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Detective Sophie Whitton #1-2
Whitton: The Detective Sophie Whitton Series
The Doll Maker
Life is messy for Detective Sophie Whitton, but one thing she is clear about, is the pursuit of justice - and when another body is found that she knows to be the victim of The Doll Maker, her determination to hunt him down leads her on a journey that is as much about finding herself as it is about finding him. With a plot that twists and turns and an enigmatic lead in Sophie Whitton, The Doll Maker by Claire Highton-Stevenson has a compelling narrative, a killer thriller with a subtext that explores the challenges of life and love with heart and intelligence.
Grave Decisions
Do you believe in fate? That Karma will even things out?
Anita Simmons didn't, and now she must pay for her crime with her life.
Detective Inspector Sophie Whitton had hoped for something simple to ease herself back into the job following the Doll Maker case. She should have known it would never be that easy.
It’s hot, summer has arrived with a wave of heat that has the town of Woodington steaming, a powder keg waiting to explode. When Anita Simmons’ body is found on top of a grave, Whitton and Saint are perplexed as to why anyone would want to kill this woman. She’s a married mum of two who spends her life helping others. What could she have done to deserve this?
While working hard to catch the killer, Whitton is also working to fix herself. PTSD has taken its toll after the Doll Maker and she’s having flashbacks, imagining her lover Rachel at every scene. Now she’s seeing Dr Westbrook to work through her issues, but will it be enough to keep her relationship intact?
As the team delves deeper, they uncover a lot more than they anticipated. And when more grave murders are discovered across the country, Whitton realises that this isn’t an ordinary killer they’re chasing. It’s a vigilante set on restoring his own form of justice, acting as Judge, Jury and Executioner.
Life is messy for Detective Sophie Whitton, but one thing she is clear about, is the pursuit of justice - and when another body is found that she knows to be the victim of The Doll Maker, her determination to hunt him down leads her on a journey that is as much about finding herself as it is about finding him. With a plot that twists and turns and an enigmatic lead in Sophie Whitton, The Doll Maker by Claire Highton-Stevenson has a compelling narrative, a killer thriller with a subtext that explores the challenges of life and love with heart and intelligence.
Grave Decisions
Do you believe in fate? That Karma will even things out?
Anita Simmons didn't, and now she must pay for her crime with her life.
Detective Inspector Sophie Whitton had hoped for something simple to ease herself back into the job following the Doll Maker case. She should have known it would never be that easy.
It’s hot, summer has arrived with a wave of heat that has the town of Woodington steaming, a powder keg waiting to explode. When Anita Simmons’ body is found on top of a grave, Whitton and Saint are perplexed as to why anyone would want to kill this woman. She’s a married mum of two who spends her life helping others. What could she have done to deserve this?
While working hard to catch the killer, Whitton is also working to fix herself. PTSD has taken its toll after the Doll Maker and she’s having flashbacks, imagining her lover Rachel at every scene. Now she’s seeing Dr Westbrook to work through her issues, but will it be enough to keep her relationship intact?
As the team delves deeper, they uncover a lot more than they anticipated. And when more grave murders are discovered across the country, Whitton realises that this isn’t an ordinary killer they’re chasing. It’s a vigilante set on restoring his own form of justice, acting as Judge, Jury and Executioner.
499 pages, Kindle Edition
Published August 7, 2020
About the author
Claire Highton-Stevenson
48 books391 followersAward-Winning and best selling, Claire Highton-Stevenson is an Independent author of contemporary romance and crime novels.
Having worked for many years in emergency services, Claire now spends her time writing, traveling, researching ancestry, following Liverpool FC and enjoying life as much as possible.
She lives in West Sussex, UK. Along with her wife and fur babies.
Having worked for many years in emergency services, Claire now spends her time writing, traveling, researching ancestry, following Liverpool FC and enjoying life as much as possible.
She lives in West Sussex, UK. Along with her wife and fur babies.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 8, 2025
DNFed after the first book.
I usually love or at least like Claire’s work but the characters in this one are just so god damn awful. Flawed people are all around, yes, but the MC and her love interest are just gross individuals. They have no redeeming qualities and it’s impossible to root for them. Even antiheroes have at least something that makes you like them. Not these two. They have no special connection past the most shallow aspects of one, and honestly the only good thing about them getting together was that they wouldn’t terrorise other potential suitors as they would if they were single. I was actually happy for that split moment where I thought Rachel died. She sucked for going after a woman in a relationship and the MC didn’t deserve a happy ending for cheating on someone who put up with her crap for 4 whole years. The only good person in this book was the ex.
Truly, if I had a friend like that, I would drop them in an instant just for being so morally messed up.
Basically it was four hours of me groaning at this book and I only finished because I have diagnosed OCD but really couldn’t put myself through another book with this horrible MC.
2 stars just because I didn’t see the killer being the bartender at first. 100% saw Rachel being the sister coming from a mile away.
Read the author’s other work (I didn’t read the age gap ones because it’s just not my thing), but this one is a lemon.
I usually love or at least like Claire’s work but the characters in this one are just so god damn awful. Flawed people are all around, yes, but the MC and her love interest are just gross individuals. They have no redeeming qualities and it’s impossible to root for them. Even antiheroes have at least something that makes you like them. Not these two. They have no special connection past the most shallow aspects of one, and honestly the only good thing about them getting together was that they wouldn’t terrorise other potential suitors as they would if they were single. I was actually happy for that split moment where I thought Rachel died. She sucked for going after a woman in a relationship and the MC didn’t deserve a happy ending for cheating on someone who put up with her crap for 4 whole years. The only good person in this book was the ex.
Truly, if I had a friend like that, I would drop them in an instant just for being so morally messed up.
Basically it was four hours of me groaning at this book and I only finished because I have diagnosed OCD but really couldn’t put myself through another book with this horrible MC.
2 stars just because I didn’t see the killer being the bartender at first. 100% saw Rachel being the sister coming from a mile away.
Read the author’s other work (I didn’t read the age gap ones because it’s just not my thing), but this one is a lemon.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 30, 2022
A stereotypic tough-guy homicide detective, except that she’s a lesbian. Points to the author for daring to portray the kind of serial monogamy (bridged by infidelity) that is all-too-common in the lesbian community.
October 19, 2026
Enjoyed both books
Great characters, good plot, relationships were solid & interesting. I enjoy police procedures. Hope Claire Highton-Stevenson follows with more mysteries!
Great characters, good plot, relationships were solid & interesting. I enjoy police procedures. Hope Claire Highton-Stevenson follows with more mysteries!
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews