Dollface

by Lindy Ryan

Barbie meets Scream with a 90s nostalgia twist in this horror romp from Bless Your Heart author Lindy Ryan. This program is read by award-winning narrator Stephanie Németh-Parker.

"[Narrator] Stephanie Németh-Parker exhibits superb range in this dialogue-heavy story. Each character’s voice is impressively distinguishable, from Ducey sucking on caramel candies to the lip-smacking, slow-talking coroner and the rasping cries of the reanimated dead." —Library Journal on Bless Your Heart

Horror author Jill has just moved to suburban New Jersey, hoping to fit in with the new PTA moms and maybe not weird everyone out with her Final Girl coffee mug. You know. Make some real friends.

But then a plastic face-masked serial killer begins slashing their way through town, one overly made-up mom at a time. The police are incredulous. The moms are indignant. And Jill is slowly wrapped into a killer’s murderous spree, until she might just be the last woman standing.

A delightfully murderous novel that is equal parts scathing and salacious, Dollface will win you over with its gossip and gore, one body at a time.

“A whimsical, bloody, unsettling suburban slasher with an unexpected twist." – New York Times bestselling author Delilah S. Dawson

"[Narrator Stephanie Németh-Parker's] drawn-out exhalations when the dead speak make them delightfully eerie, while her deliberate mouth sounds for the coroner will make listeners as uncomfortable with him as the characters are. Best of all, her vocal choices for all the suspects give nothing away about who is actually causing all the mayhem." —AudioFile on Bless Your Heart

A Macmillan Audio production from Minotaur Books

Genres: Horror, Audiobook, Thriller, Mystery, Mystery Thriller, Adult, Fiction

Audible Audio

First published February 24, 2026

About the author

Lindy Ryan is an award-winning author, anthologist, and short-film director whose books and anthologies have received starred reviews from Publishers Weekly, Booklist and Library Journal. Several of her projects have been adapted for screen. Ryan is the current author-in-residence at Rue Morgue. Declared a “champion for women’s voices in horror” by Shelf Awareness, Ryan was named a Publishers Weekly Star Watch Honoree in 2020, and in 2022, was named one of horror's most masterful anthology curators. ​Born and raised in Southeast Texas, Ryan currently resides on the East Coast.​​​ She is a professor at Rutgers University.

Reviews

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

👱🏼‍♀️🎀👻Barbie meets Scream👱🏼‍♀️🎀👻 !!!!!!!! Dollface written by Lindy Ryan is a whimsical slasher with an unexpected twist. As a horror junkie, this book gave me the heebie jeebies in the best way possible, I don't think I will be able to look at another doll the same way ever again. I fell in love with the cover first, it's so beautifully detailed and of course gorgeous, but when I saw that it was being compared to Scream, I knew I had to get my hands on this book immediately. I have never read anything by Lindy Ryan before, but she truly had my heart racing with this book. When I thought I could finally take a deep breath and calm down, I was wrong because with every turning page I had goosebumps. As someone who is a bit of a scaredy cat, I can proudly say that I had the best time with this horror slasher book. I know every reader is different, but I honestly had no clue who the doll killer was, the unexpected twists had me screaming, and I was in complete shock by the end of the book. If you are a horror junkie that loves Scream, gossip, and gore, Dollface needs to be on your spooky tbr and your calendars better be marked for February 24th, 2026 for the publication of this murderous bone chilling book. If any of my friends ask for recommendations that run along the lines of Friday the 13th, you best believe I will proudly recommend Dollface written by Lindy Ryan.

THANK YOU TO NETGALLEY AND ST. MARTIN'S PRESS FOR AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW!!!!!!

"🎀💄🧸From concealer to eye shadow, Dollface helps showcase your inner beauty on the outside🎀💄🧸".

"❣️🔪If you don't see the horror right in front of you, how will you ever survive it❣️🔪?"

"♥︎🧚🏻‍♀️All I wanted to do was help them see their flaws, help them improve- become more beautiful versions of themselves♥︎🧚🏻‍♀️".

Jillian Marshall and her family have just moved to suburban New Jersey because her family is a military family and her husband Rob is in the Coast Guard. Jillian and Rob have an eight year old son Tanner who is in third grade and a golden retriever named Lugosi. Since moving to New Jersey, Jill hoped to become friends with the other mom's at her son's school, but instead weird's everyone out with her Final Girl coffee mug. Jillian is a horror author and her new book's manuscript hasn't moved beyond the title page since arriving in New Jersey. Jillian claims she looks like the Bride of Frankenstein and she also watched her mother commit suicide right in front of her face when she was just a little girl. Just a little over a few days after arriving at their new house, their nosy new neighbor Darla Lashett comes bearing a gift basket to welcome the Marshall family to the neighborhood. Darla is the president of the PTA at Brunswick Elementary which consists of six women and they are looking for a Cultural Arts person for the PTA board, so of course Darla encourages Jillian to become their new member. Darla has a son in sixth grade and a daughter in fifth grade. Soon Darla and Jillian become friends over their shared interest of being horror junkies. I love how welcoming Darla was to the Marshall family, but at times it felt like a little too much since she was always showing up at their door being a Nosy Nelly. I love friendly neighbors, but sometimes I think they need to back off a notch just because being new can sometimes be a bit overwhelming for certain people including myself.

