Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This book started off really fast paced, exciting and I couldn’t wait to find out what was going to happen. The main character, Gloria, is a bitter and twisted individual who you can’t really begin to like. She’s a boring, overweight frump who has no friends, apart from her small doll collection. She’s a clingy, moany and evil gossip who doesn’t see anything wrong with what she says or does and really can’t understand why so many people have been cruel to her which has led her to kill them and add a replica of them to her growing doll collection. She’s extremely clever at literally getting away with murder by making the incidents look like tragic accidents although it all becomes a bit far-fetched in the end.

Gloria moves in as a lodger with Maurice who finds himself in trouble following the recent death of his mother and his inheritance. She bends over backwards to cook, clean and generally look after him and ends up railroading him into a relationship that he doesn’t really want with her. Believing he is wealthier than he actually is she starts bragging to the neighbours about not having to work as her “husband” doesn’t want her to etc. Gloria actually reminded me of the main character in Stephen King’s Misery – the “number one fan”.

I got about 2 thirds into the book and then the excitement stopped and the confusion set in. The author seemed to go off on a completely different tangent and the murders stopped and the main focus was then on Maurice and the father and son estate agents who were trying to steal him of his rightful inheritance.
A really weird ending to what could have been a brilliant book. It’s like the author stopped half way through writing, had a break for a few months and then decided to go back to the book without reading where the story had ended and then went off on a different tangent. Don’t get me wrong, I still enjoyed the book but was disappointed by the last half of it.

Thankyou to NetGalley, Bloodhound Books and the author, Joanna Stephen-Ward, for the opportunity to read a digital copy of The Doll Collector in exchange for an honest, unbiased opinion.
What a thrill ride it was to read this book! I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thought the storyline was well thought out and written. The characters were engaging and very realistic. Gloria is certainly not someone you would ever want to have in your life.
This book was quality work from a debut author. If this is the calibre of her debut novel, fans of this genre ( including me ) have a lot to look forward to. I, for one, cannot wait.
Well worth a read.

The Doll Collector by

<b>One sentence summary</b>
A psycho-killer story filled with some very unlikable characters.

<b>My thoughts</b>
THE DOLL COLLECTOR wasn’t quite what I expected. It was a quick and easy read that kept my attention—but Gloria wasn’t the serial killer I was hoping for. She is one disturbed and unhinged lady, though! No redeeming qualities—and not someone you want to cross or be friends with. It’s impossible to live up to her expectations and her interactions with people—and her interpretations of them—is pretty warped.

Even though she’s had a rough life, she’s so hateful and mean that it’s hard to feel any sympathy for her. There are actually very few likable characters, which makes it a pretty dark read. The author did a great job of keeping my interest and went into just enough detail about the characters. Although I thought the story was well written...it just didn’t have that WOW-factor...for me.

<b>Recommend:</b> Yes—if you’re looking for a fast and dark read.

<b>My Rating: </b>3.5 ⭐️’s

<b>Publish Date:</b> 11/20/2018
<b>Pages:</b> 294

Thank you to NetGalley / Bloodhound Books / Joanna Stephen-Ward for this digital ARC, in exchange for my honest review!
#NetGalley #TheDollCollector

<b>Book Blurb</b>
Murders that look like accidents. An accident that looks like murder.

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.

I really enjoyed this story and I thought Gloria was a brilliant character! She was well developed and I loved finding out more about her past as the book progressed. I was hooked by this one right from the start.

The pace in the book was spot on for the story, the plot was gripping and I loved the ending too. The author has really nailed this genre in the book and it had added depths in the plot for me, there were bits that I wasn’t expecting and that made it highly enjoyable for me.

4.5 stars from me rounded up to 5 stars from me for this one, very highly recommended and a brilliant story!

