 you won’t understand why Munroe is the way she is so I highly recommend reading all 3 of these books in order. #1 Informationist, #2 The Innocent & #3 The Doll.
October 15, 2020
Vanessa VM gets kidnapped, so her colleagues, 'buxom' and otherwise, draw a nice mindchart on a whiteboard. It feels like they love her. Or not.
Q:
Walked to the nearest blank spot on the whiteboards, picked up a red marker, and drew the beginning of a diagram. Wrote: Michael—passed out or taken down? (c)
This is continued by a lot of not so subtle head tilting going on and all kinds of posturing around:
Q:
Jahan’s head tilt was subtle, an acknowledgment of trust rather than agreement. (c)
Q:
Bradford’s posture sagged and he glanced again at the diagram. (c)
Q:
Bodies are long, women are buxom to the point of being stereotyped, villains scoff (a lot!)
VM is, as she's notorious, 'worrisome' and
Q:
Do not let her hear your language, the source had said, she will use language as a weapon. Keep the area around her free of objects, everything will be used as a weapon. Stay clear of her reach, she doesn’t need a weapon to kill you. Don’t use restraints, she will find a way out of them, and they will only give a false sense of safety. Do not touch her, the source said. Leave her in peace, and treat her respectfully, only then will the violence stay muted. Disrespect these and make no mistake, she will kill you. (c)
Walker, she's 'oozing sexuality and preying on hormones and the stupidity they induced'. That goes for quite the toxic environment, doesn't it? Does she 'ooze' all of that stuff all the time?
A lot of lovely investigating. Angst oozing all along. Miles is so very touchy and about to have a bunch of anxiety attacks. Logan probably could have set them all strait but too bad he's indisposed as well.
Overall, 4 stars, even for all the 'oozing buxom blonds'.
Some editing might be a great idea:
Q:
… daylight reflecting off the glass created a mirrored effect. (c)
Q:
there would be no stopping until his own inner carnival ran dead. (c) A whole inner carnival?
Other fun stuff:
Q:
He didn’t have the words to articulate the jumbled confusion of experience and history, the obscure paths Munroe had trod, from them the murky depths they were about to wade. (c) Just a bit too convoluted?
Q:
Walked to the nearest blank spot on the whiteboards, picked up a red marker, and drew the beginning of a diagram. Wrote: Michael—passed out or taken down? (c)
This is continued by a lot of not so subtle head tilting going on and all kinds of posturing around:
Q:
Jahan’s head tilt was subtle, an acknowledgment of trust rather than agreement. (c)
Q:
Bradford’s posture sagged and he glanced again at the diagram. (c)
Q:
Bodies are long, women are buxom to the point of being stereotyped, villains scoff (a lot!)
VM is, as she's notorious, 'worrisome' and
Q:
Do not let her hear your language, the source had said, she will use language as a weapon. Keep the area around her free of objects, everything will be used as a weapon. Stay clear of her reach, she doesn’t need a weapon to kill you. Don’t use restraints, she will find a way out of them, and they will only give a false sense of safety. Do not touch her, the source said. Leave her in peace, and treat her respectfully, only then will the violence stay muted. Disrespect these and make no mistake, she will kill you. (c)
Walker, she's 'oozing sexuality and preying on hormones and the stupidity they induced'. That goes for quite the toxic environment, doesn't it? Does she 'ooze' all of that stuff all the time?
A lot of lovely investigating. Angst oozing all along. Miles is so very touchy and about to have a bunch of anxiety attacks. Logan probably could have set them all strait but too bad he's indisposed as well.
Overall, 4 stars, even for all the 'oozing buxom blonds'.
Some editing might be a great idea:
Q:
… daylight reflecting off the glass created a mirrored effect. (c)
Q:
there would be no stopping until his own inner carnival ran dead. (c) A whole inner carnival?
Other fun stuff:
Q:
He didn’t have the words to articulate the jumbled confusion of experience and history, the obscure paths Munroe had trod, from them the murky depths they were about to wade. (c) Just a bit too convoluted?
September 22, 2015
This is book three in the Vanessa Munroe series, I have a feeling I might have got more from this book if I had read prior books in the series.
This book left me with very mixed feelings about it, I liked certain aspects of it then was bored and uninterested in others, so this is not an easy review to write.
Information specialist Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe has a global reputation for getting things done, often dangerous and violent things.
But her reputation has brought her dangerous enemies.
On a busy Dallas street, Munroe is kidnapped by an unseen opponent and thrust into an underground world where women and girls are merchandise and a shadowy figure known as The Doll Maker controls her every move.
Now everything pivots on one simple choice: Munroe must use her unique set of skills to deliver a high-profile young woman into the same nightmare that she once endured, or condemn to torture and certain death the one person she loves above all else.
The overall plot sounded fantastic but I felt it was too wordy and almost not simplified enough for the reader to really grasp what was going on. I was confused for much of the book.
Vanessa Munroe was a great character and I can see how reading prior books would have her grow on you as a lead character. All the scenes in the book that she was in I loved. Everything else just lost me.
International trafficking of women with a twist, a man called The Doll Maker, he does just that. I leave it at that lest I spoil things for you. I was so excited that this was going to be such a great page turner, but it wasn't.
Where this book lost me was in long winded chapters that had a lot of talking and not a lot of action, some of it not even adding to the book. My brain struggled to connect characters and remember them even chapter to chapter, I was going "hang on, who was he again?", if you know what I mean? They did not become real to me, just loads of names and the start of the book in my opinion is hugely confusing that's why I don't think this one works as a stand alone.
For me personally as a reader, this is a 2 star read (okay), but because the actual writing is pretty good and the scenes that star Vanessa Munroe in them I will award it 3 stars. I think this would suit fans of the classic thriller, think the Jason Bourne books etc. Which is not really my favourite type of thriller. I was sucked in by the complexity and mystery of why Vanessa has the abilities she does. The rest? You can keep it.
Some will truly love this book, personal taste and all that. So I suggest making your own mind up on this one. I tasted it and it did not do enough to get me running in for more.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
This book left me with very mixed feelings about it, I liked certain aspects of it then was bored and uninterested in others, so this is not an easy review to write.
Information specialist Vanessa 'Michael' Munroe has a global reputation for getting things done, often dangerous and violent things.
But her reputation has brought her dangerous enemies.
On a busy Dallas street, Munroe is kidnapped by an unseen opponent and thrust into an underground world where women and girls are merchandise and a shadowy figure known as The Doll Maker controls her every move.