After a few days of joining the Brunswick PTA board things start taking a turn for Jillian. The barista at the local coffee shop was found murdered with a slit throat, another woman was stabbed in the head by gardening shears but is expected to be okay, and another woman had her eyeball gorged out with an ice cream scooper, honestly that's just a few things that have happened, but you will have to read this book to find out the other twisted turns. This killer is believed to be a woman with a pert nose, blonde hair to the jawline, a beauty mark and wears a Dollface mask and also drives a sedan. Darla and Jillian are horror movie afficionado's and they are now living out a slasher movie in their suburban New Jersey neighborhood. Jillian is slowly wrapped into a killer's murderous spree and she might just be the last woman standing. Why is this Dollface killer going on a spree and why is she attacking women that Jillian has come in contact with? This book had me on the edge of my seat the entire time, I think I had to bleach my eyes after witnessing this crazy murderous spree. I honestly don't think I would ever make it through this awful turn of events especially after being traumatized from things that happened in my childhood. I mean just imagine witnessing a plastic face masked serial killer slashing their way through town wondering if you will be next, I mean I could never.

[Sidney · Rating 2 out of 5]

after 22 my darling husbands, 22 Jilly beans, 11 creaky-not-creepy houses, 5 bride of frankenstein/frankenstein references and 4 Just don't invite any crazy, knife-wielding lunatics into your houses i'm glad to be done with this book.

my biggest issue is the way this is marketed as Barbie x Scream....just because it's a "slasher" that does not make it like Scream & it's getting old how often this type of comparison is being used when marketing these type of books. We can write slashers without having to compare them to the legendary franchise...it's ok to call a slasher a slasher & leave it at that.

this was extremely repetitive and highly predictable by chapter 6 I knew 95% of the plot. Did I see the ending coming? no, no I did not. Did I feel stupid for not seeing it coming? yes, yes I did. Who would of thought there would be twist at the end where another killer is revealed. *gasp*

I think the only enjoyable part was Darla she is so unapologetically crazy, but her character wasn't enough to save the book for me. Jill is just so...annoying. Her constant "omg I don't want people to look at me & judge me for wearing a Jack Torrance shirt" really started to get on my nerves by the third time it was mentioned. If you are not comfortable being in public in horror attire then maybe just maybe you don't love horror as much as you claim to or MAYBE just don't wear the shirt in public?

Also, I feel like the author could have done more research on the horror genre. If you're writing an mc & make it a point, multiple times, to claim the mc writes horror & is a horror fanatic I'm expecting you to reference more than the most basic mainstream horror out there.. I don't know how the mc can claim to be a horror aficionado & forget or not know who Stu Macher is but this is really unforgivable....you market it as scream this scream that, reference scream a few times in the book &...the mc...doesn't know..half of one of the most iconic duos in the slasher genre???

I would call this horror for weenies or horror for people that have never picked up a horror novel before, which is fine, but I don't see how people who consume a lot of horror media could enjoy this especially with how repetitive & predictable it is

Thank you to NetGalley & the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review

[Court Zierk · Rating 4 out of 5]

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

A good slasher reminds me of childhood. Not because I was ever pursued (nor was I ever the pursuer) by a masked villain, but because it reminds me of all those nights I secretly consumed those 80s slasher classics while my mom slept unknowingly above.

In such a saturated genre, it’s hard to find stories that aren’t simply retreads of the many that came before. While this definitely has its tropey elements, they are stitched together into a unique tapestry of horror comfort. I loved how the killer doesn’t always kill. I loved the many nods to genre memorabilia. I loved the characters, warts and all. And I loved the imperfectness of the conclusion. Nothing is ever black and white in this many shades of grey world, and this book understands and honors that truism in every way.

[Debra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Why would a plastic faced serial killer want to off PTA moms? Dollface is a suburban slasher where no one is safe! Jill is a horror author who is new in town and hoping to make some friends. Her obnoxious new neighbor, did I say obnoxious? I meant to say assertively friendly new neighbor, invites her to join the school's PTA. All the PTA moms are picture perfect with their fully made-up faces and perfect outfits.

The blood begins to fly before the first bake sale! Someone is killing the moms, but who and why???? If horror and gore are not for you, this book is not too scary or gory. Yes, there are some death scenes but if you close one eye while reading, I promise who will get through it unscathed.