This is the first title i have read by this author. I enjoyed the book but can honestly say i didnt particularly like any of the characters. Definitely worth a read, will be looking out for more by this author. Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for letting me read this 📚

I must admit that prior to being invited to take part in the blog tour for ‘The Doll Collector’ I hadn’t actually come across Joanna Stephen-Ward before. Sorry Joanna. Rest assured though I have certainly heard of her now and I loved reading ‘The Doll Collector’ but more about that in a bit.
I can honestly say that there was not one character in this book that I can truthfully say I warmed to nor did I even like any of them. The most sinister of the characters for me just has to be Gloria. Without giving too much away, she is one of those women that you wouldn’t want to turn your back on because she would probably knife you in it and she gives me the heebie jeebies. I can’t put my finger on exactly why she does but I find her to be very chilling in that she can switch from nasty to nice and back again with frightening ease. Gloria hasn’t exactly had an easy life but to me that’s no excuse for what she gets up to. Gloria ends up sharing a flat with a lad, who hasn’t had it easy either. She seems to take over and certainly gets him and his house in shape although I do get the slight impression that she scares the crap out of him a bit. She certainly scares me.
Oh my gosh, ‘The Doll Collector’ is one of those books that grabs your attention from the start and much like a fisherman landing a catch, the author reels you in. I ended up getting so caught up in the story that I couldn’t stop reading. It was almost as if the book had cast a spell over me and it didn’t let me go until the moment I closed the back cover. I had to keep reading to see what further mayhem Gloria would cause and whether or not she would be caught. The pages turned over so fast that it was almost as if they were turning themselves and I seemed to charge through the book rather quickly for me. I was so into the story and enjoying the characters so much that I didn’t realise how quickly the time was passing or how quickly the pages were turning. ‘The Doll Collector’ is well plotted and well written with twists and turns aplenty. Reading ‘The Doll Collector’ is much like being on a very scary and unpredictable rollercoaster ride with no idea in which direction the story/ ride is going to take you next. There were also moments that almost had me hiding behind a cushion or almost had me reading through my fingers because I feared what was going to happen next. I am a bit of a wimp in that respect.
In short I really enjoyed reading ‘The Doll Collector’ and I would recommend it to other readers. I can’t wait to read what this author comes up with next. Here’s hoping that we don’t have too long to wait. The score on the Ginger Book Geek board is a very well deserved 4* out of 5*.

Thx to Bloodhound Books, Joanna Stephen-Ward, and Netgalley for this ARC. I enjoyed this book by a first time author for me. It kept me interested in the storylines and the character, I had a hard time putting it down actually. Having said that, I found that the title was so wrong for this book. Thinking it would be more of a thriller suspense if the actual doll collector, Gloria, and her dolls, was the main storyline, Because of that title, the story could have been so much more then it was.
Gloria was mean and nasty, but her killing of people she named her dolls after, could have been a prequel to this book. But I did enjoy the book,and will definitely be reading this authors other works., even if it’s to see if maybe this is the authors style,

Oh, I liked this one!

I wasn’t sure at first. Our main characters are very…disturbing. And so many people in the book are up to so many wrong things!

But a few chapters in, I was completely caught up in the drama.

As for the ending, it was so very right and so very wrong all at once!

I’d happily read the author again in the future!

*ARC via Net Galley

Couldn't put this book down, Gloria is twisted and menacing and I couldn't wait to find out if she got justice for what she'd done. Great read despite a few grammatical errors.

This is the first book I’ve read in which I haven’t liked a single character, however I feel that that’s supposed to be the case. The storyline is good and I enjoyed the overall idea of the book but I do I feel that there are a lot of unanswered questions - specifically around the main antagonist, Gloria. I read this book in 2 days so it’s definitely one for keeping the reader hooked but I would have liked the loose ends to have been tied up.

Great book with strong characters expected more reference to dolls but didn’t make me enjoy the book any less. Would recommend this to anyone who enjoys a good thriller.

This book had a very creepy main character. She is not very attractive but that does not get in the way of her wanting other's lives. It is not good to get this "friend" off side. Her doll collection represents each person she has killed. This feels like a tangled spider web - once you get into her field of influence you may never get out. This was a very satisfying ending. I enjoyed this author.

