The Sleeping Doll

A Novel

By: Jeffery Deaver

Narrated by: Anne Twomey

Lincoln Rhyme is back! The brilliant criminologist returns with his partner and paramour Amelia Sachs, in a blistering bestseller that tests forensic detective work in a brave new world.

When Special Agent Kathryn Dance—a brilliant interrogator and kinesics expert with the California Bureau of Investigation—is sent to question the convicted killer Daniel “Son of Manson” Pell as a suspect in a newly unearthed crime, she feels both trepidation and electrifying intrigue. Pell is serving a life sentence for the brutal murders of the wealthy Croyton family in Carmel years earlier—a crime mirroring those perpetrated by Charles Manson in the 1960s. But Pell and his cult members were sloppy: Not only were they apprehended, they even left behind a survivor—the youngest of the Croyton daughters, who, because she was in bed hidden by her toys that terrible night, was dubbed the Sleeping Doll.

But the girl never spoke about that night, nor did the crime's mastermind. Indeed, Pell has long been both reticent and unrepentant about the crime. And so with the murderer transported from the Capitola superprison to an interrogation room in the Monterey County Courthouse, Dance sees an opportunity to pry a confession from him for the recent murder—and to learn more about the depraved mind of this career criminal who considers himself a master of control, a dark Svengali, forcing people to do what they otherwise would never conceive of doing. In an electrifying psychological jousting match, Dance calls up all her skills as an interrogator and kinesics—body language—expert to get to the truth behind Daniel Pell.

But when Dance's plan goes terribly wrong and Pell escapes, leaving behind a trail of dead and injured, she finds herself in charge of her first-ever manhunt. But far from simply fleeing, Pell turns on his pursuers—and other innocents—for reasons Dance and her colleagues can't discern. As the idyllic Monterey Peninsula is paralyzed by the elusive killer, Dance turns to the past to find the truth about what Daniel Pell is really up to. She tracks down the now teenage Sleeping Doll to learn what really happened that night, and she arranges a reunion of three women who were in his cult at the time of the killings. The lies of the past and the evasions of the present boil up under the relentless probing of Kathryn Dance, but will the truth about Daniel Pell emerge in time to stop him from killing again?©2007 Jeffery Deaver. All rights reserved; (P)2007 Simon and Schuster Inc. All rights reserved.

The Sleeping Doll

This is a good book and you will enjoy the story. It will hold your interest to the end but it was long as Jeffery Deaver's books tend to be. I recommend this book.

I have listened too almost all of his book

Have listened too most all of his books. I always know that everyone of them will be great.
His books are full of action and suspense. I’m always on the edge of my chair and find that it’s hard to put the book down.

Intelligent

Fantastic Book! Delivers quite an entertaining as well as educational experience. Very real, an intelligent read.

A decent listen

I've listened to a couple of Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme novels and have always found them better to read than to listen to. I enjoyed The Sleeping Doll more than his previous books and he did a good job of fleshing out the main characters. There were times I thought the story was tedious - the constant references to other people's body language got on my nerves (I get it - she's an expert in kinesics and I don't need an explanation for every gesture a character makes). I also though the story grew tedious at times when the author would wallow in the details of everything the characters were doing (she went home, she cooked dinner, etc.) and it seemed to slow the action. Overall, not my favorite audiobook but certainly not my least favorite either. I would call it average.

Read It or Listen To It

This is the first Kathryn Dance book, a character introduced in in a previous Lincoln Rhyme novel. She is an expert at kinesics — body language. She is employed by a state version of the FBI specializing in interrogation and interviewing witnesses and suspects. When a dangerous killer escapes after a jailhouse interview by Dance, she is drawn into the distorted and insane world of a cult killer, Daniel Pell. Pell was called Son of Manson by the prosecutor. On so many levels the book "works." It works because it draws you into a world not your own and makes you care about the characters and wonder what is around the corner that only a turn of the page will reveal. I have only one misgiving about the book. It would have worked as well, perhaps better, had it ended a hundred pages before it did. There was a perfect ending diluted by yet several more unnecessary plot twists. This is a minor flaw in my humble opinion. On the whole, read it, listen to it and enjoy!

not much action

Boy if my maiden name wasn't McCoy and I didn't live in San Jose I would have said this book was a snoozer. The book stops at a lot of bay area towns that I can visualize but not sure that other people would be interested in and I didn't think the towns added much to the story.

too much psychobabble

Story is pretty good .. characters are pretty real ... but all the "insight" into the mind of this "expert" just made the book drag on hour beyond what could have/should have been the end.

Depth of Characters & Great twists of Plot

The main character has a real life (kids, parents, home) adding depth her persona as the hunt for the serial killer, Pell, unfolds. There are thoughtful twists... A To B ... to X. Deaver is a great writer.

The narration was enjoyable, well done, with good voicing of Characters.

Excellent and entertaining

Outstanding story and narration. You do not want to stop listening. Thoroughly enjoyed - one of the best from Jeffery Deaver.

Great listen!

What did you love best about The Sleeping Doll?

Twists and turns. One of the best thrillers in a long time! Highly recommend.