Lindy Ryan loves her horror, and this book was on the horrific side. Again, more light horror, but heavy on the creepy and bizzarro characters. Fans of Lindy Ryan may enjoy this one. Bless Your Heart remains my favorite book by this author. Having said that, Dollface was a bloody enjoyable book with an original premise which delivered an eerie vibe, creepy scenes, and dread.

Side note - Am I the only one who thought Jill's overly friendly next-door neighbor might look like Bette Davis in What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? That is the image I had of her for the entire book.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press | Minotaur Books and NetGalley who provided me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All the thoughts and opinions are my own.

Read more of my reviews at www.openbookposts.com 📖

[Char · Rating 3 out of 5]

Dollface is a fun thriller, punctuated with sexy times and gore!

Jill, (Jilly Bean), has recently moved to a (creaky-not creepy) house in a suburb of New Jersey. Almost immediately, she meets her next door neighbor Darla and before she knows it, Jill finds herself at a coffee shop AND on the PTA. That very night, the barista from the coffee shop is murdered and Jill finds herself playing a part in a real life slasher novel! Is this fortuitous, since Jill is a horror author but she's not doing any actual writing? Or will she find herself a candidate for the next victim? You'll have to read this to find out!

I will admit that I requested this book solely due to the cover and the premise. What horror lover wouldn't be interested in a slasher book involving the PTA? LOL Even though there are quite a few gory scenes, in my heart and in my brain I feel like this was more horror-light. In some ways Dollface reminds me of My Heart is A Chainsaw because this turned into a narrative similar to that one-where the main character uses their horror trivia/horror movie knowledge and applies it to their current situation. That character never grew on me, and neither did Jill, mostly I think, because as much as I love horror books, I do not feel the same way about most movies-especially slasher movies. I feel like it's all been done and I would prefer to have more depth to my horror. (This is not a dig at those who love slashers, I get the appeal, and hey-you do you.) There are some tropey situations here and to be honest, I started losing interest about half way through.

A few things irritated me throughout the narrative due to the repetition. "Creaky, not creepy" is a phrase I've read enough of. Also, the sex scenes. Don't get me wrong, I love me a steamy sex scene, but in these cases, I didn't feel it was relative...to anything. Unless this too, was a riff on slasher movies, because people are always getting down right before getting murdered?

What I especially liked though was the humor in which these sitations were handled. Kind of dry and perhaps a little gleeful-especially when Jill cites her weird little horror facts out of the blue.

The last quarter of the book raced by and it hooked my attention again as all the secrets were finally revealed and the reader has a much clearer sense of what had gone on previously. As you can probably tell, this book has me torn. I guess in the end, I really didn't care for the characters and whether or not they lived or died. The PTA ladies were honestly a blur, and right now I couldn't even tell you one detail about any of them except Darla. I finally decided on a 3 star rating, meaning I liked it.

Recommended for fans of thrillers and suspense, but I think horror lovers might be a bit disappointed.

*ARC from publisher

[megs_bookrack · Rating 4 out of 5]

**3.5-stars rounded up **

This was cute. I had fun with it. I enjoy Ryan's humor. This wasn't perfect, the ending was a little confusing and felt rushed, but it fit what I was looking for when I picked it up.

It's basically a Slasher version of Finlay Donovan. It didn't take itself too seriously, and I appreciated that.

Full review to come...stay tuned!!!

Original:

Oofh, I forgot to thank Macmillan Audio for this ARC! I'm super excited to get to this. It sounds campy and fun and maybe even a little nostalgic for the 90s, which we love.

[Gyalten Lekden · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wonderfully realized (and reflexive) protagonist carries this story, making sure it stays fun and heartfelt. The writing was fun, a good combination of descriptive and nerdy, and it was effective at building out the world and emotional reality of the main character. This book was a fun quick read, and its storyline justified the over-indulgence of pop-culture and horror references, so they always felt appropriate to the world instead of pulling me out of it. However, the pieces didn’t quite come together for me to push this into great territory. The ancillary characters mere mostly two-dimensional and somewhat blandly expected in the “PTA-moms/mean-girls” aesthetic the story was explicitly going for. This would be fun if there was ever a real sense of danger that should pervade a slasher, letting the ancillary characters’ mere surface differences wash away in their bloody deaths. The pacing felt too spread out, both in narrative terms but also in the span of time as it occurs in the story. The sense of threat doesn’t ever feel genuine, and that is largely because there was no surprise at all for me in the final reveal. The overall narrative pacing made everything feel almost sluggish, and so instead of a sense of threat or taut anticipation it was just mild indifference. I appreciated the switch to the killer’s POV for those sections, aesthetically speaking, but they just added to my growing lack of fear or concern for the main character. The sense of danger and violence was always at a distance and never looming, and that hampered my fun at going along for the ride. I don’t mind when I can guess the twists from the beginning, I have read enough that it isn’t uncommon, because I can still enjoy the trip as things unfurl. This story has a great central character, it has descriptive and poppy writing, and I enjoy the idea behind it, but the journey felt like it was checking off boxes and didn’t have enough either verisimilitude or camp to give me the kind of emotional investment or cathartic thrill I was hoping for.