Well what a dark little tale! Gloria want a boyfriend, a husband, well basically she wants to be Princess Di. Is Maurice, a mild mannered, recently feline bereaved co-worker up to the job? At first Gloria seems to be his saviour, she cleans, she cooks and um she murders cats. Before too long Maurice is out of his depth but can the neighbours help?
A little gem of a book oozing with black humour and some truly repellent characters.

This was an interesting read. A decent amount of mystery and suspense. However, at times it did become a slow read with too much irrelevant detail, thus a four-star rating rather than a five.

Brilliantly twisting story that keeps you on the edge of your seat . Brill8ant story and an ending I didn't see coming

3☆ A Pacy Thriller

The Doll Collector, is a Sinister thriller.

When I first read the blurb I was really intrigued and excited. Normally books that feature dolls, freak me out but something about the blurb drew me in.

Gloria is a twisted and dark individual, with a very dangerous and sinister side.
You see Gloria has a secret.... she kills people and then buys a Doll as a trophy/memory of her kill.
Gloria is a serial killer, she kills anyone who has wronged her, disrespected her, annoyed her.
I really disliked Gloria, but she's not meant to be likeable. She's twisted, jealous and manipulative and very unlikable.

She moves in with Maurice, when he is looking for someone to rent his home with.
But Gloria quickly becomes possessive and jealous, controlling everything.

There was not one character that I liked in this book. But I really do think that was done for a reason. The Characters are all despicable, and out for their own gains.
The only character that I did find ok was Maurice, but I was willing him to get a backbone, as he was just a pawn.

Despite not liking the characters, this is a pacy thriller with a few twists along the way.
My only gripe was I wish we had more focus/story on the dolls. As I said before it's what drew me to the story, despite being scared of them. I just wasn't unnerved enough. When I read thrillers I like to feel my heart racing, unfortunately i just didn't get that and I can't put my finger on the reason.

Overall The Doll Collector is a Tense, Pacy Thriller, with Desperately flawed characters, some dark, twisty and at times sinister moments. Which made for an entertaining read.

Thank you to Emma at Bloodhound books for this copy which I reviewed honestly and voluntarily.

I wondered from the start about this book. In it's core it is a great story, bit the collection is not the point. You have a warped being, tormenting everyone she feels has bettered, or appears to have slighted her. You lose track of the dolls until it's dropped bit by bit throughout the tale. It's in no way a bad story, I wanted to keep reading her vengeful acts on people. She truly is a despicably horrible character, you just can't like. As soon as she has a redeeming quality, she messed it up. It's a story of watching a murdering, vengeful train wreak see how far she can push it. The characters built around her, you just empathize and sympathize with. This, making her thought process and actions more maddening. Great story, just think either focus more on the dolls, or not make them the hook of the story. I was expecting a serial killer that collected doll effigies, and ended up being wrapped into a web of this mad woman. Vengeance and spite is the name of her game. Sure, there are small holes in the story, weak areas, but it was an emersion into the mind of a mad woman. I hated her every minute more and more, but couldn't stop reading wondering what she would do next. 3.8/5 stars

There is nothing like a good serial killer book… and The Doll Collector is nothing like a good serial killer book.

I was originally very excited to read this twisted thriller about a killer who collects dolls to represent her victims but, unfortunately, I was incredibly disappointed.

The first chapter or two are actually done quite well and I found myself really looking forward to seeing where the author was going to take the story but the whole thing just fell apart for me. There really didn’t seem to be an actual plot other than Gloria and Maurice’s home life which, if I’m being perfectly honest here, is just plain sad and boring.

Gloria is a terrible person. I mean, she might just be the worst person I have ever had the displeasure of reading about but I have to wonder if she doesn’t have some form of mental illness that wasn’t addressed in the book? Her obvious OCD and narcissistic personality make it clear that something is going on there that we aren’t being let in on. I know that these are some pretty common traits of serial killers but I think in her case it goes a bit deeper. Serial killers are functionally obsessive whereas Gloria has completely jumped off the deep end…in all respects. She also doesn’t have that psychological profile that you would expect from someone who has a few murders under their belt. There is usually a reason behind the killings; mommy didn’t love me enough, she looks like an old girlfriend who cheated on me, my uncle touched me in a bad place and now I have to kill every man that looks like him. Gloria? Well she is just a spoiled toddler on the playground with a flamethrower. If you don’t want to play with her, she is going to throw a fit and set your ass on fire. No method….only madness.

