The Doll Collector

The Doll Collector by author Joanna Stephen-Ward is a great mystery/thriller and a well developed book. The psychological thrill to it makes it even better. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to others.

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for an arc copy of The Doll Collector in exchange for an honest review.

The Doll Collector is a great psychological thriller. The author really makes you despise the killer Gloria. Joanna Stephaen-Ward has written a great book and the characters are very interesting. If you like a good thriller read this book.

Holy crap, I must say, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I’d have loved to give Gloria a good oul ass whooping mind you, talk about psycho, deranged, deluded….just some of the words I could use! Someone does something on her that she doesn’t like… oooh lets kill her and get a lookalike doll to sit on my mantelpiece… CRACKERS… I know its fictional but seriously this woman is for the birds! I enjoyed the build up, the little twists and turns and the ending, definitely recommending this one.

Many thanks to Netgalley and Bloodhound Books for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest opinion.

Excellent book with a great storyline. Characters that are so well written. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

This was a great mid-October read. I thought it would focus more on the dolls, as there is little more spooky than a doll. However, this novel centers around Ian, his father, his tenant Maurice, and Maurice’s boarder Gloria. It is definitely a roller coaster read with an ending no one will see coming. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for allowing me to be an early reader in exchange for my fair and honest review.

"Murders that look like accidents. An accident that looks like murder. 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 did not like Gloria, the author did a great job making this character hateable! Gloria is twisted and menacing, I couldn't wait to find out if she got justice for what she'd done. This book reminded me of "The Collector" by John Fowles. I loved it!

Thank you #NetGalley for this ARC of #TheDollCollector
Pub Date: 20 Nov 2018

OMG I loved this twisty and creepy read which had a couple of twists I just didn't see coming!

Maurice takes in a lodger to help pay the rent. All Gloria has wanted is to be loved. With a tragic past she's determined to get people to like her and forces her friendship on the neighbours whether they like it or not. She cleans up Maurice and his home and is the weirdest, strangest, most disturbed and evil character ever.

She collects dolls and each one represents someone she's killed....

Ian and his father are trying to evict Maurice and unfortunately for Ian he meets Gloria. She is furious when she learns the flat is rented rather than owned and decides she needs to exact her revenge on Maurice... With a couple of massive twists I didn't see coming. It's a great read.

I received an advance readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

Some books are so twisted, you have to question the mental state of the person who wrote them- having said that this book was quite enjoyable in a very disturbing sort of way. Definitely four stars if you can suspend your sense of morality

This book was not what I was expecting.
A new author and she has written a little gem. Gloria is a serial killer, you cross her or upset and you are dead. The deaths are all made to look like accidents. When you are dead Gloria adds another doll to her growing collection. Gloria is far from from likeable, at one stage I wanted to kill her myself.
Maurice gets Gloria as his lodger who immediately takes over his life.
I class this book as psychological thriller with a heart. I highly recommend this book a breath of fresh air and not too graphic.
I would like to thank the author Joanna Stephen- Ward, Bloodhound books and Net.galley for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for giving an honest review.

Don't you just love it when you find a new author to read?! Well I certainly do. After seeing the cover and title for this book which sold it to me straight away, I then read the blurb… which isn't like me at all. That was it for me and this book jumped straight to the top of my pile. I sure as hell did not regret it. This book is just WOW I freaking loved it.

I love the fact that we know that Gloria is the killer who I might add is totally of her tree. Very very twisted to say the least. Anyone that upsets her she kills them then adds a doll to her collection….How twisted can you get! She is a character that you will not like, but that's the whole idea of this story and that’s what made me like it even more.

The Doll Collector is one hell of a creepy read that is sure to give you goosebumps. The author has got one hell of an imagination, read it for yourself to find out what I mean.

Once I started this I couldn't put it down the more I read the more I wanted to know where the story was going…. I was totally hooked. And OMG I wasn't expecting that.

This is a brilliant read which I highly recommend

THE DOLL COLLECTOR by Joanna Stephen-Ward - Emma 21st Nov netgalley
OMG.A crime book with a difference. The synopsis reads as a crime/thriller with rather more, and boy this is so much more. Maurice lives in a flat. Years beforehand his mother nursed the owner who left the flat to Maurice and his mother so that they would not have any financial worries. Enter Ian and his father- the son and grandson of the original owner. They are estate agents and actually having to work for a living- something they never did when times were good. They have flash cars, several properties and are now having to tighten their belts. They contrive against Maurice and find an old copy of the will so that Maurice still rents the flat rather than own it- and they want him out before he causes any issues. Maurice himself isn’t the best of workers and has an aversion to cleaning- both himself and the flat. One day when strapped for the rent he decides to rent out his spare room. Enter Gloria and her doll collection. Gloria lives in a world of her own and cleans and cleans and cleans. She is critical of almost everyone. She decides that she and Maurice should move into the same room and get engaged- all without Maurice having a say in all of this. Gloria has a past and this is where the dolls come in to it. Gloria is rather a scary character to say the least. I felt for Maurice as he really was naive and innocent in what he did. Oh boy! A clever plot. I won’t spoil anything other than to say “revenge is a dish best served cold” Loved this!
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A very strange read but somehow also very riveting, Gloria is the main character in this novel and I could not help but feel more of her background should have been revealed so we understood more as to why she felt the need to murder those who she felt crossed her. The ending was a real twist and I did not see it coming

I would recommend this as an alternative read to blood, gore and in depth crime

Amazing book. Loved it from beginning to end.
Well written which kept me captivated throughout.
I will definitely be reading other books by this author