The Sleeping Doll

A Novel

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Anne Twomey

Length: 15 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Ten years ago in California, Daniel Pell, a self-styled Charles Manson, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering an entire family: husband, wife, and two children, plus one of his young male followers. He is brought to Salinas, California, to interview with Kathryn Dance after he is implicated in yet another killing.

Things go terribly wrong during an interview break, and Pell, after badly injuring Dance's fellow California Bureau of Investigation agent and murdering several bystanders, escapes. The murder was just one of his many schemes to allow him to travel outside of his high-security prison - and to continue to kill on the outside.

It's up to Dance, aided by her CBI partners, a Monterey County detective, and a brilliant FBI agent specializing in cult mentality, to stop him before he kills again. Hungry on his trail, Dance enlists three of Pell's former female followers, now raising families and leading normal lives, as well as the one surviving family member from the initial killing. Only eight years old at the time, she was asleep in her bed and obscured by her toys and stuffed animals, prompting the press to call her "The Sleeping Doll". Now 18, this girl may have essential clues about Pell.

©2007 Jeffery Deaver. All rights reserved (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

Critic reviews

"Deaver digs into his bottomless bag of unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers wide-eyed with surprise, and leaving them looking forward to more of the perspicacious Dance." ( Publishers Weekly)

Disappointing

Unlike his other books this one failed to develop three-dimensional characters. The story line eventually gripped me but I never became invested in any of the characters.

Definitely worth your time!

I almost bypassed this novel altogether because I listened to Roadside Crosses first and was totally turned off by the narrator. Figuring Deaver deserved a second chance, I was pleasantly surprised (and relieved) that Ann Twomey is a talented reader. (Let's face it folks, the narrator can make or break the listening experience.)
The Sleeping Doll has well-rounded, interesting characters, and Deaver provides enough detail to keep his reader informed, yet wondering. A good combination, in my opinion; I don't need to be "invested" in the characters to like them or hate them. This novel offers an entertaining, fast-paced plot, and gets an all-around thumbs-up.

Interesting story with twists, if a bit slow going

The story is a good one, with a lot of detail and several interesting twists. I'm not completely sure about my rating, it felt awfully slow going at times, but I may have been put off by the narration more than by the storyline. Anne Twomey has a very clear diction and everything is understandable perfectly, but, alas, it sounds like a dictionary being read aloud. I hadn't quite realized how mindnumbingly boring a book like this can sound... In hindsight, I would have preferred the paper version. It may deserve 5 stars, but as it is, I'm feeling generous at 4.

Enjoyable, suspenseful audibook

Would you listen to The Sleeping Doll again? Why?

Yes, I would listen to this again. The story kept my interest and was enjoyable.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No.

The Mystery of the novel

I loved the novel and listened to it day and night, it kept me guessing.

Outstanding Suspense and Mystery

Deaver is known for extraordinary procedural detail, twists and character development. I loved this book, particularly because it surprised me at several points. The suspense is also first rate.

The heroine, Katherine Dance is an investigator for the California Buereau of Investigations specializing inbinterrogation and kinesics (or body language). Deaver does a great job revealing her expertise without becoming tedious. In fact I found it fascinating.

The reader is Anne Twomy who does an excellent job.

Engaging

For the most part, believable, though the kinesics sort of got in the way. It was kind of text-booky the way Kathryn Dance described the tics and gestures of the liars she encounteres.

Daniel Pell is competing with Manson for world fame. The book competes at the same level, trying to create a "family" for Pell, one comprising weak-willed women who do his bidding. Shrug. Pell is a master at escaping and stalking the people who wronged him. That was a little much.

The "Sleeping Doll" of the title, wakes up one day and tells her story. It's pretty unremarkable. I think the author wanted us to feel so bad for her that she held that secret for so long and then she grew up and stood up for herself. But the "secret," such that it is .. is nothing, and it does nothing to help find Pell.

One problem I had, which was probably only evident in listening as opposed to reading text. Daniel Pell, Kathryn Dance, Rebecca, Samantha, and others.. all the names started to sound alike. A bit difficult to keep them all straight.

I found the use of masks and disguises to be a very childish device for the writer. It's a fallback that helps the writer avoid having to come up with plausible explanations for the killer's ability to escape detection. Reading some of the dressup scenes made me yawn.

I liked it well enough, and I'll look at other Deaver books. Not necessarily a "page turner," it stuck with me and I really liked the concepts of lie detection that it explained. (I loved "Lie to Me" on TV).

The sleeping doll

Excellent story I had to do a lot of driving so I could find out what was going to happen. Story teller was so real

Very complicated and thoroughly great!

When the case is all solved and there are still a couple hours left, you know there are some surprises to come! And the story ties up loose ends you didn't remember were there! Katherine Dance is a great character, and good to have when there is no more Lincoln Rhyme to read.

Bad Dude

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Book was a good mystery, but somewhat drawn out. Not sure about the idea of the body language detective. Don't believe that I'll give book two of the series a try.