Review of ‘The doll maker’ by Claire Highton-Stevenson,

Audiobook narrated by Fiona Thraille

Detective Inspector Sophie Whitton is after a serial killer dubbed ‘The doll maker’ who is terrorising people with his gruesome murders. As she gets obsessively focused on the investigation, she risks losing her longtime partner and her own sanity.

This is a very good lesbian police procedural audiobook that focuses on the investigation of a dangerous serial killer who doesn’t seem to have a fixed pattern when choosing his victims. As DI Sophie Whitton and her team work restlessly to catch him before he gets to torture and kill again, Sophie will discover some truths about herself. I liked that the author found the perfect balance between crime-solving and romance to make it interesting for fans of both genres. Both aspects of the plot are intertwined nicely in the whole story.

I found this book’s style similar to that of another British author, Cari Hunter, so if you like Hunter’s ‘Dark Peak’ series, you’ll probably like this book too. Even though this is a very compelling and entertaining read, there are a few triggers warnings such as extreme violence, explicit mention of sexual abuse and infidelity. These types of books aren’t normally my cup of tea but I can appreciate a well-written novel and put up with a few gruesome scenes in the process.

I’ve listened to the audiobook version narrated by Fiona Thraille. This is the first time I’ve listened to this narrator and it was an overall enjoyable experience. I found that she’s got the creepy tone perfectly, however, maybe not as good for the romantic scenes. All her voices were distinctive, though I preferred the male ones, and her accents were spot-on. This novel describes a full range of human emotions and Ms. Thraille’s performance was convincing for them all. If you like police procedurals with a side of romance, don’t skip this one.

Overall, a very good lesbian police procedural audiobook, 5 stars for both the story and the narration,

Audiobook generously provided by the author at my request.