Phoebe Morgan (1)

Another fabulous read from Pigeonhole! A babysitter is found dead and a baby has gone missing. Throw in a couple of distraught parents, an adulterous husband, a long suffering wife, a confirmed bachelor girl sister and a sulky teenage daughter and the stage is set.

I found this book a page turner. I was gripped throughout even though the characters were all very unlikeable. It’s one of those thrillers where everyone is a suspect and the reader is led on a cat and mouse chase to discover show more ‘whodunnit’. It took me on quite the journey and definitely kept me guessing. However, I did have my own theory and my assumption did turn out to be correct. 😊 Even so, I thoroughly enjoyed the ride. show less

Yikes! What a total creep-fest. When I was younger, I used to really dislike people watching me. Not that I was ever interesting enough to look at, but I just didn't like the idea of someone watching me eat, drink or read when I was completely unaware. So the strapline of The Doll House attracted my attention immediately as you really don't know who's watching you.

Corinne and Ashley are sisters who are both grieving for their father and struggling with troubles of their own. Corinne is show more desperate for a baby whereas Ashley has 3 children and, although she loves Ashley's children, it's getting harder for Corinne to cope being around them. Corinne is naturally very fragile and her partner, Dominic, is a reporter so he never seems to be around to support her. When Corinne finds a piece of a doll house at her front door, she doesn't feel threatened...but she should. As more pieces start to arrive: at her work and inside her home, the already fragile Corinne feels as if she's falling apart...and that puts her just where her tormentor wants her.

I literally couldn't put it down, so I read The Doll House in a day as I was immediately drawn into the web of intrigue that Phoebe Morgan has created. Seriously? Is this a debut? I had to double check as it is such a top quality psychological thriller. There is so much tension is all relationships that I suspected everyone of tormenting Corinne. After all who would have access to the old doll house? We are also shown glimpses into a story from the past, but whose story is it?

I read most of The Doll House covered in goosebumps and if that's not a sure sign of a five star book, I don't know what is! A highly recommended read - it will definitely get under your skin, play with your mind and creep you out.

I chose to read an ARC and this is my honest and unbiased opinion. show less

Four friends go on vacation in Thailand for a few days of fun and relaxation in the sun but thanks to a person who somehow joins their group and won't go away, their vacation turns into a few days of confusion and murder. I thought that this was a fast paced thriller and I really enjoyed it. There were a few things that I didn't like but I'll address them later in the review.

Two couples in their early 30s - Saskia & Theo and Lucas & Holly - plan a holiday trip to Thailand. Theo has lots of show more money, while Lucas and Holly are counting every penny. Since Lucas made the arrangements for the trip, he booked an expensive hotel but when they got to the hotel, there was a mix up and no room was available so they spent the night at a hostel. That in itself would be scary because there was another person staying in the room with them and they really had no place to hide their passports and money. Once they got back to the expensive hotel, it looked like their fun would begin but a man that they met at the Buddhist temple, Caleb, attaches himself to their group. It's apparent that he is trouble but we don't find out until much later on what his back story is and who he knows from the original group. It turns out that all 5 of the people are hiding secrets - some worse than others. When things begin to unravel and secrets come to light - their group of 5 will be reduced by one. You don't know until almost the end who is murdered and why. I can't say much more about the plot without possibly giving away a spoiler. What I will say is that I thought that this was an excellent page turner of a story.

I really wasn't sure how these two couples stayed friends - along with the differences in the money they had very different goals in life. I thought that the rich couple was pretentious and enjoyed showing off to the other couple. One other thing, they either never travelled to a foreign country or they were just plain stupid -- there is no way that a seasoned (or smart) traveler would leave their purse in a crowded tourist attraction. Despite problems with the characters at different times during the book, I thought that this was a real page turner and I had trouble putting it down until the end. Phoebe Morgan is a new author for me and I plan to read some of her earlier books. show less

Corrinne and Ashley are sisters who are still grieving the loss of their father. As the one year anniversary of his death approaches, strange and ominous things start happening in both their lives. Ashley is getting crank calls, and Corrinne has reason to believe someone has been sneaking into her home. Corinne's boyfriend thinks it's just stress, between the death of her father and their failed attempts at IVF. Ashley has her own troubles, what with her husband supposedly "working" some show more very long hours. Each of the sisters want to avoid overly upsetting the other instead of confiding much in each other. The complexity of the relationships between the sisters and with their significant others felt so real. I never knew who to trust from one minute to the next.
Meanwhile someone has been watching the sisters from afar but they are no longer satisfied with just observing the life they think should have been theirs, they want revenge.
I would not have guessed this to be a debut novel, it was a most impressive psychological thriller, full of suspense and family drama.

I received an advance copy for review. show less