Now everything pivots on one simple choice: Munroe must use her unique set of skills to deliver a high-profile young woman into the same nightmare that she once endured, or condemn to torture and certain death the one person she loves above all else.
The overall plot sounded fantastic but I felt it was too wordy and almost not simplified enough for the reader to really grasp what was going on. I was confused for much of the book.
Vanessa Munroe was a great character and I can see how reading prior books would have her grow on you as a lead character. All the scenes in the book that she was in I loved. Everything else just lost me.
International trafficking of women with a twist, a man called The Doll Maker, he does just that. I leave it at that lest I spoil things for you. I was so excited that this was going to be such a great page turner, but it wasn't.
Where this book lost me was in long winded chapters that had a lot of talking and not a lot of action, some of it not even adding to the book. My brain struggled to connect characters and remember them even chapter to chapter, I was going "hang on, who was he again?", if you know what I mean? They did not become real to me, just loads of names and the start of the book in my opinion is hugely confusing that's why I don't think this one works as a stand alone.
For me personally as a reader, this is a 2 star read (okay), but because the actual writing is pretty good and the scenes that star Vanessa Munroe in them I will award it 3 stars. I think this would suit fans of the classic thriller, think the Jason Bourne books etc. Which is not really my favourite type of thriller. I was sucked in by the complexity and mystery of why Vanessa has the abilities she does. The rest? You can keep it.
Some will truly love this book, personal taste and all that. So I suggest making your own mind up on this one. I tasted it and it did not do enough to get me running in for more.
I received a copy of this book thanks to the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
March 17, 2014
This is a tautly written thriller that serves up a nasty tale of human trafficking. The tension is non-stop with lots of action.
The antagonist here is the Doll Maker, a cruel, diminutive man who dresses in impeccably tailored suits. Smug, sometimes displaying a sly smile, he dispenses his horrible orders to his minions with a soft voice filled with gloat. He ensconces himself in his office which houses a collection of dolls - lots of them. He holds them, strokes their hair, fusses with their clothing and caresses their china faces. There is something very wrong with this creepy individual.
Although the comparisons to Steig Larsen's Lizbeth Salander are apt, Taylor's Michael Munroe is more approachable, somewhat less prickly in general. I was quite taken with her. She lives on the edge of the grid, is skilled in the use of knives, pressure points, and duct tape (the perfect weapon - so many uses). Michael can masquerade as a male and her ability to blend is awesome, as is her peculiar ease with languages.
It is rather refreshing to read a book that doesn't employ the use of labeled POVs, which seem to be the golden child of novels these days. Although there is certainly nothing wrong with that style, I really don't want to find it in each and every book.
This was a Goodreads first-reads giveaway, thank you.
The antagonist here is the Doll Maker, a cruel, diminutive man who dresses in impeccably tailored suits. Smug, sometimes displaying a sly smile, he dispenses his horrible orders to his minions with a soft voice filled with gloat. He ensconces himself in his office which houses a collection of dolls - lots of them. He holds them, strokes their hair, fusses with their clothing and caresses their china faces. There is something very wrong with this creepy individual.
Although the comparisons to Steig Larsen's Lizbeth Salander are apt, Taylor's Michael Munroe is more approachable, somewhat less prickly in general. I was quite taken with her. She lives on the edge of the grid, is skilled in the use of knives, pressure points, and duct tape (the perfect weapon - so many uses). Michael can masquerade as a male and her ability to blend is awesome, as is her peculiar ease with languages.
It is rather refreshing to read a book that doesn't employ the use of labeled POVs, which seem to be the golden child of novels these days. Although there is certainly nothing wrong with that style, I really don't want to find it in each and every book.
This was a Goodreads first-reads giveaway, thank you.
May 9, 2013
The previous book actually raised some interesting questions about joining a cult, while this one, which could have raised equally interesting questions about human trafficking chose to stay with the violence and mystery behind Michael's life. As a result, I was less impressed with this one. We get a lot of clues into her back story, more than in the previous book, which supposedly explain how she got to be the way she is. We're also told - repeatedly - that she has some weird wiring in her brain that makes it easy for her to learn languages (Hungarian is the new one). Understanding her and her motivations doesn't really help make her likable or interesting, sadly.
The plot revolves around the Doll Man's kidnapping of Neeva, an up-and-coming starlet who just happens to be the daughter of two prominent people, who, coincidentally have hired Michael to find their missing daughter. He also kidnaps Michael and brings her to Europe to ensure that Neeva is delivered to her buyer; Logan, one of Michael's closest friends, is kidnapped and tortured to ensure that Michael behaves. Of course, things don't go according to plan. Back in the States, Bradford is doing what he can to help her - and chaos and death ensue.
Neeva never felt like a real character, and the others are expendable. What interest I had in Michael (or Essa... Vanessa... etc.) was lost in the thriller formula.
ARC provided by publisher.
The plot revolves around the Doll Man's kidnapping of Neeva, an up-and-coming starlet who just happens to be the daughter of two prominent people, who, coincidentally have hired Michael to find their missing daughter. He also kidnaps Michael and brings her to Europe to ensure that Neeva is delivered to her buyer; Logan, one of Michael's closest friends, is kidnapped and tortured to ensure that Michael behaves. Of course, things don't go according to plan. Back in the States, Bradford is doing what he can to help her - and chaos and death ensue.
Neeva never felt like a real character, and the others are expendable. What interest I had in Michael (or Essa... Vanessa... etc.) was lost in the thriller formula.
ARC provided by publisher.
January 2, 2018
Tak děsivě realistické, až se tomu bojím dát pět hvězd.
June 4, 2013
Doesn't the cover of The Doll just promise an 'edge of your seat' read? And Taylor Stevens delivers one....again!
I've deoured the first two books featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe - The Informationist and The Innocent - and have been early awaiting the third novel to feature this kick*** character. The Doll releases today.
Vanessa Michael Munroe is....well, she's deadly, with incredible physical skills and she's brilliant - she speaks many languages and easily assimilates into the situation or culture she finds herself in. She can read people and situations and think three moves ahead. She's also a bit of an enigma - her past is murky and has shaped her into the woman she is today. For a living, she hunts.... people. She's the shadowy figure people call on to do the impossible. Her weak spot? Innocents.
