CBR18 Bingo: Friends – The emotional center of this story is the friendship between Lucy and Nicola.
After Lucy is murdered by her best friend’s brother, she does not go gently into that good night but instead possess a porcelain doll and decides that she must kill Kyle. But a doll body is weak, so she turns to Nicola, a former classmate, for help in her mission.
I’ve long believed that horror and humor are two sides of the same coin, so I really enjoy when an author incorporates both in a book. She’s a Doll has plenty of both, and they are incorporated well – complementing as opposed to working against each other.
There’s a lot to like about this book. Lucy and Nicola are both well-developed characters, and I enjoyed the growing friendship between them, and felt awful when they fought. The supernatural element is also excellent, especially Lucy’s experience living inside the disintegrating doll body. You can really feel Lucy’s helplessness and rage.
I did think the first part of the book was a bit slow – after Lucy is murdered, there’s a pretty lengthy stretch covering her travails on her way to Nicola, so the real revenge plot only kicks off about halfway through. I wish we had gotten to it a little faster. But once we do, the book shifts into high gear and stays that way until the end. The last couple chapters go slow again as they wrap up the story, but don’t miss the Discussion Questions! There’s an unexpected sting in the tale if you get that far.
Disclaimer: I received a copy of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.
