What do you think?
Rate this book
Human Doll: A Novel
Beautiful cast members and special guests from two TV shows are being killed in bizarre ways. One show is a medical reality show and the other is a talent competition for drag queens. The performers are appalled by the deaths of their friends, and some wonder if they should quit working with the shows. Even if they did, would they still be marked for death?
Male model December Storm frequently appears as a special guest on both shows. The media calls December a ‘human doll’ because he regularly receives procedures to enhance his looks.
December’s life partner, Dr. Gabe Martin, who is also his plastic surgeon, is the host of the medical reality show. December knows that he needs to beware, since he might be the next beautiful person to die. To learn the identity of the killer, he calls upon the assistance of his best friend, an exotic, avant-garde artist with an incredible grasp of futuristic technology….
Bram Stoker Award-winner Mark McLaughlin is the author of the novels, HUMAN DOLL and THE HELL NEXT DOOR, and the story collections, THE WEIRD WORLD OF MARK McLAUGHLIN MEGAPACK®, EMPRESS OF THE LIVING DEAD, BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM, and HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS. Also, Mark has written many Lovecraftian tales, both solo and in collaboration with his best friend, Michael Sheehan, Jr.
Male model December Storm frequently appears as a special guest on both shows. The media calls December a ‘human doll’ because he regularly receives procedures to enhance his looks.
December’s life partner, Dr. Gabe Martin, who is also his plastic surgeon, is the host of the medical reality show. December knows that he needs to beware, since he might be the next beautiful person to die. To learn the identity of the killer, he calls upon the assistance of his best friend, an exotic, avant-garde artist with an incredible grasp of futuristic technology….
Bram Stoker Award-winner Mark McLaughlin is the author of the novels, HUMAN DOLL and THE HELL NEXT DOOR, and the story collections, THE WEIRD WORLD OF MARK McLAUGHLIN MEGAPACK®, EMPRESS OF THE LIVING DEAD, BEST LITTLE WITCH-HOUSE IN ARKHAM, and HIDEOUS FACES, BEAUTIFUL SKULLS. Also, Mark has written many Lovecraftian tales, both solo and in collaboration with his best friend, Michael Sheehan, Jr.
150 pages, Kindle Edition
Published March 14, 2020
5 people are currently reading
31 people want to read
About the author
Mark McLaughlin
156 books252 followersMARK McLAUGHLIN is a Stoker Award-winner whose many works include:
The Doomsday Thaw .....
Injectables
Crushed Velvet ....
Embrace of the Internet Witch
The Weird World of Mark McLaughlin MEGAPACK®
The Wrath of Nyarlathotep ...
Weird Worship
Horrors & Abominations ....
Nightmares & Tentacles
Urban Monsters ....
Dimension Of Monsters
The House Of The Ocelot & More Lovecraftian Nightmares
Human Doll: A Novel ...
The Hell Next Door: A Novel
.
The Doomsday Thaw .....
Injectables
Crushed Velvet ....
Embrace of the Internet Witch
The Weird World of Mark McLaughlin MEGAPACK®
The Wrath of Nyarlathotep ...
Weird Worship
Horrors & Abominations ....
Nightmares & Tentacles
Urban Monsters ....
Dimension Of Monsters
The House Of The Ocelot & More Lovecraftian Nightmares
Human Doll: A Novel ...
The Hell Next Door: A Novel.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 17, 2020
Total transparency here: I'm the author. But I'm giving it five stars because it is completely different from anythng else I've ever written. No Lovecraftian monsters and not a single tentacle! But it is still horror, concerning bizarre deaths in the entertainment industry.
July 8, 2022
I found this author in the BOH FB author list and if you've been keeping up with my reviews you know that I'm trying to read new-to-me authors in 2022. I went into this book blind based off cover and title. I was fully expecting something brutal. Like maybe somebody using their victims' corpses to make dolls or something. I did not get that, but I'm pleased with what I did get.
Let me begin by saying that I'm getting old, and this book took me back to my younger years of hitting the clubs. Every Friday and Saturday night I always had a front row seat for the drag shows at one of my local clubs, that is now gone (and I miss it). The cast in this book, the many drag queens (from the competition show) were fun, quirky, and very likeable. There was also another television show about a plastic surgeon and his boyfriend, referred to as a doll due to all of his enhancements.
People from the TV shows are turning up dead....
The ending was not what I expected, and I don't think I could have ever guessed it in a million years/. I wish the kills had been more detailed, but I'm weird like that. I would totally recommend this book to anyone (especially if this review sounds like something they'd like)>
Let me begin by saying that I'm getting old, and this book took me back to my younger years of hitting the clubs. Every Friday and Saturday night I always had a front row seat for the drag shows at one of my local clubs, that is now gone (and I miss it). The cast in this book, the many drag queens (from the competition show) were fun, quirky, and very likeable. There was also another television show about a plastic surgeon and his boyfriend, referred to as a doll due to all of his enhancements.