Still, the story is fun, and it does explore ideas about family, responsibility, trauma, and what it means to make (or not make) adult friends. I really liked the relationship between the main character and her husband, it felt genuine and supportive and I appreciated that the two weren’t pitted against each other in any sort of ham-fisted way. This story didn’t particularly surprise me, and its sense of intimacy and danger were always too distant to let me feel involved or invested, but it has a sense of playfulness to it that keeps it feeling buoyant and easy to read.

[Dennis · Rating 5 out of 5]

DOLLFACE doesn’t just serve lewks—it slays, literally. 💋 ⁣
⁣
I got into @lindyryanwrites ‘s writing ever since her fun horror duology launched with Bless Her Heart. Once I saw this ICONIC cover for her 2026 novel, DOLLFACE, I knew that I needed to read it asap! Thank you @minotaur_books for this gifted copy!⁣
⁣
Barbie meets Scream in the bloodiest PTA meeting ever. When horror author Jill moves to suburban New Jersey, she just wants to settle into her new normal, while also on deadline for her next horror novel. While she begins to settle into Brunswick, she starts befriending local PTA moms and omg wow, New Jersey isn’t so bad! That is, until a plastic-faced killer crashes the carpool. DOLLFACE is glossy, gory, and totally unhinged in the best way!⁣
⁣
This book is a full dedication to 80s and 90s slasher films, specifically Scream. If you love the Scream franchise, DOLLFACE is the book for you. This book expertly infuses camp, slasher (have I mentioned that already? 😏), and small town scandal. Don’t take DOLLFACE too seriously and enjoy the ride! My first 5 star 2026 read! STARS: 5, PUB: 2/24/26⁣

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

ARC for review. To be published February 24, 2026.

3 stars

Horror lite, maybe….with sex heavy? Not that there was a ton of sex or that it was particularly pornographic or anything, it’s just that if there’s sex in a horror book it often has something to do with the plot, but, here, just a married couple getting it on. Anyway….

This was actually a kind of cute story following Jill, a horror author, who is desperate for inspiration for her sophomore book and who has just moved with her Coast Guard member husband and young son to New Jersey. She immediately gets involved with her overly friendly neighbor, the P.T.A. and the not-so-nice women who serve on the board. Then it appears those women may be the targets of a killer. Is this Jill’s next subject?

The women all kind of ran together for me, and I guessed who was guilty, but I thought this was fun enough and I loved Jill’s passion for horror.

[MagretFume · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is the true horror here the slasher or the PTA mean girls clique?

This was a fun, original and refreshing meta slasher. I relly liked the 90's nostalgia and the main character. 

I listenned to the audiobook version and the narrator was great. She did a fantastic job at bringing out the funnier aspects of the story.

Thank you Macmillan audio for this ARC!

[Sadie Hartmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you NetGalley for the audiobook. Lindy Ryan is a well known name in the horror genre. She is the editor of several notable anthologies, including Mother Knows Best, The Darkest Night, and Into the Forest (Baba Yaga stories!) She's the author of the Bless Your Heart series about a small-town with a big supernatural/paranormal problem and a family who are tasked with safeguarding the locals. This newest novel, Dollface, has a campy, 90's nostalgia, suburban housewife vibe. I listened to the book on my daily walks and always looked forward to my time with it. The narrator is OK-not a favorite. The different voices were sometimes off-putting.
My favorite parts of the book are the gory and descriptive kill scenes, Ryan has a way with words and is good at capturing action cinematically so the reader can visualize everything. My complaints are with the flow/pacing
Many authors do this but here's an example from the book
Jill, the MC, is a horror writer. She gets a knock on the door from a neighbor who comes in. As the scene progresses and the characters are talking, there is all this descriptive exposition happening between actions/talking-almost like a screenplay or stage direction?
"What's your favorite horror movie?" Jill asks
Then there is all this inner mind chat and asides and blocking and paragraphs of exposition while my mind is STILL holding on to this question the character asked the other character! And finally, she answers:
"The Others."
It has been SO LONG the MC forgot what she had even asked--
anyway. This happens a lot--just a lot of filler in between lines of dialogue that that interrupts the natural flow of conversation
There are a lot of tangents or monologues that break up the flow too. But aside from these issues, Lindy Ryan delivers a clever, fun, slasher romp with a dynamic final girl and a formidable enemy (which I totally figured out)
This is a good time

[sunny (jael’s version) · Rating 5 out of 5]

UPDATE: i purchased a 1982 Barbie Ben Cooper halloween mask on ebay 🤭 i’ll try to add a photo of it in this review once it comes in the mail!


Thank you Minotaur Books and Netgalley for this ARC!


OH MY GOOOOOOD. i loved this so much! i was creeped out with the lovey dovey stuff but idc because the rest was so fun.

hated that they used the g slur and interesting that they corrected it.

brb lurking on ebay for some ben cooper vintage halloween masks.

[BiblioPeeks · Rating 4 out of 5]

"God don't like ugly, as my mother used to warn my sister and me, which had nothing to do with looks."

When I read a slasher, this is what I expect to get—gruesome and gory with unique crimes that made me cringe. Ice cream scooper anyone? Think 𝘍𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 13𝘵𝘩 and 𝘚𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘮 vibes but with female rage; it's bloody but not extreme. Jill, a horror author, wife, and mom, has a shocking and traumatic past. New to her suburb, she's immediately taken in by her neighbor, Darla, who is in the PTA. Jill isn't thrilled about the catty women in the PTA, but she likes Darla and wants to make new friends. She's suddenly thrust into her own horror story when a masked killer begins attacking women in the neighborhood—will she end up a final girl?

There's a bit of a slow build, and I could do without the bits of spice, but once this gets going—look out! It's campy, nostalgic, and loaded with horror movie and pop culture references. 𝙇𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙮 𝙍𝙮𝙖𝙣 cleverly captures the essence of mom energy mixed with mystery and carnage—and I was here for it. 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚 𝙉é𝙢𝙚𝙩𝙝-𝙋𝙖𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧 narrates the audiobook, and she nails the anxious and fearful energy of Jill, as well as the syrupy sweet, mostly genuine, nature of Darla. I'll always reach for the audio of a book with 𝙎𝙩𝙚𝙥𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚 since she never fails to elevate the experience!

I actually managed to figure a few things out—even if I didn't have all the pieces in the right place—and was delighted with the reveals and outcome. Fans of slashers, mean moms, and a deranged killer will have a blast with 𝗗𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗳𝗮𝗰𝗲—it's fun, frenetic, and fatal!
____

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Macmillan Audio for the gifted copies. All opinions are my own and shared voluntarily.

[sabrina · Rating 2 out of 5]

✨ Rating: 2 ⭐️
🫧 Vibes: PTA moms get slashed
🎶 Song: still alive - demi lovato
📖 Favourite Quote: "Books make it easier not to feel lonely, even if all your closest girlfriends are fictional."
📚 Would I recommend? meh
💬 tldr thoughts: nothing groundbreaking

In the package:
📦 horror movie references
📦 PTA committee
📦 slasher

Plot: Jill, a horror author, and her family move to suburban New Jersey where she gets recruited into the new PTA committee at school. A plastic face-masked serial killer starts to slash one member at a time and Jill is trying to figure out if she's next.

Thoughts: I wanted to love this one so badly. The first chapter was honestly so promising and hooked me right away. It's described as "Scream meets Barbie" which is totally me, but unfortunately I didn't enjoy it. I figured out the twist about 75% into the book, the characters were not likeable or relatable at all and it just didn't feel juicy enough despite the story following suburban moms in a PTA committee. I was expecting more craziness, more drama, and more slashing. Instead, the writing fell flat and a little too predictable. There was also just an overload of horror movie references.

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

✩⁺₊✩☽⋆ follow me on tiktok and instagram⋆☾✩⁺₊✩

[Ten Cats Reading]

DNF @ p67

Pre-Read Notes:

I grabbed this one for the cover and the one-sentence premise, which compared this book to both Barbie (the movie) and Scream (horror film). I can't say I see either of these influences, honestly.

Final Review

(thoughts & recs) This book closely follows the first person narrator, whom I didn't particularly like. Together with a slow pace, these style issues led me to abandon this one.

A Few Things:

✔️ I don't think it's great form for a narrator to slam-dunk on a random premise, and it's also accidentally ironic when the narrator's claim is wrong. "Baa is a sheep sound, not a goat’s, but I let it slide on account of the pun." p39 Goats actually make a wide range of sounds, including screaming, grunting, and yes, baa-ing.

Content Notes: performative cruelty, body shaming, fat shaming,

Thank you to Lindy Ryan, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for an accessible digital copy of WE DON'T TALK ABOUT CAROL. All views are mine.

[Angie Miale · Rating 3 out of 5]

A wacky tale of suburban PTO moms and murder. The new mom on the block is our main character, Jill. For a short book, this one is kind of chaotic. I really enjoyed Darla and the other mom characters, even though Jill was pretty insufferable. It reads a bit like YA, it goes deep on storylines that go nowhere and rushes through the development I was eager for. A few scenes genuinely cracked me up. Still, I enjoyed a lot of the dialogue and would try other books by this author. The pacing in this one seemed off for me, but I think others may really enjoy it.

Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this buzzy ARC! Book to be published 2/24/26.

[Glenn Rolfe · Rating 5 out of 5]

A twisted, Scream-vibing horror tale that will make you think twice about joining the PTA! DOLLFACE delivers sugary sweet, cut-throat, eye-gouging fun.