When the last book left off, Michael had allowed herself to let down her guard a bit and enjoy her relationship with Bradford - the owner of Capstone Security Consulting. In this latest book Michael herself is the one taken. A criminal kingpin called The Doll Maker has 'recruited' Michael to deliver a package - a living doll ordered by a wealthy client. To ensure her compliance, he has also taken hostage one of the few people Michael has let get close to her - Logan, the man she considers her brother.
The Doll is told in two narratives. First, from Bradford's point of view as he and his crew try to track down and rescue both Michael and Logan. Secondly from Michael's as she tries to figure out a way to save herself and her 'package'. And then destroy The Doll Maker. Each storyline was equally addictive and kept me rapidly turning pages as the action escalated. And it truly is non stop.
What makes Steven's writing so good is her lead character. It's so much fun to have such a - as I mentioned earlier - kick*** female character. The action scenes are great, but there's a deeper level to this character as well. She is the walking wounded and Stevens does a fantastic job depicting Munroe's inner emotional turmoil and her physical struggle to control herself. Each book out, we learn a little bit more about Munroe and her background. She is a fascinating enigma. And a character I'm hooked on. Read an excerpt of The Doll. You'll be hooked too!
Here's what Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher books has to say...."Munroe is a sensational character and Stevens is a sensational writer, and together they put The Doll high on my books-of-the-year list."
You could read The Doll as a stand alone, but I really do recommend starting with The Informationist to fully appreciate this series. (Film rights for this The Informationist have been optioned to James Cameron)
Well, I raced through The Doll far too quickly.... I'll be eagerly waiting for book number four.
I've deoured the first two books featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe - The Informationist and The Innocent - and have been early awaiting the third novel to feature this kick*** character. The Doll releases today.
Vanessa Michael Munroe is....well, she's deadly, with incredible physical skills and she's brilliant - she speaks many languages and easily assimilates into the situation or culture she finds herself in. She can read people and situations and think three moves ahead. She's also a bit of an enigma - her past is murky and has shaped her into the woman she is today. For a living, she hunts.... people. She's the shadowy figure people call on to do the impossible. Her weak spot? Innocents.
When the last book left off, Michael had allowed herself to let down her guard a bit and enjoy her relationship with Bradford - the owner of Capstone Security Consulting. In this latest book Michael herself is the one taken. A criminal kingpin called The Doll Maker has 'recruited' Michael to deliver a package - a living doll ordered by a wealthy client. To ensure her compliance, he has also taken hostage one of the few people Michael has let get close to her - Logan, the man she considers her brother.
The Doll is told in two narratives. First, from Bradford's point of view as he and his crew try to track down and rescue both Michael and Logan. Secondly from Michael's as she tries to figure out a way to save herself and her 'package'. And then destroy The Doll Maker. Each storyline was equally addictive and kept me rapidly turning pages as the action escalated. And it truly is non stop.
What makes Steven's writing so good is her lead character. It's so much fun to have such a - as I mentioned earlier - kick*** female character. The action scenes are great, but there's a deeper level to this character as well. She is the walking wounded and Stevens does a fantastic job depicting Munroe's inner emotional turmoil and her physical struggle to control herself. Each book out, we learn a little bit more about Munroe and her background. She is a fascinating enigma. And a character I'm hooked on. Read an excerpt of The Doll. You'll be hooked too!
Here's what Lee Child, author of the Jack Reacher books has to say...."Munroe is a sensational character and Stevens is a sensational writer, and together they put The Doll high on my books-of-the-year list."
You could read The Doll as a stand alone, but I really do recommend starting with The Informationist to fully appreciate this series. (Film rights for this The Informationist have been optioned to James Cameron)
Well, I raced through The Doll far too quickly.... I'll be eagerly waiting for book number four.
March 30, 2013
Taylor Stevens gets better with each book. This--"The Doll" (Crown 2013)--is her third in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, and in my estimation, the best. Her Munroe character is unlike any other out there in the thriller genre. She is severely damaged by events in her life, but uses those scars to thrive as an informationist--finding information and sometimes people for others. With spot-on instincts, the ability to connect the dots even when she can't see them, and a facility with both mental and physical weapons, she is not someone you want to anger.
In this third book, she has found a level of peace with Miles Bradford, a man who cherishes her for what she is, watches her back, and understands her needs. That is shattered when she is kidnapped by the Doll Maker, an international human trafficker, to deliver another kidnapped woman into the hands of a psychotic misogynist. The Doll Maker knows threatening Munroe's life won't work for she cares little whether she lives or dies, so instead, dangles the life of one of her few friends, promising to release them both once she has succeeded in her mission. She complies, hoping Bradford will rescue her friend while she figures out how to save the second kidnapped woman. Munroe uses the full gamut of mental and physical tricks in an impossible quest to bring everyone out alive, barely maintaining control of the voices in her mind insisting she solve the problem with extreme violence, not mental canny.
And then the Doll Maker makes a mistake. He kills Noah, the rare man Munroe allowed into her life. The last man she loved, if she let herself admit that. Now, Munroe will not be satisfied with simply escaping with the life of her charge. Now, she must destroy the Doll Maker, his organization, and everyone around them.
Stevens is a unique writer, with an almost stream of consciousness approach to the life-and-death plot. When the reader is with Munroe, we feel her pain, her battle to do what must be done while tamping down the demons that constantly lurk below the surface of her consciousness. Every minute of the day, she struggles to control her self-conscious, her addictions, the fury at injustice that becomes a visceral presence trying to control her thoughts and actions. Where the story could be considered a fairly typical plot, Vanessa Michael Munroe make it anything but.
If you haven't read the first two books, read those before Doll Maker. Then, sign up with Crown to be notified every time Stevens publishes a new book.
In this third book, she has found a level of peace with Miles Bradford, a man who cherishes her for what she is, watches her back, and understands her needs. That is shattered when she is kidnapped by the Doll Maker, an international human trafficker, to deliver another kidnapped woman into the hands of a psychotic misogynist. The Doll Maker knows threatening Munroe's life won't work for she cares little whether she lives or dies, so instead, dangles the life of one of her few friends, promising to release them both once she has succeeded in her mission. She complies, hoping Bradford will rescue her friend while she figures out how to save the second kidnapped woman. Munroe uses the full gamut of mental and physical tricks in an impossible quest to bring everyone out alive, barely maintaining control of the voices in her mind insisting she solve the problem with extreme violence, not mental canny.
