Amanda Stevens, The Dollmaker

The Dollmaker

Amanda Stevens

Mira, Mar 2007, $6.99

ISBN: 0778324281

Since he left the New Orleans Police Department seven years ago, Dave Creasy has worked as a private investigator. He meets at her request his former police peer Detective Angelette Lapierre who was once his lover; that indiscretion on top of his drinking and the abudction of their child led to his wife Claire divorcing him and ultimately remarrying someone else.

Angelette says that Graydon Losier wants to hire a PI with connections to help find his missing daughter Nina. She further insists the case parallels the Renee Savarin investigation that proved futile and led to Dave's resignation after he abetted the criminal who kidnapped his seven-year-old daughter Ruby; she was never returned as promised. Dave agrees to talk with Graydon, but will probably reject the case as it will bring back memories he wants buried. However, upon meeting the distraught Graydon, Dave cannot walk though he knows he returns to the nightmares that haunt him, espcially after Claire informs him of the haunting doll with topaz eyes she had seen in a shop window.

The tension in THE DOLLMAKER hits the audience from the opening sequence when a thief steals a doll that looks real except for the topaz eyes and never slows down until the final confrontation. The cast is key to this exciting suspense thriller as readers will feel Graydon's anguish, Dave's guilt, Claire's doubts, and the Dollmaker's insane skills inside a New Orleans that feels anything but the Big Easy. Not for everyone as depicted events can turn quite vivid, readers will appreciate this taut private investigative thriller.

Harriet Klausner