Name: Emily C Peterson's review of Baby Doll by Hollie Overton
Item: Baby Doll
Rating: 4
Author: Emily C Peterson

Hollie Overton

You've been held captive in one room, mentally and physically abused every day, since you were sixteen years old. Then, one night, you realize your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked. For the first time in eight years, you're free. This is about what happens next ... Lily knows that she must bring the man who nearly ruined her life to justice. But she never imagined that reconnecting with her family would be just as difficult. Reclaiming her relationship with her twin sister, her mother, and her high school sweetheart, who is in love with her sister, may be Lily's greatest challenge. After all they've been through, can Lily and her family find their way back after this life-altering trauma? Baby Doll is a taut psychological thriller that focuses on family entanglements and the evil that can hide behind a benign facade.

Baby Doll

Emily C Peterson

Monicap

First of all, I would like to make it clear that I am not familiar with the conventions of the mystery/thriller genre.

Second of all, I would like to disclose in accordance with FTC guidelines that I received a review copy for free from the publisher. 

Overall, I don't recommend this book. 

The dialogue was wooden, and the characters were flat. The pacing was decent, and the plot was okay, but overly dramatic. The twist was surprising enough--I had formulated three (very good, I think) guesses, and none of them were right (though one was very close).

I think this is one of those situations where an author debuted too soon, and on the wrong book. There were glimmers of good writing and characterization--at points, Lily felt both incredibly young (as a child herself) and incredibly old (as the mother of a young child).

Will I read future books by this author? Hard to say. I'd like to give her a chance, and if I get more into the mystery/thriller genre, almost certainly. Would I recommend that anyone read this book? Absolutely not.

Denaiir

First of all, the blurb "For fans of Gone Girl and Girl on the Train, Baby Doll is the most tense thriller you will read this year" is completely wrong. There is no tension in this book, no mystery to solve (we know who did it from Chapter 1) and no twists; it has absolutely nothing to do with those 2 other books plot-wise. However, I want ot mention that I only read the blurb AFTER I read the book, so this is not the reason why I gave it a bad rating, I was not misled.

The book is about a girl who was abducted and kept in a dark room for 8 years. Chapter 1, she escapes, and the book deals with what happens next to her, her family, and everyone involved. 

The first thing I want to mention is that the main character's reaction was absolutely not believable. After 8 years of captivity, there is no way she would react the way she does, it was so overdone! There's no issue with her, no struggles, nothing (ok she's afraid of the dark, wow)... The storyline from Sky's point of view (the daughter she had while captive) was also completely unrealistic: they only decide to start therapy with her after months, which I hope would never happen in real life!

And don't get me started on the other characters. Her twin sister is horrible, I hated her, she is hot-headed and never thinks before she acts, her reactions are never logical, and she keeps getting in the way of the investigation (I laughed when the investigators let her stay during her sister's interrogation and she lost it and asked them to stop questioning the victim, very mature and I'm sure they wouldn't agree to any of this in real life). The ex-boyfriend is the most bland character ever, his storyline is as cheesy as it can get. The mother is as 2-dimensional as can be, a missed opportunity to explore many subjects. Actually all the storylines felt like missed opportunities, but also felt completely unrealistic. 

The process also felt undocumented and I don't think the author did much reasearch into the way such an investigation would unfold. Read Karin Slaughter, Mo Hayder, watch The Sinner: they feel realistic. This didn't.

This felt like a direct-to-DVD movie.

