I had zero expectations for this book. I took the chance on this audiobook and I'm so glad I did. I don't usually consume audiobooks because I tend to go in and out of the story but this was a delight.

The narrator was perfectly matched to the prose, imo. I was invested and intrigued with all the characters. I'm not a mystery/crime reader so maybe it was obvious to some readers, but I really wasn't sure whodunnit until it was too late.

An excellent introduction to Morgan's work, I cannot wait to read Stricken.

Thank you to Morgan Shamy, Netgalley and Camcat Publishing for the opportunity. I've received this audiobook as an ARC and am leaving my review honestly and voluntarily.

JACK THE RIPPER GOES TO THE BALLET!!

Set in 1920. There is a serial killer on the loose abducting ballerinas, dubbed "The Dollmaker" due to the nature of his work. After the disappearance of her ballerina best friend Rose, aspiring female doctor, Dawn Hildegard, teams up with the dashing Gideon Hemsworth and brother Sebastian to find the identity of The Dollmaker.

I finished this book in one day. If you enjoy a good whodunit with a splash of implied love triangle, with a touch of gore, this is the book for you.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5 stars !

Have been wanting to read this one for a while and finally got to it , wish I had read it sooner cause it was great !

This book literally contained everything I love in a story so I knew it would be a hit for me , if you love these similar things definitely give this one a shot !

- Historical Fiction - 1920s
- Horror
- Serial killers - this one makes dolls out of real people 🫣
- Mystery - who could it be?!
- Historical medicine
- A little bit of romance
- Bomb ass female characters 💣
- Very satisfying endings / reveals

My one complaint, and don’t judge me for this lol , but I wanted to see a bit more from the perspective of the doll maker themselves , I wanted the gritty gory details of the doll making and instead we mostly just got the perspective of the people trying to figure out who the doll maker is . What can I say , I like my books super dark 🙃

Thank you NetGalley and CamCat Books for this ALC!

This was such an interesting blend of historical fiction and horror. The characterization was amazing, and I loved the nods to feminism throughout. Dawn is a quintessential heroine, whose struggle against patriarch frames this entire plot.

The true villian, is one I did not see coming, but that was so left field. It was a bit ridicuouls, but nevertheless shocking.

Let me start out with, this isn’t normally a genre I read BUT OH MY GOSH! You guys this book was AMAZING! Dawn was such a strong and relatable character. I found myself rooting for her from page 1! I stayed captivated throughout the whole audiobook! The narrator was PHENOMENAL!
The setting is 1920’s and the FMC Dawn is a healer in a time where women were considered less than men. Dawn tries to find a serial killer known as The Dollmaker
Everytime I thought I knew who the killer was, WRONG! Just absolutely amazing! I was in complete shock by the end. I hope this becomes a series because I could not put this down! Just amazing!

Thanks to netgally for approving me this audiobook.

It wasn’t my favorite book in this genre as I feel like it was more focused on the FMC being surrounded by nasty abusive men. Storyline was interesting though, but it didn’t really keep me hooked

The Dollmaker is being marketed as horror/thriller, as such I was expecting gruesome scenes that would give me the heebie jeebies and have me jumping at every sound. Oh, but it wasn’t so. This novel has the feel of a gothic romance with a small subplot of gruesome acts occurring in the background. The burgeoning romance felt forced and incredibly awkward. Unfortunately, I was not a fan. I did finish the novel and the twist was sufficient enough to rate a 3.

This book is more of a YA thriller with enemies to lover romance interwoven than it is horror. I would recommend this to anyone who liked "Anatomy: A Love Story" but Dana Schwartz.

I listened to the audio book, and while the voice actress did a great job, I thought the story was just okay.
It was a little bit Jack the Ripper-ish, but with a twist in the end that really just came out of left field.