And then the Doll Maker makes a mistake. He kills Noah, the rare man Munroe allowed into her life. The last man she loved, if she let herself admit that. Now, Munroe will not be satisfied with simply escaping with the life of her charge. Now, she must destroy the Doll Maker, his organization, and everyone around them.
Stevens is a unique writer, with an almost stream of consciousness approach to the life-and-death plot. When the reader is with Munroe, we feel her pain, her battle to do what must be done while tamping down the demons that constantly lurk below the surface of her consciousness. Every minute of the day, she struggles to control her self-conscious, her addictions, the fury at injustice that becomes a visceral presence trying to control her thoughts and actions. Where the story could be considered a fairly typical plot, Vanessa Michael Munroe make it anything but.
If you haven't read the first two books, read those before Doll Maker. Then, sign up with Crown to be notified every time Stevens publishes a new book.
June 5, 2013
A Vanessa Michael Munroe Novel
By Taylor Stevens
Crown Publishers, 335 pgs
978-0-307-88878-5
Submitted by Crown Publishers
Rating: 4.5
And they're off! The Doll bursts out of the starting gate like Secretariat at Aqueduct. This is no exaggeration: page one and our heroine is darted like a bear and kidnapped by homicidal Croatians masquerading as paramedics in an ambulance stolen from the city of Dallas. Miles Bradford, lover, PTSD-sufferer, spy extraordinaire and Boy Robin, witnesses the scene from his office window.
This sets off a vicious romp across countries, oceans and continents but not in search of Michael, oh no, Michael can more than handle herself. Turns out she's been "hired" by The Doll Maker, a bat-shit crazy, child-sex-slave trafficking, scum of the earth, who only passes as human because he has opposable thumbs. Michael is being coerced into delivering a particularly valuable "package" (read: kidnapped woman) to a client, as penance for what The Doll Maker sees as her past transgressions against his organization and revenue stream. The Doll Maker's minions have kidnapped Logan, the person Michael is closest to in all the world, in order to ensure her cooperation. But watch what happens when she turns the tables.
This is the third installment in the best-selling saga of Vanessa Michael Munroe - chameleon, language-savant, assassin, righteous dispenser of justice. The first volume is The Informationist, the second The Innocent, both of which have been reviewed on this blog previously. Michael is a female protagonist like none before. She is something truly new under the sun: physically, mentally and emotionally courageous, just like plenty of real women. There are no wasted pages spent on improbable romantic entanglements, no "female" squishiness here. There are facts and logic and strategy and tactics - good lord it's so freeing! And there is the necessary kill. Or a dozen, maybe, who's counting?
In evidence of Michael's reputation, instructions given to the kidnappers, page 22:
Do not let her hear your language, the source had said, she will use language as a weapon. Keep the area around her free of objects, everything will be used as a weapon. Stay clear of her reach, she doesn't need a weapon to kill you. Don't use restraints, she will find a way out of them, and they will only give a false sense of safety. Do not touch her, the source said. Leave her in peace, and treat her respectfully, only then will the violence stay muted. Disrespect these and make no mistake, she will kill you.
As long as I'm offering samples, here is an example of the way Michael absorbs and assimilates sensory information:
Not real speech, a recording. She could tell that even from this drug-induced haze. She stretched fingertips to the wall and heard from touch the same story told by the smell of this place. Dank. Damp. Buried.
One more. Michael has a knife fetish, upon lifting a knife off a bad guy:
The handle connected with her palm like a creation returning to its mold, metal against skin, familiar and soothing.
I really can't quibble with anything here. The writing is improving on schedule, as it should with a third book. The dialogue is genuine. The pacing is nearly perfect - there are no lulls in the action here. The characterizations are true. The plot is unique to the genre - exactly what genre is this? Taylor Stevens may be inventing a new one and how exciting is that? Just when you think you know where the plot is headed, it arrives in another location entirely. You think you've got it figured out but there are a hundred pages left and what's up with that? And then the tale takes off again, racing onward to a conclusion unexpected, complicated and immensely satisfying.
By Taylor Stevens
Crown Publishers, 335 pgs
978-0-307-88878-5
Submitted by Crown Publishers
Rating: 4.5
And they're off! The Doll bursts out of the starting gate like Secretariat at Aqueduct. This is no exaggeration: page one and our heroine is darted like a bear and kidnapped by homicidal Croatians masquerading as paramedics in an ambulance stolen from the city of Dallas. Miles Bradford, lover, PTSD-sufferer, spy extraordinaire and Boy Robin, witnesses the scene from his office window.
This sets off a vicious romp across countries, oceans and continents but not in search of Michael, oh no, Michael can more than handle herself. Turns out she's been "hired" by The Doll Maker, a bat-shit crazy, child-sex-slave trafficking, scum of the earth, who only passes as human because he has opposable thumbs. Michael is being coerced into delivering a particularly valuable "package" (read: kidnapped woman) to a client, as penance for what The Doll Maker sees as her past transgressions against his organization and revenue stream. The Doll Maker's minions have kidnapped Logan, the person Michael is closest to in all the world, in order to ensure her cooperation. But watch what happens when she turns the tables.
This is the third installment in the best-selling saga of Vanessa Michael Munroe - chameleon, language-savant, assassin, righteous dispenser of justice. The first volume is The Informationist, the second The Innocent, both of which have been reviewed on this blog previously. Michael is a female protagonist like none before. She is something truly new under the sun: physically, mentally and emotionally courageous, just like plenty of real women. There are no wasted pages spent on improbable romantic entanglements, no "female" squishiness here. There are facts and logic and strategy and tactics - good lord it's so freeing! And there is the necessary kill. Or a dozen, maybe, who's counting?
In evidence of Michael's reputation, instructions given to the kidnappers, page 22:
Do not let her hear your language, the source had said, she will use language as a weapon. Keep the area around her free of objects, everything will be used as a weapon. Stay clear of her reach, she doesn't need a weapon to kill you. Don't use restraints, she will find a way out of them, and they will only give a false sense of safety. Do not touch her, the source said. Leave her in peace, and treat her respectfully, only then will the violence stay muted. Disrespect these and make no mistake, she will kill you.
As long as I'm offering samples, here is an example of the way Michael absorbs and assimilates sensory information:
Not real speech, a recording. She could tell that even from this drug-induced haze. She stretched fingertips to the wall and heard from touch the same story told by the smell of this place. Dank. Damp. Buried.
One more. Michael has a knife fetish, upon lifting a knife off a bad guy:
The handle connected with her palm like a creation returning to its mold, metal against skin, familiar and soothing.