[Celeste Velocci (bookrecs_by_celeste) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thank you Minotaur Books and NetGalley for my gifted copy of Dollface. All opinions are my own.

I was looking forward to reading this one especially when I read that it was basically Scream meets Mean Girls PTA moms. I do have to say it was a bit too predictable for me. I found myself not really wanting to pick it up and it took me longer than usual to finish. I do believe this is partly a me problem and not a book problem.

Jill and her family move to a new town and are greeted by a group of PTA moms who are anything but lovely. While the mom group and other women around them start showing up dead Jill decides to take things into her own hands and figure out who is targeting her and this group of moms.

[Erica★ · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really excited to pick up this “Barbie meets Scream” novel, as it sounded right up my alley and like a fun, original take on a slasher. Unfortunately, it fell a bit short for me. The writing leaned very heavily into cutesy, overly detailed descriptions, which took away from the tension and slasher elements I was hoping for. One particular pet peeve was how often the phrase “creaky-not-creepy” was used to describe the main character’s house it became distracting after a while. Overall, the story was just okay, though I did appreciate that it was set around Halloween.

The book follows Jill, a horror author who moves to a small town with her family and quickly befriends the moms in her son’s PTA group. As a serial killer begins targeting women in the community specifically those in the PTA, Jill finds herself unable to escape her own tragic childhood past.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the DRC in exchange for my honest review.
Publication Date: Feb 24, 2026

[Ashley · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing was trying to be too flowery and descriptive that it ended up coming off as weird and awkward, making it hard to connect to it. It also had the problem of treating the readers like they're stupid and hand feeding elements and commentary to us. The dialogue was incredibly stilted. The main character wasn't fun or interesting either. It should have had more fun with itself.

It wasn't exactly groundbreaking. Trust me when I say you'll guess who it is and be 100% correct lmao Mostly boring and I fear so much more could have been done with the plot than what was given. I will give credit that the gore was a nice touch and got pretty nasty.

Thank you to St Martins and netgalley for the arc.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

What an irritating way to write. I'm so sick of reading "darling husband", "creaky not creepy house" and "my sweet neighbor" over and over and over again. We got it!

This was a snooze and very predictable in terms of kills and who the killer was.

[Karen Vasey · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF 25%-This was all over the place. The first chapter felt like a fever dream which then transitioned to a chick lit horror story where a tshirt sporting Jack Torrence rom The Shining was mentioned way too many times in the span of six chapters.

Thanks Netgalley and the publisher for giving me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Chasing Silhouettes · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Tonight, she’s the knife, and for the first time, she’ll cut her own damn cake.' (Ch 5)

Slasher Horror | Thriller | Serial Killer | Murder Mystery

It's always fun trying to guess whodunit in these types of murder mysteries. Who is the serial killer amongst them? There are the obvious suspects, which makes you want to lean toward the conspicious, but then you want to also consider possible twists and analyze each of the phrases for hints. Back and forth, back and forth. Keeps you guessing.

'We all go a little mad sometimes, don’t we? There are so many ways for a woman to come unstitched.' (Ch 27)

What makes this one even more interesting is that the main character is a horror fiction writer, not to mention that she harbors a traumatizing past.

'....my life felt like Stepford Wives meets Twilight Zone slasher. Every day, that mash-up gets more and more on the nose.' (Ch 22)

The author takes it further, giving insight to the killer. Following them as they commit their acts of murder and/or mutilation. There were descriptive bits that were horrific enough to elicit a nauseating or grimacing response from me. *thumbs up* for horror and suspense! Who knew the PTA could be so thrilling.

'"....if you don’t see the horror right in front of you, how will you ever survive it?”' (Ch 22)

eARC courtesy of NetGalley | Minotaur Books / St. Martin's Press / MacMillan Publishers

[andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the advanced audiobook copy!

--

i'll start with the good: dollface is, at its core, a pretty fun suburban slasher. the premise is campy in a way that should work. a horror writer moves into a picture-perfect neighborhood only to find herself wrapped up in a PTA-centered murder spree. the actual violence in this book is surprisingly cinematic. when lindy ryan is writing slasher scenes, the tension and gore really come alive on the page.

unfortunately, the biggest problem here isn't the concept or even the predictability. the biggest problem is the writing.

yes, the plot is fairly easy to clock early on, but honestly, that didn't bother me much. slashers are often about the ride more than the reveal. what really wore me down was the constant repetition in the prose and dialogue. characters say each other's names in nearly every line of conversation, which already feels unnatural, but the moment that almost made me crash out was jill's sister repeatedly whining "jilly bean" what felt like seventeen times in a single scene. i started bracing myself every time a conversation began.

that repetitive language shows up everywhere. jill constantly refers to her spouse as "my darling husband," and her son's head is described over and over again as a "fuzzy duckling head." she's constantly talking about her neighbor's "powdered doughnut cheeks". once might be cute. twice is pushing it. by the tenth time, it completely pulls you out of the story.