I want to start off by saying that I had no idea what I was getting myself into. When I requested this audiobook. I knew that I wanted to support author that I have seen online. And the cover alone is beautiful.
I will be adding more of this author’s books to my tbr. I feel in love with the story and the characters. The narrator does amazing job. There was never boring moment in this audiobook. I didnt want this audiobook to end. I felt like every time I read this book I was transported in this book. Looking lout for the dollmaker.
Now there were times I was like I knew who the doll maker is. But ending proved me wrong.
I loved how strong and brave Dawn is in this story. No matter what she didn’t give up on friends and her dream to become a doctor. Now let’s talk about them brothers in this story OMG. I really didn’t want one of them being the dollmaker. Okay even if one of them might have been maybe they can marry me. lol This book is full of twists and turns.I will have to end up buying my own copy of this book. Definitely a future reread. I highly recommend this book. To anyone who is into horror mystery audiobook.
About Book:
Book is set in 1920’s in USA Dawn it’s strong young woman determined to become a doctor. Onne day become respected by her peers for being a woman doctor during those times. When a murderer is on the loose killing young women. Dawn not sure how these murders are connected.Dawn also dealing with her parents. Who are only out to get Dawn to married for their own personal gain.
Dawn does meet two menu whom she doesn’t know are connected.
Thank you netgalley and the author for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook.
My review will be posted Amazon, goodreads, Bookbub

Thank you NetGallery and CamCat Publishing for the ARC!

I listened to the audiobook version of The Dollmaker and liked the narrator most of the time. There were a few points where the tone felt a bit odd.

I enjoyed the book overall though! It is a murder mystery set in the 1920s, and that added an interesting aspect to the story. The way women were treated was uncomfortable at times, but that was the point.

I LOVED who the Dollmaker ended up being, I thought the author did an amazing job of sprinkling breadcrumbs while also not making it obvious. What a fantastic twist.

The Dollmaker is a fun murder mystery set in 1920's. The story deals a lot with the struggle of women is that time period. There is some light romance as well
The Dollmaker is a murderer preying on young women across the country. Dawn is a young Doctor fresh out of school and dealing with people's gendered expectations for her life. Her parents try to force her into a marriage with gross old man and blame her for her brothers death. This brings her into conflict and friendship with the Hemsworth Brothers. When her best friend goes missing the clock is racing for her to find her friend before she becomes another victim of the Dollmaker.
I enjoyed the relationships that develop with both Sebastian and Gideon. I also like how Dawn deals with the problems she's presented with through out the novel. This book is moody in the best way and fit the rainy weather.
The narrator and production were good and
really put me in the scene. I absolutely loved this audio book. Thanks to netgalley for this arc. All views expressed are my own.

Read as an audiobook performed by Kate Rudd.

This was an eerie and gloomy story, with as many odds stacked against the main character as imaginable. My expectations as a reader were subverted several times, making the characters stand out compared to those in similar titles, and I grew quite attached to them. The narrator of the audiobook did an overall good job, though some of the line delivery came across as a bit played up for dramatics.

I liked the mystery aspect of this book more than the romance, but I appreciated that the romance directly tied into the main character’s growth. The main twist of the story was decent, though a bit out of left field. Still, this book was a page-turner with a tense atmosphere that I enjoyed throughout, and is perfect for fans of gothic fiction and unnerving mysteries with a romantic twist.

4/5 A creepy mystery with a determined and spirited main character.

I was really excited for this book when I saw it available. I have read another book titled The Doll Maker in the past, and absolutely loved it (slightly different premise, but similar. Killer arraigning bodies), so when I saw this marketed as horror, I thought maybe we'd get a little more "Saw" in the mix. Something a little gruesome.

But this was honestly really not for horror fans. I think maybe it should stay in the Historical Fiction category alone. The FMC is very annoying and shallow. I don't know how many times she mentions "I'm a doctor/healer" "we can't be alone together" "oh no my future will suffer" in the first 30%

The dialogue was very clunky and with very little variety. There was a lot of telling, and hand holding. "This happens, then this happens, then this happens." It was as if there was a lot of basic details given yet zero points made.

I could not connect with Dawn at all, and every other character has zero personality so you can't even feel for them at all.

Narration was nice however, I can't really recommend this to horror fans.

This was a tough listen. The narration was not great and it’s difficult to decide whether it was the narrator that damaged the story or the story itself.