I really can't quibble with anything here. The writing is improving on schedule, as it should with a third book. The dialogue is genuine. The pacing is nearly perfect - there are no lulls in the action here. The characterizations are true. The plot is unique to the genre - exactly what genre is this? Taylor Stevens may be inventing a new one and how exciting is that? Just when you think you know where the plot is headed, it arrives in another location entirely. You think you've got it figured out but there are a hundred pages left and what's up with that? And then the tale takes off again, racing onward to a conclusion unexpected, complicated and immensely satisfying.
January 29, 2014
Taylor Stevens Vanessa Munroe series has been marketed extensively and compared favorably to the Lisbeth Salander series. Both series do share a strong female character who fights violence and investigate crimes against women, and both Salander and Munroe do not fit established images of how women are to behave. The Munroe series also takes on tough world situations.
Vanessa Munroe, dressing like a man, and sometimes mistaken for a man, is a trained killer and experienced in the various ways that men try to take advantage of women. From the first book in this series, The Informationist, which dealt with rape and revenge, Stevens has put Munroe in difficult situations. Munroe has triumphed, but each book leaves scars on the character and the reader. Her latest book, The Doll, the third in the series, is again a taut tough look at another world situation that is evil - the kidnapping of young girls for the sex slave trade. No reader will come away from this book unscathed about her descriptions of how women are treated and marketed as cattle to be sold to the highest bidder.
Munroe is kidnapped from her adopted home in the US and whisked away to a foreign country. The Doll Man, a notorious leader of an underground sex slave ring has a job for her to do. He wants her to deliver Neeva Eckridge, a kidnapped beautiful world renowned Hollywood starlet, to her buyer, who has picked her out and wants to possess her for aims that become clear as the book goes on. Normally Munroe would not stand for this type of assignment and is clearly able to kill the Doll Man, but the Doll Man, has been supplied information from a criminal that Munroe locked up in jail, and has also kidnapped a friend of Munroe and is torturing him. If Munroe does not do what he wants, her friend will die.
So Munroe decides to help the Doll Man transport Neeva to her buyer, while hoping that her friend Bradford can successfully find her friend and rescue him before Munroe has finished her delivery job.
The book is split between Bradford's hunt for the missing friend and Munroe's journey with Neeva. The tension is high. Munroe is acting against her nature to help a monster. The character of Neeva is very well defined, and is no soft starlet. She is equally tough and fights to survive as well.
What mars the book, in my mind, and what seems to be inevitable is the second half of the book, when as we can expect Munroe confronts the Doll Man and his men. Characters make decisions that did not make realistic sense. Maybe they heightened the plot and the tension, but they did not ring true.
Nonetheless, the book does deliver a healthy does of tension, action and is a an all around very good thriller. Stevens again exposes the underbelly of the world though the Munroe series. There is evil in the world and depravity and Munroe is a good character to have to fight it. This is a good series if you like thrillers.
Vanessa Munroe, dressing like a man, and sometimes mistaken for a man, is a trained killer and experienced in the various ways that men try to take advantage of women. From the first book in this series, The Informationist, which dealt with rape and revenge, Stevens has put Munroe in difficult situations. Munroe has triumphed, but each book leaves scars on the character and the reader. Her latest book, The Doll, the third in the series, is again a taut tough look at another world situation that is evil - the kidnapping of young girls for the sex slave trade. No reader will come away from this book unscathed about her descriptions of how women are treated and marketed as cattle to be sold to the highest bidder.
Munroe is kidnapped from her adopted home in the US and whisked away to a foreign country. The Doll Man, a notorious leader of an underground sex slave ring has a job for her to do. He wants her to deliver Neeva Eckridge, a kidnapped beautiful world renowned Hollywood starlet, to her buyer, who has picked her out and wants to possess her for aims that become clear as the book goes on. Normally Munroe would not stand for this type of assignment and is clearly able to kill the Doll Man, but the Doll Man, has been supplied information from a criminal that Munroe locked up in jail, and has also kidnapped a friend of Munroe and is torturing him. If Munroe does not do what he wants, her friend will die.
So Munroe decides to help the Doll Man transport Neeva to her buyer, while hoping that her friend Bradford can successfully find her friend and rescue him before Munroe has finished her delivery job.
The book is split between Bradford's hunt for the missing friend and Munroe's journey with Neeva. The tension is high. Munroe is acting against her nature to help a monster. The character of Neeva is very well defined, and is no soft starlet. She is equally tough and fights to survive as well.
What mars the book, in my mind, and what seems to be inevitable is the second half of the book, when as we can expect Munroe confronts the Doll Man and his men. Characters make decisions that did not make realistic sense. Maybe they heightened the plot and the tension, but they did not ring true.
Nonetheless, the book does deliver a healthy does of tension, action and is a an all around very good thriller. Stevens again exposes the underbelly of the world though the Munroe series. There is evil in the world and depravity and Munroe is a good character to have to fight it. This is a good series if you like thrillers.
June 12, 2013
I was fortunate to receive an advance copy of this book to read and it did not disappoint. If you are a fan of that other famous trilogy about a young woman in peril, then you'll like Taylor Stevens take on a similar protagonist, even if it feels a bit familiar.
I read the first two books in quick succession and then there was a lag before this one came to me. I found that I couldn't quite remember some of the details of the first two books which had some impact on my following this plot in the beginning. As the story developed, it became far less of an issue. The action begins in the first pages and for the most part doesn't let up even when its occurring with separate characters on different continents. This volume explores human trafficking and gives a rather superficial view of the victims' plight, focussing rather on the main character Vanessa/Michael. While I enjoyed this read and will continue to follow this series, I hope that the author explores the protagonist's continuing healing a bit more in the next versions. I recommend this book, but think if you read the first two you'll enjoy it more.
I read the first two books in quick succession and then there was a lag before this one came to me. I found that I couldn't quite remember some of the details of the first two books which had some impact on my following this plot in the beginning. As the story developed, it became far less of an issue. The action begins in the first pages and for the most part doesn't let up even when its occurring with separate characters on different continents. This volume explores human trafficking and gives a rather superficial view of the victims' plight, focussing rather on the main character Vanessa/Michael. While I enjoyed this read and will continue to follow this series, I hope that the author explores the protagonist's continuing healing a bit more in the next versions. I recommend this book, but think if you read the first two you'll enjoy it more.
