The Dollmaker
by Amanda Stevens
Published by Mira (March 2007 Release)
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Reviewed Kathy Perschmann
Setting: New Orleans, post Hurricane Katrina
Characters:
-- Claire Doucett, mother of Ruby--missing 7 years. Artist, and glass blower.
-- Dave Creasy, ex-cop, now a P.I.; struggling back up from years of alcoholic binges after Ruby's kidnapping, his failure as a cop, and the breakup of his marriage to Claire.
-- Charlotte, Claire's ambitious sister, who works for the D.A.'s office.
-- Alex Girard, Claire's soon to be second ex-husband.
-- Lucille, Claire's mother, who has always had a soft spot for Dave.
-- And...the dollmaker.
One day, after lunching with Charlotte, Claire sees a glimpse of a doll in a store window, one so perfect and lifelike it is spooky--and it looks just like her daughter Ruby.
On her way to the store, she is hit by a car--and in the few days before she can get back there--both the doll and the shopkeeper vanish.
Dave has been enlisted by a pal in the police department to work on a new case, one that is linked to an old case he complicated by destroying evidence. He had been told by an anonymous caller that if he destroyed the pages in a diary, he would get his missing daughter back. It did not work, and he never forgave himself for failing his daughter and for betraying his calling as a cop.
Dave and Claire are thrown together when their investigations collide. Claire is determined to find her daughter and the doll, and she ventures off into the unknown, beckoned by the dollmaker.
A mysterious and disturbing thriller that will leave chills, despite the humid heat of New Orleans, long after you finish the book.
Armchair Interviews says: Very good read.
Author's Web site: http://www.amandastevens.com