The story of this historical novel is set in the 1920’s, but there is a definite feeling that this is set in a much earlier time period like the late 1800s.

The idea of a female doctor struggling with societal constraints of this period is interesting as a theme, but I found myself constantly groaning at the clumsy unrealistic implementation of it. This is written from the view of how a modern woman with modern sensibilities would act toward the misogyny of the day, where the lead character is a sassy outspoken adversary to her male counterparts. The problem is, the way the character talks would (unfortunately) never be so overtly antagonistic. These pioneering women would be shrewd and calculated in their manner in order to progress in their field.

Unfortunately, the entire plot revolves around this theme, and without it being a historically accurate characterisation of the time period it’s just poorly researched fan-fiction.

The fact that the term ‘serial killer’ is used goes to prove that little research has been done. That term was not used until the 1970s, or perhaps the 1940 in a German case where ‘serial murderer’ could arguably translated as such. It certainly wasn’t prevalent in the 1920s. It’s just bad research.

Unfortunately, all this in addition to the poor narration made it a tough one to get through.

A serial killer rnning loose in the 1920s. Lots of suspense. Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook

The Dollmaker
by Morgan Shamy narrated by Kate Rudd

Set in the 1920s, there were a few anachronisms that did take me out of the time period. However, for the most part, I was right there in the time with the characters.

The story revolves around Dawn, a single woman who wants to be a doctor. This is something of an anomaly for that era. Women were housewives, teachers, nannies or maids. They did not attempt to achieve anything more than that.

Dawn's parents are wanting to marry her off to a grotesque elderly man because he is rich and Dawn's father has lost all of the family's money. Of course, this is something that Dawn is not wanting. In the meantime, women are going missing and parts of them are being found sew together sort of like a deranged Dr. Frankenstein's version of a porcelain doll. It isn't until one of Dawn's friends is taken that she starts her search for the murderer.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I know that some people are upset because women are being treated as objects to be owned, but unfortunately that is how it was back in the 1920s. So, when you are reading a period piece, you sometimes have to remember that times weren't always the way that we would want them to be. Besides, the forced marriages and not being able to work in the chosen fields adds to the story line and doesn't detract from it. Which is why I can see the importance of keeping those types of societal issues in the book.

I have already added the author's other books to by TBR. I can't wait to delve into them. Unfortunately, I do have other books in the queue before them.

This was also the first time I had listened to a book by this narrator. I liked the work that she did on the characterizations. There were a few character voices that were similar in nature, but that was probably because they were related. I look forward to listening to other narrations done by her.

Thank you to NetGalley and CamCat Publishing for providing me with a free copy of the audiobook in exchange for an open and honest review.

I want to express my gratitude to CamCat Books for providing me with an ARC of their latest publication. The book's cover and intriguing plot caught my eye. Although I don't usually opt for historical fiction with elements of horror/mystery, I found this book quite fascinating.

From the beginning, the book had me hooked with its haunting and mysterious ambiance, coupled with an intriguing romantic dynamic between the characters. The author's writing style was engaging, keeping me on the edge of my seat and turning pages non-stop. I was fascinated by the historical context surrounding female doctors in the early 1900s, and it added an extra layer of depth to the story. The romantic aspect was tastefully done, and I appreciated the clean approach. Although I wasn't a huge fan of the 'almost' love triangle subplot, it was quickly resolved, and the story continued to captivate me. Perhaps more time could have been spent building tension between the protagonist and her chosen partner, but overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this book.

This book was a good read, and I could not put it down. The ending had a fantastic twist, and I would highly recommend it. I give it four stars.

A captivating mystery with a romance subplot! The story had me trying to figure out who it could be only to reveal the dollmaker as someone who I never suspected.

They did a phenomenal job of hiding in plain sight.

Thank you Netgalley for this arc copy!

Historical fiction is not a genre I go for often but this one sounded good so I decided to give it a chance. I was not at all disappointed. I definitely did not predict who the killer was and there were some interesting characters. I enjoyed the dark, creepy atmosphere throughout. Overall I would definitely recommend this one.