there were also moments of writing that were just... bizarre. the opening chapter includes a scene where jill's sister - who is a child - runs in from outside wearing a bathing suit to tell her that her pet bird has died. the narration then detours into describing the sister's nipples. it's a strange and unnecessary detail that immediately made me pause and wonder why it was there at all. and while we're on the subject: horror authors, please stop killing pets for shock value.

plot-wise, this feels like a throwback to something you might have seen in an old wb-era episode of buffy. there's a suburban monster-of-the-week scenario with a satirical edge. there's not a lot of reinvention happening here. it's more of a familiar slasher setup dressed in pastel suburban aesthetics. but honestly, that could have worked perfectly well if the execution had been smoother.

in the end, dollface had the bones of a fun, campy horror novel. the slasher scenes were vivid, the premise is entertaining, and the suburban satire had potential. but the repetitive phrasing and odd narrative choices made the reading experience more frustrating than fun.

and that's a shame, because buried underneath all of that is a pretty fun slasher waiting to get out.

[Me, My Shelf, & I · Rating 3 out of 5]

Even without the nod to Gale Weathers, I could tell this book was inspired by Scream and similar slashers that call attention to the tropes and lampshade them. I'm not sure it works quite as well in a book format, and it could definitely be shaved down to be snappier, but it's an entertaining enough read that doesn't take itself too seriously.

I do think the book is a little too concerned with the reveals and didn't quite thread the needle in a way that they're satisfying, but likewise they're not eye-rolly or annoying either. Just average, for me. And while it felt like it wanted to make some social commentary, everything felt very surface level and more of the same thing that's always said-- she's into horror and not her appearance because she's "not like other girls moms," moving here is like being in Stepford, etc etc

The narrator did a great job and I often forgot I was listening to the book rather than reading it myself, so I definitely think the audiobook is solid.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for granting me an ALC. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

[Mel (Epic Reading) · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this more than I did. I’ll be the first to confess that contemporary literature, especially women’s branded works, are not for me. So maybe part of my frustration with this novel is on me for choosing to read it when it’s not really my fave genre. Yes it’s campy, kinda fun (I guess), fairly ridiculous, a little bit meta, and a whole lot of attempted gory horror (although still severely pulled back from what I expect in your average body horror book). So maybe some folks will find that enough to be entertained. I personally, did not find a groove or pacing with Dollface.

Let’s get into some details:
1) 90s?! Not really. Some throwbacks and references to horror lore of the 80/90s, a pretty trope slasher plot, and a fixation on caboodles (which i did own a pink one of in 1992, yes I’m older); but I wouldn’t say this is nostalgic or in any way really all that 90s. It’s set in modern day and the references are there but if you didn’t catch them all you wouldn’t loose anything.

2) Meta. Our leading lady is a horror writing struggling to writer her next big book. The writers block and other elements she experiences are likely ones author Lindy Ryan has felt herself. The trope obsessiveness is a bit meta and ironic albeit; but mostly it’s just all a mechanism to use the tropes and have an excuse. I didn’t love that. I also didn’t think the ‘doll’ chapters really made a lot of sense. They started too late, we should have had some earlier in the story; and just felt like filler or the way Ryan wanted to write the story but someone told her no... either way they didn’t add much for me and felt unnecessary to our core story. It was being meta in too many layers and was overkill for me.

3) Repetitive. If I never have to read the line “creaky not creepy home” again it will be too soon. It was cute the first and second time, amusing the third time; but by the tenth time I read it I was sooo over it. What was with repeating what we’d already read and known umpteen times. You can give us the facts twice, maybe three times; but that’s max. I don’t need every third chapter to recap our known facts about the attacks. This is not that complex of a plot and felt like more filler. This could easily have been a decent novella by cutting a good 100 pages of unnecessary content.

4) Reveal. No spoilers, I promise. Our reveal is half clever. One half was very very obvious; the second half was slightly twisted (in a way I didn’t expect) but I still knew 50% of what it would likely entail. I’ll give Ryan this, it wasn’t a cheap ending. It made sense, played out well, and was plausible within what we knew. But it didn’t hit me from left field like some reveals. Maybe this is part of why I don’t read a lot of murder mystery or detective books these days? I’ll be forever chasing the high of the Sixth Sense reveal when I was a teenager and was stunned I didn’t see it. Thus everything since is just not as spectacular. That or I’m too smart. LOL, I absolutely do not think this is the case!! I’ve just read a lot of books so you start to notice typical patterns).

What this book does do well?
- conveys a loving solid marriage and partnership. I adored our leading ladies husband, and their love for one another
- shows the insecurity of motherhood and the constant concern women have for those they love (children, husbands, dogs, etc)
- displays a ‘typical’ family in suburbia. Gotta love the pup (don’t worry he doesn’t die!).
- accurately discusses the battle for women to be friends with one another. I personally am terrible at being friends with women as I don’t get the competitive nature and whatnot of many female dynamics. I get along with men much better and felt our leading lady was similar in her disdain for mean girls

Overall, if you love horror slashers you might get a chuckle or two from elements of this. If you’re hoping for a gory horror look the other way, nothing here is all that graphic and certainly not more than your average King novel. If you want to dive into some suburban hell scenarios and feel better about what might be your own weird family and trauma you might get something here.

At the end of the day for me this was a reminder why I tend to stick to sci-fi and fantasy books horror novels (and avoid contemporary horror). That said if you do like this or want some alternatives (that are written better), I’d recommend anything by Grady Hendrix. The campy style here is similar. Plus the first person POV and irony of real-life align to put them in the same sub-genre.

Grab Dollface for a quick and moderately fun read; especially if you have the memory of a goldfish (or thought Twilight didn’t rehash itself every second chapter because I’d swear Meyer and Ryan went to the same creative writing classes) as maybe you can get past the annoying repetition that had me scanning the page for the next new plot point or thought, and not just a reminder of who was hurt or killed when and by what weapon.

Please note: I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This is an honest and unbiased review.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do you mean? I mean... yeah once the other person arrived at the front door I was like BIIITTCCHH IT BETTER NOT BE YOU KILLING THESE HOES but then my life got flipped, turned upside down and I don't even know what to say or think. Having a killer for a best friend seems like it might be a plus, especially if she protects you. Oh... and the husband? He's one of the best god damn book husbands I think I've ever read. I just really enjoyed this entire book. Spooky shit, horror author, childhood trauma, yes please!

[♡Heather✩Brown♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

#ad much love for my advance copy @stmartinspress @kayepublicity #partner
& @macmillan.audio #partner for the ALC

Dollface
< @
Releases

Pics can be deleted, but the stuff you see in the bathroom mirror will haunt you…

Okay, oof. This book. “Bloody, unsettling slasher?” That’s a bit of an exaggeration - imo. I enjoyed the story mostly tho. I did actually finish this book, so it wasn’t a DNF. I did guess the killer too.

Kitty and Jill were only kids when their mother took her own life. Drowning in grief, it’s only natural that Jill would become obsessed with everything horror. A character after my own heart.

Kitty is now an influencer currently living the Van Life, while Jill is a horror author. Jill and her husband and son have just moved into a new house, in a new town. And with new towns come new schools, new neighbors. Annoying neighbors.

Then a brutal murder happens … and then more.

Loved the homage to all the horror movies. Loved the PTA moms and the mystery of who the killer is. The masked doll was also perfection.

PTA moms


🎧: Loved this audio. The narrator did a great job and was an easy listen. Def recommend the audio for this one.

Jill and her husband. Just eww. Everything about it.

Needed a little more killing. (Slasher hello)


Memorable:
Jack Torrance’s face
Seven hundred thousand calories of Snickers
Women sleep better with a dog in their beds than a man … accurate 😂

Will def read this author again.

[Ashley]

Thanks to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the ARC. It hasn't affected the contents of my review.

DNF @ 21%

I hate to do this because it's an ARC and I was really anticipating this one, but I did want to leave this review so that it's on record here that the reason I'm DNFing is that I think this author and I just don't mesh. I can't think of anything that this book is doing wrong, at all, I'm just not resonating with it at all, and I have so many other books that I could be reading that I will get enjoyment out of. If you have read this author's books before and liked them, you will like this one, too! Not rating.

Buzzword Reading Challenge 2026: One word title

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dollface by Lindy Ryan is a wildly entertaining horror romp that leans fully into camp, nostalgia, and gleeful gore. I ended up doing a mix of print and audio, but I found myself gravitating toward the audiobook thanks to Stephanie Nemeth-Parker’s narration. She’s a consistent standout for me, and once again she delivers a performance that’s engaging, captivating, and perfectly attuned to the story’s tone. Pair that with a premise that blends suburban mom culture, slasher vibes, and a Barbie meets Scream aesthetic, and I was hooked almost immediately.

This is very much “light horror” in the best way: strange, fun, and just gory enough to satisfy without tipping into overwhelming territory. The story revels in its 90s horror movie energy, complete with a plastic faced serial killer, PTA politics, and a sharp sense of satire aimed at suburban expectations of motherhood and femininity. While some of the twists didn’t fully surprise me, the ride itself was such a blast that it honestly didn’t matter, I was having too much fun.

If you love horror that doesn’t take itself too seriously, especially older slasher films with a wink and a nod, Dollface is an easy recommendation. It’s campy, chaotic, and unapologetically entertaining, balancing gossip and gore in a way that feels both playful and pointed. This one is perfect for readers who want their horror fun, fast paced, and just a little bit unhinged.