January 11, 2013
When Munroe is taken away by an ambulance after crashing her motorcycle outside Bradford's office, he immediately becomes uneasy. Bradford's worst fears are confirmed when Munroe's wallet is found at a local emergency room, but she's nowhere to be found. Certain that she's been kidnapped, Bradford and his colleagues try to determine where she's gone. The people that have taken Munroe have severely injured her best friend, Logan, in order to get Munroe to agree to their demand: deliver famous actress Neeva Eckridge (already in the captors' custody) to a man who wants to keep her as his personal prisoner. Munroe agrees to complete the task, but only to protect Logan and others close to her. Can Munroe be comfortable sacrificing Neeva and following the rules set out for her? In this third novel in the Munroe series, Stevens constructs the novel differently than the first two, having Bradford and his team be a big part of the action and having Munroe join the story later. It works well and gives the series a welcome freshness. The Doll will be published in June.
January 15, 2016
Vanessa Michael Monroe is a killer. She was taught to kill by a man in Africa, a long time ago. She fights against this darkness every day. She is in love with Miles Bradford, who tries to teach her to set aside this darkness. But, Bradford is helpless when he watches Michael get kidnapped. Her task is to transport a young Hollywood starlet to her new owner, who has purchased her through a human trafficking operation. The Doll Maker holds hostage one of the few people Michael loves and Logan will die is she does not do what she is tasked to do. Lots of bodies will fall and Michael will lose more of her humanity before everything is said and done.
February 13, 2013
Great entry to this series, story flowed well and I didn't want to stop reading...always a good sign. As others have noted, the author has "expanded" the action to include Bradford and as a result we see more depth to both Michael and Bradford. This series should appeal to fans of both Jo Nesbo and Stieg Larsson.
January 5, 2020
Michael Munroe is again chasing those who abuse the innocent. In this book, she is on the trail of the Doll Maker who provides children and young woman for his clients. She is able to rescue a young American actress who then joins her in providing retribution against the offenders. Although her associate and lover, Bradford, appears in the book, he plays a small part.
April 30, 2019
Addictive read
February 13, 2023
I love the Vanessa Michael Munroe books, by Taylor Stevens!
I recommend them to those who enjoy the crime/ultraviolence books¡
I recommend them to those who enjoy the crime/ultraviolence books¡
September 22, 2019
3.5 A more satisfying addition to this series than the last two.
June 25, 2013
Taylor Stevens is a terrific thriller writer. She burst onto the literary scene in 2010 with “The Informationist,” the first in a five-book deal from Crown Publishers. In it, we were introduced to a new and exciting heroine, the androgynous and seriously badass Vanessa Michael Monroe. Not only can see pass as a man in situations that call for, well, a man’s touch, but she has a photographic memory and a knack for learning languages. While her past has left her damaged, she lives her life by a code of ethics that is hers alone, and Lord help those who cross her. In reviewing “The Informationist,” Kirkus wrote: “…the writing is stellar, the heroine grittier than Lara Croft and the African setting so vivid that readers can smell the jungle and feel the heat.”
It’s no surprise that Monroe has been endlessly compared to Steig Larsson’s now famous protagonist Lisbeth Salander from the “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” series. While it seems that every fifth thriller writer these days is billed as the next Larsson (and nearly all of the Scandanavian writers), it’s a bit ironic that the true successor hails from Texas and not somewhere in Finland.
This is not to say that the similarities are obvious, or that Stevens’ series is a “Dragon Tattoo” rip-off, as some have suggested. Stevens started writing “The Informationist” in 2005, the same year that “Dragon Tattoo” was published in Sweden. By the time it hit the United States, Stevens had already secured and agent and was well on its way to finding a publisher. The comparison is, however, necessary for at least one important reason. I know when I finished the “Dragon Tattoo” series, I was disappointed that there would never be another book (Larsson died in 2004) featuring the completely original Lisbeth Salander. When I finished “The Informationist,” I had found the original, strong, terrifying, and ass-kicking female protagonist that I had been looking for.
Fast-forward to 2013, where Stevens has published the third installment, “The Doll” (“The Innocent” was published in 2012). Without saying too much about the plot, the story opens with a brazen kidnapping of our heroine. By now you can probably guess that Monroe doesn’t think too highly of getting kidnapped. This sets off a game of cat-and-mouse that forces Monroe to make seemingly impossible decisions throughout the story. The plot is set up in such a way that by the first 100 pages, you will start to wonder how in the hell Monroe is going to get out of the shitstorm she has found herself in. Stevens handles it with a pro’s touch, and will undoubtedly leave readers not only satisfied with the resolution, but craving for more.
The plotting is intricate, the action intense and unrelenting, and the writing is flat-out stunning. Often, thriller writers sacrifice good writing for an exciting story. Frankly, the jacket covers of most thrillers should say, “If you want good writing, go read Ian McEwan or James Salter. If you simply want action, this is the book for you.”
Not so with Stevens. The tension she builds on nearly every page is sweaty hands, blood pumping, lock your doors and hope someone isn’t already in your house kind of pressure. Yet she refuses to sacrifice quality in her writing. Take this passage, from “The Doll”:
“She would never be as fast as a bullet, but in close contact, would always be faster than the hand that drew the gun. Speed was life. Speed was survival. Speed born from the will to live, from the necessity of staying one move ahead, speed carved into her psyche one sadistic knife slice after another. That which hadn’t killed her had made her faster.”
It will be a crime if “The Doll” doesn’t make the New York Times Bestseller List. “Gone Girl” was the (well-deserved) sensation of 2012, and “The Doll” is a worthy candidate for this year’s best novel. Seriously, put down current NYT listers James Patterson, Dean Koontz, and Glen freakin’ Beck (seriously?) and spend some time with the most original character to hit the literary world in years. You’ll be glad you did.
It’s no surprise that Monroe has been endlessly compared to Steig Larsson’s now famous protagonist Lisbeth Salander from the “Girl With the Dragon Tattoo” series. While it seems that every fifth thriller writer these days is billed as the next Larsson (and nearly all of the Scandanavian writers), it’s a bit ironic that the true successor hails from Texas and not somewhere in Finland.
This is not to say that the similarities are obvious, or that Stevens’ series is a “Dragon Tattoo” rip-off, as some have suggested. Stevens started writing “The Informationist” in 2005, the same year that “Dragon Tattoo” was published in Sweden. By the time it hit the United States, Stevens had already secured and agent and was well on its way to finding a publisher. The comparison is, however, necessary for at least one important reason. I know when I finished the “Dragon Tattoo” series, I was disappointed that there would never be another book (Larsson died in 2004) featuring the completely original Lisbeth Salander. When I finished “The Informationist,” I had found the original, strong, terrifying, and ass-kicking female protagonist that I had been looking for.