People from the TV shows are turning up dead....
The ending was not what I expected, and I don't think I could have ever guessed it in a million years/. I wish the kills had been more detailed, but I'm weird like that. I would totally recommend this book to anyone (especially if this review sounds like something they'd like)>
May 25, 2020
HUMAN DOLL: A NOVEL
And, novel it is. Author Mark McLaughlin courageously went out on a limb with this one with an unusual cast of characters seldom represented in mainstream horror fiction. This is quite different. “HUMAN DOLL” delves into the culture of Drag Queens and plastic surgery. The characters are likable people who have embraced show business as their profession. Author McLaughlin provides us a succinct back story on each character that gives us a glimpse into their past struggles and current endeavors. The majority of the characters have had (or continue to have) plastic surgery to maintain their diva personas, although one in particular has made it his life’s quest to appear absolutely doll-like perfect.
Yet, not all are drag queens; one is a woman with an out-of-this-world imagination and intelligence who makes her living creating unusual art forms for the very wealthy. Her work is very popular among the gay and avant-garde crowd. She is a mysterious, almost ethereal being that, although warm and friendly to her small circle of friends and fans, exudes a cerebral-like coldness through her art. She is like the mad scientist always manifesting the next fantastic thing that represents her view of life.
There is an underlying lightness in McLaughlin’s narrative and his portrayal of the personalities and the way they view their lives and their livelihoods, and even their surgeries that they consider a necessity in their professions. The lightness is so pervasive it actually becomes a tad disturbing as the story unfolds with a killer on the loose. Added to this is the sense the narrative was rushed, rushed in the same way the characters plow forward in their evolution to become masters of their destinies. At first, I as a reader was put off by this. I wanted more depth of character, a deeper glimpse into their hearts and souls. I wanted the author to explore their reactions to the fact someone was murdering their peers, but there was very little of that. Instead, the characters impressed me as having a c’est la vie attitude toward the whole thing, as if being murdered was nothing unusual in their community of friends and acquaintances. After a while I came to the conclusion this was the author’s way of showing this is how the characters protected themselves from the emotional distress that comes with the expectation of tragedy around every corner, as if they believe their lifestyle and simply accepting and being who they are is enough to invite that tragic end.
“Human Doll: A Novel” will appeal to readers who enjoy a mystery that is a brisk read. The more astute reader will read between the lines and discover the subtleties in the characters and in the disturbing conclusion.
And, novel it is. Author Mark McLaughlin courageously went out on a limb with this one with an unusual cast of characters seldom represented in mainstream horror fiction. This is quite different. “HUMAN DOLL” delves into the culture of Drag Queens and plastic surgery. The characters are likable people who have embraced show business as their profession. Author McLaughlin provides us a succinct back story on each character that gives us a glimpse into their past struggles and current endeavors. The majority of the characters have had (or continue to have) plastic surgery to maintain their diva personas, although one in particular has made it his life’s quest to appear absolutely doll-like perfect.
Yet, not all are drag queens; one is a woman with an out-of-this-world imagination and intelligence who makes her living creating unusual art forms for the very wealthy. Her work is very popular among the gay and avant-garde crowd. She is a mysterious, almost ethereal being that, although warm and friendly to her small circle of friends and fans, exudes a cerebral-like coldness through her art. She is like the mad scientist always manifesting the next fantastic thing that represents her view of life.
There is an underlying lightness in McLaughlin’s narrative and his portrayal of the personalities and the way they view their lives and their livelihoods, and even their surgeries that they consider a necessity in their professions. The lightness is so pervasive it actually becomes a tad disturbing as the story unfolds with a killer on the loose. Added to this is the sense the narrative was rushed, rushed in the same way the characters plow forward in their evolution to become masters of their destinies. At first, I as a reader was put off by this. I wanted more depth of character, a deeper glimpse into their hearts and souls. I wanted the author to explore their reactions to the fact someone was murdering their peers, but there was very little of that. Instead, the characters impressed me as having a c’est la vie attitude toward the whole thing, as if being murdered was nothing unusual in their community of friends and acquaintances. After a while I came to the conclusion this was the author’s way of showing this is how the characters protected themselves from the emotional distress that comes with the expectation of tragedy around every corner, as if they believe their lifestyle and simply accepting and being who they are is enough to invite that tragic end.
“Human Doll: A Novel” will appeal to readers who enjoy a mystery that is a brisk read. The more astute reader will read between the lines and discover the subtleties in the characters and in the disturbing conclusion.
July 1, 2020
Interesting characters in unique situations, it is strange and quirky and not as predictable as you would imagine it to be.
Definitely the more I think about the story, the more I recognize the layers that I missed the first time that I read it.
I think its a fun read, overall and I am glad I decided to check it out.
Definitely the more I think about the story, the more I recognize the layers that I missed the first time that I read it.
I think its a fun read, overall and I am glad I decided to check it out.
December 3, 2022
Truly Amazing.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews