The Doll Collector

by Joanne Stephen-Ward

"if you only read one book this year make it this one you will not be disappointed. Utterly brilliant." Marjorie Hall-Venmore - reviewer

A couple and their young son burn to death in a house fire.

A girl dies from a nut allergy.

A woman falls under a train during the rush hour.

An accountant falls down the steps to his basement.

Their deaths appear to be accidents but Gloria knows they were murdered because she murdered them. And every time Gloria kills she buys a doll.

But how many dolls will she need to keep her satisfied?

When Gloria takes a room as a lodger her behaviour starts to spin out of control. Gloria wants love and happiness and friendship and she will do anything she can to get what she wants...

What everyone is saying about The Doll Collector:

"Amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end." Tracey Shults - reviewer

"The ending was a real twist and I did not see it coming" Michelle Debnam - reviewer

"OMG. A crime book with a difference." Nicki's Book Blog

"The Doll Collector is one hell of a creepy read that is sure to give you goosebumps." Chelle's Book Reviews

"I highly recommend this book.... a breath of fresh air and not too graphic." Peggy Beaver - reviewer

"OMG I loved this twisty and creepy read which had a couple of twists I just didn't see coming!" Sandra Robinson - reviewer

The Doll Collector is a twisty and gripping serial killer thriller. It will appeal to fans of psychological thrillers, as well as fans of authors like Mel Sherratt, Sharon Bolton, Jenny Blackhurst and Rachel Abbott.

Genres: Thriller

294 pages, Kindle Edition

First published November 20, 2018

Reviews

[Sarah]

I absolutely loved the sound of this book. Who doesn't love a female serial killer? Especially one who by the sounds, is an extremely twisted one.

Having read and loved Sweetpea by C.J. Skuse, another book with a female serial killer, I was kind of expecting to like Gloria. I couldn't have been more wrong. Gloria is just a horrible person. There were only very brief moments where I kind of felt sorry for her, with how other people perceived her, but to be fair, she brings a lot of bad feeling on to herself. She will do whatever she needs to, to get what she wants and she doesn't let anyone stand in her way.

Maurice is the poor undeserving soul who ends up with Gloria as a lodger. To start with, he thinks he has fallen lucky having her stay there but it doesn't take long for Gloria to get her feet well and truly under the table and make it known who is boss. Maurice is someone who I was really routing for. You can't help but like him and it made my dislike for Gloria grow even stronger.

Thanks to Gloria, it makes this a page turner of a read. She is one absolute psycho and even though I thoroughly disliked her, I had to keep on reading to see what she was going to do next. Lets say she doesn't disappoint, shock maybe but never disappoints.

The Doll Collector is a dark and engrossing read. I was really intrigued to see where the author was going to go with the story and I have to say my heart was in my mouth, many a time, as to who she was going to bump off next. Gripping from the off, this is one not to be missed. Very entertaining.

[Mr Kenneth L Mullen]

Great Story

A really enjoyable read. Different from other crime stories in that it is not centred around a police officer. Well written with lots of twists and turns.

[Estella]

Not really a horror story

This book started out being a great horror story but as I continued it wasn't to much horror as the life of a nut and a wimpy man. I enjoyed the book.The ending was great

[Martina]

Not so chilling

It’s an ok read. Not very suspenseful. Definitely not a serial killer thriller. I would classify it more as psychological thriller but again thriller is a stretch.

[Jules Cake Pops]

Wow wow, wow

This book was brilliant, very well written to have you in the edge, a story of Maurice, just trying to get on with his life, until all hell let's lose in the shape of one woman Gloria...... Enjoy!.

[Rebecca]

This is a book about a serial killer but also bad people. This story is about Gloria the Doll Collector who has just murdered her last boyfriend Gary. Gloria is evil and vindictive but she is not the only one that has an ulterior motive. This is a sort of karmic justice book with good and evil. Maurice is an a weak man but living under the pressure of evil real estate agents. Norman and Ian Carter whose greed is killing their real estate company. Maurice is the son of a housekeeper who was kind to Ian's grandmother and willed the flat in the house that Maurice's mother lived in. Norman and Ian tried to extort money from Maurice. Gloria cleaned the flat and cleaned up Maurice. Gloria is fat but has good sense of style. This is not to excuse Gloria's crimes but she cooked and cleaned for him and used him but Maurice needed Gloria to live a good life. Maurice and Ian are the same age and Maurice is smarter than both Gloria and Ian. He tried to rise above the fray. Gloria keeps a memento of all of her murders with dolls. This is not her first time. Gloria tries to marry Maurice but Maurice finds Odette. They need each other. Gloria is horrible but Ian is worse. Gloria is jealous of the neighbors and tried to plot their downfall. She suceeds for a while but the cats get their revenge in the end. This book is a good mystery of who will do the worst but how will it end. It does end well. Gloria dies in a spectacular way and the ending is worth it. I like the ending, I call it poetic justice. I like that there are mental breakdowns and a study of serial killers and their just end. Good book. It has good character development.

[Lisa]

FANTASTIC!

I read this book in a day! I couldn't put it down! It was a great read, and the ending tied everything up in a pretty little bow, with no open ends.

I've read the reviews for his next book, though, and will NOT be reading it because it's a Kindle unlimited that leaves you needing to read the one after, which is NOT a KU book and, if I recall correctly, a bit pricey (as in, I think, the $10 range - which I REFUSE to pay for a book).