Fast-forward to 2013, where Stevens has published the third installment, “The Doll” (“The Innocent” was published in 2012). Without saying too much about the plot, the story opens with a brazen kidnapping of our heroine. By now you can probably guess that Monroe doesn’t think too highly of getting kidnapped. This sets off a game of cat-and-mouse that forces Monroe to make seemingly impossible decisions throughout the story. The plot is set up in such a way that by the first 100 pages, you will start to wonder how in the hell Monroe is going to get out of the shitstorm she has found herself in. Stevens handles it with a pro’s touch, and will undoubtedly leave readers not only satisfied with the resolution, but craving for more.
The plotting is intricate, the action intense and unrelenting, and the writing is flat-out stunning. Often, thriller writers sacrifice good writing for an exciting story. Frankly, the jacket covers of most thrillers should say, “If you want good writing, go read Ian McEwan or James Salter. If you simply want action, this is the book for you.”
Not so with Stevens. The tension she builds on nearly every page is sweaty hands, blood pumping, lock your doors and hope someone isn’t already in your house kind of pressure. Yet she refuses to sacrifice quality in her writing. Take this passage, from “The Doll”:
“She would never be as fast as a bullet, but in close contact, would always be faster than the hand that drew the gun. Speed was life. Speed was survival. Speed born from the will to live, from the necessity of staying one move ahead, speed carved into her psyche one sadistic knife slice after another. That which hadn’t killed her had made her faster.”
It will be a crime if “The Doll” doesn’t make the New York Times Bestseller List. “Gone Girl” was the (well-deserved) sensation of 2012, and “The Doll” is a worthy candidate for this year’s best novel. Seriously, put down current NYT listers James Patterson, Dean Koontz, and Glen freakin’ Beck (seriously?) and spend some time with the most original character to hit the literary world in years. You’ll be glad you did.
June 10, 2013
On page one of The Doll, book three of the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, Stevens mysteriously whisks off her protagonist. With my heart pounding, biting my nails, I tail Munroe’s lover Bradford in frantic pursuit. The hunt leapfrogs back and forth between a rank and menacing cesspool hidden in Central Europe, and its operations in the U.S. The deeper I progress into the pages of the novel, I find myself in a battle between my urge to tap the screen and advance and my gnawing fear about what I may or may not read there. I’m pissed. I want satisfaction. I want to bite and kick and rip and tear. I incant, murmur, goad Munroe forward, pleading with her to get on with it. Release your killer instincts, my sweet revanchist, and wipe the bastards off the face of the earth on all our behalves. Castrate the lot of them. Plunge your knife deep and gouge out the cancer. I won’t mind the impending gore. “Drink hot blood.” In fact, I’ll welcome it, squeamish constitution aside, if Stevens just writes the evil down the drain along with it. If she unleashes Munroe and lets her do her worst to avenge the innocents, I promise to stay faithful. You can heal Munroe’s wounds in a later installment if someone as damaged as she is can be healed. Ridiculous, but I find myself bargaining with Stevens as I read.
By novel’s end, I remember why my daughter, Dana, annually plunges into the 1000s of pages that constitute The Count of Monte Cristo. Revanche is, indeed, sweet, albeit fleeting and impotent to staunch life’s hemorrhage of rancid savagery. We become reckless in its presence and cheer on avengers, to hell with the knowledge that it will rear its ugly head and consume them alive. “Cant’ get no satisfaction” be damned. In Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories, she writes: “No woman was ever truly safe. It didn’t matter if you were as tough as Sigourney Weaver in Alien Resurrection or Linda Hamilton in Terminator Two because wherever you went there were men, crazy men.” Damn it, I want the universe’s maternal nature to unman the crazies to the man—and to the woman for that matter—Steven’s Kate Breeden springs to mind. After reading The Doll, I believe Stevens wants this too. Because spoilers spoil, I refuse to say whether or not you get your belly full of revenge at Steven’s table with this latest installment of Munroe’s narrative. Suffice it to say, she understands the futile after taste the dish leaves in your mouth, how unsatisfying it really is ultimately because the next worse evil already looms, the tares grow in with the wheat. She gets that the cup of hot blood you drink never fully assuages your thirst for revenge. In a perfect world, lambs should not have to go to the slaughter. Alas, we don’t live in a perfect world, and the ever humble Stevens would say there are no perfect writers, but she comes close, very close, and The Doll achingly satisfies.
By novel’s end, I remember why my daughter, Dana, annually plunges into the 1000s of pages that constitute The Count of Monte Cristo. Revanche is, indeed, sweet, albeit fleeting and impotent to staunch life’s hemorrhage of rancid savagery. We become reckless in its presence and cheer on avengers, to hell with the knowledge that it will rear its ugly head and consume them alive. “Cant’ get no satisfaction” be damned. In Kate Atkinson’s Case Histories, she writes: “No woman was ever truly safe. It didn’t matter if you were as tough as Sigourney Weaver in Alien Resurrection or Linda Hamilton in Terminator Two because wherever you went there were men, crazy men.” Damn it, I want the universe’s maternal nature to unman the crazies to the man—and to the woman for that matter—Steven’s Kate Breeden springs to mind. After reading The Doll, I believe Stevens wants this too. Because spoilers spoil, I refuse to say whether or not you get your belly full of revenge at Steven’s table with this latest installment of Munroe’s narrative. Suffice it to say, she understands the futile after taste the dish leaves in your mouth, how unsatisfying it really is ultimately because the next worse evil already looms, the tares grow in with the wheat. She gets that the cup of hot blood you drink never fully assuages your thirst for revenge. In a perfect world, lambs should not have to go to the slaughter. Alas, we don’t live in a perfect world, and the ever humble Stevens would say there are no perfect writers, but she comes close, very close, and The Doll achingly satisfies.
June 7, 2013
Plunging straight into the action from the first page, The Doll is an addictive, fast paced thriller. The third book in Taylor Stevens series featuring Vanessa Michael Munroe sees 'Michael' kidnapped by an international human trafficker known as The Doll Maker and forced to deliver a young woman to a violent sadist or forfeit the life of those Munroe loves.
