Amazon UK
Title: Baby Doll
Author: Hollie Overton
Format reviewed: Ebook
Source: Netgalley
Publisher: Cornerstone Digital
Publication Date: 30th June 2016
Rating: 5 Stars
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| Amazon UK |
She kept moving forward. She didn't stop. She didn't look back.
Lily has been abducted from outside her high-school gates.
For eight long years she's been locked away from the outside world. During that time she's changed from a girl into a woman. She's had a baby.
And now she has seized her chance and escaped.
Running for her life, with her daughter in her arms, she returns to her family and the life she used to know - to her much-loved twin sister Abby, her mum, her high-school boyfriend - and her freedom.
But is it possible to go back?
Lily's perfect life as a teenager doesn't exist any more. Since she's been gone, her family's lives have changed too, in ways she never could have imagined.
Her return, and the revelation of who took her, will send shockwaves through the whole community.
Impossible not to read in one sitting, Baby Doll is a taut psychological thriller that focuses on family entanglements and the evil that can hide behind a benign facade.
Lily has been abducted from outside her high-school gates.
For eight long years she's been locked away from the outside world. During that time she's changed from a girl into a woman. She's had a baby.
And now she has seized her chance and escaped.
Running for her life, with her daughter in her arms, she returns to her family and the life she used to know - to her much-loved twin sister Abby, her mum, her high-school boyfriend - and her freedom.
But is it possible to go back?
Lily's perfect life as a teenager doesn't exist any more. Since she's been gone, her family's lives have changed too, in ways she never could have imagined.
Her return, and the revelation of who took her, will send shockwaves through the whole community.
Impossible not to read in one sitting, Baby Doll is a taut psychological thriller that focuses on family entanglements and the evil that can hide behind a benign facade.
I'm going to dispute the sentence at the end of the blurb about it being impossible not to read in one sitting, as it took me about 3 sittings, but they were all very close together on account of having to go out, so I continued to read on the tube etc... However while I was reading, I was completely oblivious to everything that was going around me, as I raced through this highly addictive sheer book of brilliance.
How would you feel if you finally after 8 years escaped from the person who has been keeping you captive, and made your way home, to your mother and twin sister? As that is what Lily manages to do at the start, and the story from there takes you through her adapting to life again, and the fight for justice.
We are treated to chapters from not only Lily's point of view, but twin sister's Abbie, her mother and also her abductor. It is her abductors chapters that really chilled me, as the man shows no remorse what so ever, and feels that he has outsmarted everyone. Although his story is the most shocking in a way, it is also really enjoyable for reasons I can't quite explain.
Obviously a lot has happened in the 8 years, and in ways that Lily was never expecting, But then showing up out of the blue after all the time, with a child in tow, is a huge adjustment for her family too.
I'm reluctant to say anything else about the story itself, but I would either give away spoilers, and there are some massive shocks to come your way, or wouldn't be able to do it justice properly. What I will say is that the story seeped under my skin from the start, and anytime I did have to stop reading for real life reasons, I was thinking about the story continually. I just couldn't switch off from it, and I suspect it may also be the sort of book that you shouldn't start too late in the evening, unless you are prepared for no sleep!
As the story progressed I couldn't help but wonder what how I would feel if any part of this was happening to me, and the answer is I probably wouldn't cope anywhere near as well as the characters in the story. They all have hidden strengths of character, that is admirable and made me like them even more (with the exception of the obvious bad guy).
For a brand new debut author I am incredibly impressed, at this different take on a psychological thriller. I knew from the second I saw the book on Netgalley, that it would appeal to me, and I am so glad I have devoured it, as its pure class. If you like a book that gets under your skin and that is very addictive to read, then I would recommend giving Baby Doll a try.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House, Cornerstone for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
How would you feel if you finally after 8 years escaped from the person who has been keeping you captive, and made your way home, to your mother and twin sister? As that is what Lily manages to do at the start, and the story from there takes you through her adapting to life again, and the fight for justice.
We are treated to chapters from not only Lily's point of view, but twin sister's Abbie, her mother and also her abductor. It is her abductors chapters that really chilled me, as the man shows no remorse what so ever, and feels that he has outsmarted everyone. Although his story is the most shocking in a way, it is also really enjoyable for reasons I can't quite explain.
Obviously a lot has happened in the 8 years, and in ways that Lily was never expecting, But then showing up out of the blue after all the time, with a child in tow, is a huge adjustment for her family too.
I'm reluctant to say anything else about the story itself, but I would either give away spoilers, and there are some massive shocks to come your way, or wouldn't be able to do it justice properly. What I will say is that the story seeped under my skin from the start, and anytime I did have to stop reading for real life reasons, I was thinking about the story continually. I just couldn't switch off from it, and I suspect it may also be the sort of book that you shouldn't start too late in the evening, unless you are prepared for no sleep!
As the story progressed I couldn't help but wonder what how I would feel if any part of this was happening to me, and the answer is I probably wouldn't cope anywhere near as well as the characters in the story. They all have hidden strengths of character, that is admirable and made me like them even more (with the exception of the obvious bad guy).
For a brand new debut author I am incredibly impressed, at this different take on a psychological thriller. I knew from the second I saw the book on Netgalley, that it would appeal to me, and I am so glad I have devoured it, as its pure class. If you like a book that gets under your skin and that is very addictive to read, then I would recommend giving Baby Doll a try.
Thank you so much to Netgalley and Random House, Cornerstone for this review copy. This was my honest opinion.
I have read this book and it reminded me of the recent TV series 13 when a 26 year old woman escaped from the man who had held her prisoner since she was thirteen years old. I found this book equally traumatic and thought provoking
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