I agree with the other reviewer of that book who said that when publishers offer the first book in a series as a Kindle Unlimited, and the books on the series are not standalone books, then a disclaimer needs to be given that the future books will not be KU books, what the price will be, and what the approx number of pages will be also (I also will NOT pay $4.99 for a book with less than 150 pages, and I'm sure other readers have standards as well).

[Miss Josephine]

Black Comedy

I chose a three star rating because although the book was good it most definitely not a thriller.
The story began with Gloria a serial killer who gets a doll's every time she kills. We know she is the bad one as she has all the negative attributes given to her.
Maurice is naive and she moves into his flat and takes over his life. Maurice had the flat left to him by an old lady that his mother looked after. But he had the flat taken by the old lady's evil son and grandson. They are now his landlords. Ronald Dhal springs to mind here with Matilda, Miss Honey and Miss Trunchball.
Maurice falls for his neighbour Odette. All the positive attributes are given to her and her neighbours.
Gloria sets about to ruin everybody's lives, when that fails she tries to kill them.
It's an odd book not a great book. It made me smile.

[Karrie]

This was an excellent read - yet

I loved everything about this story almost. The descriptions were fabulous, the characters were relatable.I either loved or hated them. Great suspense and story flow. Yet at the end, something went south for me. I am not sure what exactly either. I guess for everything being so terrific throughout, I expected more at the end. More about Gloria and her backstory maybe. I think it was just a bit rushed, like a deadline had to be reached. I will for sure read more by this author! Because there is no doubt this is a very talented writer! ❤

[Emma McD]

I really despised the characters in this. The premise of a female serial killer was interesting, but her point of view made me want to stop reading. I also found that it was annoying that the 'villian' was fat and that so much of the narrative was centred around that. I'm glad there was some sort of comeuppance but did not enjoy the reading experience much at all.
It was also mainly a story about domestic abuse, more than a thriller.

[Chrissie]

I struggled with what to rate this because while it was entertaining, I have a hard time thinking about it as a "psychological thriller." That could be because I've read things that left my heart pounding and my head spinning. I would recommend this book for someone who hasn't read psychological thrillers before but why to dip their toes in the genre. This was a very well written book and without giving away anything, I loved the poetic justice.

[Alyssha]

MUST READ!!! Always hard finding stories with a good woman serial killer! Great storyline and read it in one sitting I loved it that much! Even though it was based on a female killer it had more than that within the book! Anyone who comes across this book needs to read it ! It’s one that won’t disappoint!

[Cherish Dye]

Not chilling, more twisted dark comedy.

This book wasn't what I was expecting - but, it was still a fun, easy read. The main character reminds me of the mom from "Serial Mom", who is so outrageous and delusional its comical when they commit atrocities.

If you are looking for a chilling thriller, this isnt it, BUT, for a quick read to unwind after a long day-this will fit the bill!

[Ms_luv2read]

This was a very good book. The main character, Gloria, is well written and just plain Terri. This is one of those books that you cannot wait to get back too, Thanks to Netgalley, the author and the publisher of this book in return for my honest review. Receiving the book in this manner had no bearing on this review.

[Mandilynn]

I couldn't finish this one. It's not that the writing or story were bad, because they were actually pretty decent. My issue is that I hate the character of Gloria so much that I just couldn't continue after halfway in. It's possible that it's because she reminds me of my horrid mother in law (even her name is the same), but I haven't had such a strong hatred for a character in a long time.

[Nat Výborná]

I am ... so disturbed :-I
You might like this if you enjoyed some of the more psychological works of Stephen King. A bit of an emotional abuse within. I spent a lot of the book frustrated and unfairly screaming at people to stand up for themselves. But life can be like that, the classic "why don't you just leave" style thoughts still made me a bit uncomfortable.

[Laura- Jayne Breed]

Couldn't make it it's mind

About what sort of novel it was going to be. Sounds like it's gonna be a psychological thriller and somehow then mutates into a comedy of errors and farce.

[Shirley Clipson]

A must read

Talk about getting your comeuppance, some people deserve all they get and here some people certainly got theirs. Very believable characters. I can't much because I don't want too much away. If you get a chance to read this book then do so.

[teresa maine]

Great read

Loved it i kept turning the page can t wait for joanne,s next book i read this in one sitting

[Tara Gerkens Doman]

I loved this book. I strongly recommend it and I hope to see more from this author.

[Julia Olbison]

Good read

I enjoyed this book very much. I found it engrossing. I will be looking for more books by this author.

[Anne Vaughan]

Was enjoying this story very much till the flat ending

[Beth]

This was so bizarre, I’m not entirely sure what I’ve just read! It was very disjointed and nothing seemed to follow through. It was okay. But weird. Wouldn’t really recommend.

[miss claire oliver]

Recommend

Really enjoyed this book. Was really shocked at a certain killer! Enjoyable from start to finish 5 stars from me

[Maureen Wright]

Suspense

Good read. Keeps you reading, proper page turner as you get closer to the end. Unexpected ending. Would read more by this author

[margaret croll]

Brilliant

This book was excellent,stayed up half the night reading it.This is one author I will be following avidly.Very good plot .

[Nicola Gray]

Poor ending

It seemed to me that the author for fed up of writing this book. I'm not really sure what happened. Bit strange

[Teresa Seager]

Not a very good story

I gave it two stars because although I didn't enjoy it I did actually finish it. The characters were one dimensional and not very believable

[Melissa Kirkland]

Kind of crazy

This book was interesting but took a sharp left turn toward the end. I didn’t think it was necessary for the author to go that route, made me kind of sad...

[lynda jolliffe]

Disappointing

Very disappointing ending

The book wasn't bad but felt it was a let down of an ending after the build up.