3.5* ( )

I've discovered a passion for audiobooks this summer thanks to long working hours. The Doll's House was one that made the hours a bit more bearable.

The Doll's House is book 3 in the Helen Grace series and this time, Helen has to find a kidnapped girl and fight a battle with her boss that has taken a dislike to her and will try to get her off the team no matter what. What so special this case is that the kidnapper has done this before, taken a girl and then pretended through tweets and text messages that she is still alive and well and that she just doesn't want to have any contact with her family. And, it works like a charm until a dead body is discovered and an observant police think that there is something rotten with a missing girl, despite the text messengers that her family gets.

I loved listening to this book, and I found myself enthralled with the story. I was worried that Helen would get into trouble because of her, let's say, not that legal way of trying to find her nephew. And, it doesn't help that her boss is hell-bent on bringing her down. I did love the big confrontation between them both.

As for the case itself. It's scary to think of how easy it is to fake that someone is alive and well by having someone's phone. The kidnapper is a real psycho and the last part was very thrilling to listen to. If you have read the previous books will you love this book, and it works well as a standalone as well, even though some events from the past is mentioned.

Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede ( )

Another great book. ( )

The third in the Helen Grace series, this book worked well as a stand along (but left me curious enough about Helen's history to have me downloading the first two, particularly if they are anywhere near as good as this one was. They were.)

Short chapters, changing points of view and a tense plot kept me turning pages quickly. Arlidge keeps the suspense high - if you are a fan of thrillers, this book is a can't miss.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Corp for an ARC of The Doll's House in exchange for my honest review. ( )

4.5 stars.

The Doll's House is another chilling installment in M.J. Arlidge's DI Helen Grace series. In this outing, Helen and her team's latest homicide investigation is linked to the recent disappearance of a young woman.

The discovery of the body of a young woman buried on a beach is just the beginning of Helen's latest case. After discovering her identity, she is stunned to learn the girl's family did not file a missing person's report since the victim has apparently been sporadically tweeting and sending text messages. Certain she is not the perpetrator's first victim, a careful search of missing person's reports yields a couple other suspicious disappearances and Helen convinces her superiors to go back to the beach to look for more graves. Discovering two more bodies, Helen and her team are sure that Ruby Sprackling's recent disappearance is most likely connected to their case and they are soon in a race against time to find her before it is too late.

Helen's squad is still a bit unsettled as new members transition in to replace the detectives who have left. She has a few trusted investigators that she relies on, but she worries there is a lack of cohesiveness among the group. However, by the time the various pieces of the investigation begin to fall into place, the squad is finally working together as a team as they frantically try to save Ruby from her abductor.

Helen's relationship with her boss DS Ceri Harwood is still acrimonious and they continue to butt heads as Helen tries to convince her that their current cases are connected. She does not let Harwood's resistance hold her back from following the various leads, but her refusal to co-operate means Helen must occasionally subvert her boss's authority which causes more friction between them. Ceri's professional jealousy clouds her judgment on more than one occasion and she eventually makes a decision that she later comes to regret when things begin to spin out of control.

While most of plot centers around the investigation, Helen's personal life plays small, but pivotal, roles in the storyline. Her search for her missing nephew continues and she makes a few missteps once she uncovers new evidence about him. Helen also feels a startling connection to one of the victim's fathers and she is surprisingly candid with him about her past. This vulnerability softens the tough as nails investigator and peels back yet another layer of this multi-faceted character.

The Doll's House is another spellbinding addition to the DI Helen Grace series. The addition of new members to the team keeps the series fresh and Helen continues to evolve which keeps her character from becoming stagnant. The mystery is intriguing and M.J. Arlidge's skillful utilization of red herrings and misdirects ingeniously conceals the perpetrator's identity until the novel's conclusion. An outstanding police procedural that will leave fans impatiently awaiting the next installment in this superb series. ( )