What I particularly enjoyed about this installment is the way in which Munroe is forced to leash her prodigious talent for violence to outwit her enemies, at least for a time. No matter the promises the Dollmaker has made, Munroe knows neither she, Logan or the girl, Neeva, will survive unless she can tip the balance of power in her favour. Given the constant surveillance during the journey across Europe, she has to exploit whatever opportunities arise all the while hoping Bradford can figure out what has happened to her and use the resources of his security agency to rescue Logan leaving her free to rebel against her captor.
Munroe is such an intriguing character, a sociopath capable of deadly violence with finely honed instincts, intelligence and a talent for languages, but in The Doll her single weakness is brought to the fore. With an ability to withstand egregious torture and no fear of her own death, her connections to family, lovers and friends, something she has only just begun to make, is a vulnerability. Yet The Dollmaker underestimates the unique psychology of Munroe and ultimately no matter how much Munroe loses, he will never win.
I thought the plot and motivations in The Doll much stronger than in The Innocent. There are a number of unexpected twists and the pace is intense, despite the narrative being divided between Munroe and Bradford.
I'm not sure The Doll would work as a stand alone, Munroe's history informs the choices that she makes in this story and without that background, readers may find themselves somewhat puzzled by unique character.
However, as someone familiar with the series, I found the The Doll to be a gripping, hard hitting action thriller and I am already looking forward to Taylor's next book.
June 21, 2013
"The Doll" is the 3rd title in the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, and it's Taylor Stevens' best one to date. If you love action with a strong female lead, then this is your book. Michael takes on the world of human trafficking - though reluctantly as she is kidnapped and forced into delivering a high profile actress from the Doll Maker to a wealthy client...dressed to resemble a porcelain doll. Initially she takes on the assignment to save her life, and more importantly, the life of someone she loves. But as she learns more about the underground world of buying and selling young girls and women into the hands of those who would consider them only as toys or playthings, she wants to do more. Munroe's ability to pick up any language she comes across once again helps her in a terrifying situation; her stealth and cunning serve her well as she tries not only to save Neeva, the actress in question, but to take down at least some of those responsible for the female imprisonment and suffering she witnesses.
Getting into Munroe's mind is always fascinating, and as you learn what makes her tick and drives her to act the way she does, you will begin to understand her a little bit more. As she works on freeing Neeva, a surprise twist puts them both in even greater danger.
If you love fast-paced adventure with a sense of justice, you have to read "The Doll". It will keep you thinking long after the last page is finished.
Getting into Munroe's mind is always fascinating, and as you learn what makes her tick and drives her to act the way she does, you will begin to understand her a little bit more. As she works on freeing Neeva, a surprise twist puts them both in even greater danger.
If you love fast-paced adventure with a sense of justice, you have to read "The Doll". It will keep you thinking long after the last page is finished.
July 9, 2013
Information Specialist Vanessa Michael Munroe always gets
things done. Often they are dangerous and not quite legal
She is scarred from a life of violence and pursued by plenty
of her own demons. She is proficient in quite a few languages
and also with knives. When a human trafficking ring kidnaps
her to deliver a high profile starlet she's prepared to
destroy them until she discovers that to save one life she
will condemn the person she loves most. She is plunged into
an underground world where women and girls are merchandise
and a shadowy figure known as The Doll Maker controls all.
She will have to fight fast, smart, and furiously to deliver
her brand of justice. Another top thriller from Taylor Stevens.
For those of you who don't know her she was born into a group
called The Church of God and raised in communes around the
globe. She never received more than a sixth grade education.
She has written 3 books and I would recommend starting with the
first. I can't say any more about her except that she continues
to amaze me with her writing and I am now a devoted fan.
things done. Often they are dangerous and not quite legal
She is scarred from a life of violence and pursued by plenty
of her own demons. She is proficient in quite a few languages
and also with knives. When a human trafficking ring kidnaps
her to deliver a high profile starlet she's prepared to
destroy them until she discovers that to save one life she
will condemn the person she loves most. She is plunged into
an underground world where women and girls are merchandise
and a shadowy figure known as The Doll Maker controls all.
She will have to fight fast, smart, and furiously to deliver
her brand of justice. Another top thriller from Taylor Stevens.
For those of you who don't know her she was born into a group
called The Church of God and raised in communes around the
globe. She never received more than a sixth grade education.
She has written 3 books and I would recommend starting with the
first. I can't say any more about her except that she continues
to amaze me with her writing and I am now a devoted fan.
December 28, 2014
I received this book from Blogging for Books for this review.
I am not familiar with the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, but I received this book for free and was thankful for the opportunity. I realized later that this was the third installment of the series. I did not care for this novel. I was really interested with the premise and interested with such an engaging synopsis. The writing style was difficult to read and it felt like the author used too many commas and incomplete sentences.
"Straddled the machine, hit neutral with his foot, punched his thumb into the started button, and compressed the clutch handle only to find that the impact with the pavement had snapped it off."
This is only one example of the complex writing style that made it difficult to read this book. Grammar aside, I enjoyed the original premise of the book and the concept of the Doll Maker. I enjoyed the free copy of this book, but I don't feel I will read another by Stevens.
I am not familiar with the Vanessa Michael Munroe series, but I received this book for free and was thankful for the opportunity. I realized later that this was the third installment of the series. I did not care for this novel. I was really interested with the premise and interested with such an engaging synopsis. The writing style was difficult to read and it felt like the author used too many commas and incomplete sentences.
"Straddled the machine, hit neutral with his foot, punched his thumb into the started button, and compressed the clutch handle only to find that the impact with the pavement had snapped it off."
This is only one example of the complex writing style that made it difficult to read this book. Grammar aside, I enjoyed the original premise of the book and the concept of the Doll Maker. I enjoyed the free copy of this book, but I don't feel I will read another by Stevens.
June 18, 2013
The Doll by Taylor Stevens is the third book in Steven’s Vanessa Michael Munroe series, and this would have been very helpful to know prior to beginning The Doll. Naturally, this is not the fault of the author’s, but rather me, the reader. I have a dreadful habit of not reading reviews before hand and therefore I occasionally miss key clues, in this case important clues, since from what I read, the main character clearly develops throughout the series and so I was rather behind from the start. I fully intend to read the previous two books in the series The Informationist, and The Innocent and then reread The Doll. Stevens is clearly a new author to me and wow, this book was quite an impressive suspense thriller, I can only imagine how much more I will enjoy it when I read the previous two books in the series.
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