Maurice? If an old, used dish rag could become a person, it would be Maurice. I can’t even call him a door mat because those at least serve a purpose. I had much higher hopes for him becoming more of his own man as the book went on, but again I was grossly disappointed. I understand that he has been dealt a horrible deal in life and his choice to take Gloria in was probably the worst decision he has ever made but I just wanted him to man the hell up! I had a whole rant worked out on how he could have changed his life and gotten rid of Gloria, but at the end of the day he was a battered man and I’m not going to sit here and judge the actions of an abused character; man or woman. That being said….Maurice was a dish rag before he met Gloria so I’m holding to that judgement call on his character.

As much as Gloria and Maurice made me want to throw my book across the room and jump on it, I at least remembered them. I honestly could not tell you the name of a single supporting character mentioned in this book. Not one.

I think what bothered me the most about The Doll Collector was the lack of mention of the dolls. The entire reason I wanted to read this book was because the idea of a killer who immortalizes her victims into the form of dolls was so intriguing. I wanted to know…why does she buy a doll each time she kills? What is that significance? Is there some dark and disturbing story behind that form of trophy? I wanted more. Hell, I would have settled for a little something at the very least besides the very short mentions now and then just to show that they are there.

Obviously, I did not enjoy this book. There was so much that I felt could have been done that wasn’t and it didn’t hold my interest at all. The characters, the lack of plot…don’t even get me started on the ending….just did not do it for me. I don’t expect I would read this author again.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bloodhound Books for providing me with a copy of this book to read and provide my honest opinion.

Watch out Sweetpea (CJ Skuse), I think you’ve met your match! Gloria is as messed up and awful a character as you are!

How often do you come across people you dislike; people who you feel have done you wrong and who you’d like to get your revenge over on? And how often do you sit and plot what you’d like to do to them? How often do you actually do it? Not very often, right? Probably never! In fact, if you’re like most of us (relatively normal) humans, you probably only think of that clever retort, hours after an argument, don’t you?

Well meet Gloria … if you even look at her sideways, you might end up dead! She’s a master manipulator, an evil, twisted sociopath, and yes … a murderer. And every time she kills someone, she treats herself to a doll that bears a resemblance to her victim.

She wheedles her way into the life of poor, naive Maurice whose mother has died and who’s being bullied by his horrible landlord, Ian. To be honest, Maurice does need a bit of a woman’s touch – but not really a woman like Gloria. He really has no clue what’s about to hit him.

This book has the potential to be a lot more thrilling than it actually is … but what is it about dolls that just gives us the chills? There’s just something about them and the people that buy them that is just that little bit unnerving. While I expected more of an explanation and focus on the dolls, there isn’t as much as much as I’d have liked. The author also seems to lose focus at times and when I was expecting more tension, it wasn’t there.

However, Gloria herself is a well developed, complex and thoroughly intricately explored character. She’s also utterly unlikeable. But I’ve said before – these are the characters that are often the most intriguing, and the ones that I want to delve into and find out the most about! So from that respect, I wasn’t at all disappointed. I give this one 3.5 stars.

Wow, Gloria is quite possibly one of the most repugnant characters I've read for quite some time and it was fabulous.  I tore through The Doll Collector in just a couple of sittings as I really found that I wanted to discover all about the murders and of course the accident.

As we learn about Gloria's horrible past, both inflicted on her and by her, we also uncover the history of Maurice, the unfortunate man who has offered Gloria a home.  There are plenty of vile characters in his life too.  Men who want nothing but money and power at don't care for anyone who stops them doing it.

I will admit that for a short while around the middle I was unsure where the story would go next but as I eagerly read on I was brilliantly surprised and thrilled, and I thought the ending was suitably fabulous.