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK Read the novel that kept Tess Gerritsen transfixed and entertained until the very last page You've been held captive in one room. You've been mentally and physically abused every day since you were sixteen years old. Then, one night, you realise your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked. For the first time in eight years you're free. This is what happens next. Praise for Baby Doll 'What a compulsive read! A brilliant first novel that kept me transfixed and entertained until the very last page.'- Tess Gerritsen 'An incredibly powerful debut' - Sunday Mirror 'Compelling psychological thriller.' - Daily Express 'With a narrative that can only be described as 'nuclear', the story of newly freed Lily and her daughter Sky moves at breakneck speed ... It's a really good read.' - Stylist 'Compelling first novel ... Overton throws in enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep the reader wondering what on earth can happen next.' - Publishers Weekly 'If Overton's debut is anything to go by, she'll soon be up there with the best of them!' - Peterborough Evening Telegraph 'Riveting from the first line.' - Woman's Own 'Gritty, captivating thriller.' - Love Reading 'A gripping page-turner that will make you think about what it means to be free.' - Glamour South Africa 'Riveting and difficult to put down.' - News Gazette 'You'll feel the sudden urge to check the locks on your front door.' - The Line Up 'A fast paced and intense story that once I started I found I could not put downa the sheer heartbreak and horror of this story will keep you hookeda' - Feminisia Libros Reviews

Kathleen Boyle

TW: Rape, sexual abuse, substance and alcohol abuse, suicide, grief, grooming

Parts of this I loved. Parts of this I hated. 

The writing is nothing out of ordinary but the pace is what keeps the story going. Everything keeps building on top of everything to make the read compulsive because there is never time to catch a break or have a breather.

However, the fatphobia, fat-shaming and girl hate is not acceptable. It's never really challenged as it's mostly interior dialogue but even the characters in the end don't clock on to what is possible. The ending is a little rushed. More development was needed in order to tackle some of the hardhitting subjects in the novel. 

Middle of the road for me.

Amanda Wells

A really good version of this type of story - I love that it didn't start during Lily's captivity, but rather focused on what happens next. There was a lot of detail on what happened during Lily's time locked away, but the focus is really on the aftermath, and the effect it has on Lily and everyone around her. 

I've recently found the traditional story-telling arc to be a little predictable, so I quite enjoyed that it wasn't exactly 1. Set up 2. Conflict 3. Resolution... Although that was still there, it did have little twists and turns, and the constant reference to what happened to Lily with more details being revealed, threw that structure off just enough to keep it interesting.

This felt like somewhere between a YA novel and a summer read. Enjoyable, and not too tricky to read. It could have been better with a more nuanced baddie, but I did enjoy not having complicated feelings about his fate.

Amelie

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kero might do

"What a compulsive read! A brilliant first novel that kept me transfixed and entertained until the very last page." -- Tess Gerritsen, New York Times bestselling author of Die Again You've been held captive in one room. You've been mentally and physically abused every day since you were sixteen years old. Then one night you realize your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked. For the first time in eight years you're free. This is what happens next...

Amy Medeiros

Krystal Pollock

A SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER AND RICHARD & JUDY BOOK CLUB PICK Read the novel that kept Tess Gerritsen transfixed and entertained until the very last page You've been held captive in one room. You've been mentally and physically abused every day since you were sixteen years old. Then, one night, you realise your captor has left the door to your cell unlocked. For the first time in eight years you're free. This is what happens next. Praise for Baby Doll 'What a compulsive read! A brilliant first novel that kept me transfixed and entertained until the very last page.'- Tess Gerritsen 'An incredibly powerful debut' - Sunday Mirror 'Compelling psychological thriller.' - Daily Express 'With a narrative that can only be described as 'nuclear', the story of newly freed Lily and her daughter Sky moves at breakneck speed ... It's a really good read.' - Stylist 'Compelling first novel ... Overton throws in enough twists, turns, and surprises to keep the reader wondering what on earth can happen next.' - Publishers Weekly 'If Overton's debut is anything to go by, she'll soon be up there with the best of them!' - Peterborough Evening Telegraph 'Riveting from the first line.' - Woman's Own 'Gritty, captivating thriller.' - Love Reading 'A gripping page-turner that will make you think about what it means to be free.' - Glamour South Africa 'Riveting and difficult to put down.' - News Gazette 'You'll feel the sudden urge to check the locks on your front door.' - The Line Up 'A fast paced and intense story that once I started I found I could not put down... the sheer heartbreak and horror of this story will keep you hooked...' - Feminisia Libros Reviews

Emily C Peterson &
Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

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Emily C Peterson &Baby Doll by Hollie Overton

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Emily C Peterson &
Baby Doll by Hollie Overton