Doll Crimes

By: Karen Runge, Crystal Lake Publishing

Narrated by: Linda Jones

"It’s not that there aren’t good people in the world. It’s that the bad ones are so much easier to find."

A teen mother raises her daughter on a looping road trip, living hand-to-mouth in motel rest stops and backwater towns, stepping occasionally into the heat and chaos of the surrounding cities. A life without permanence, filled with terrors and joys, their stability is dependent on the strangers - and strange men - they meet along the way. But what is the difference between the love of a mother and the love of a friend? And in a world with such blurred lines, where money is tight and there’s little outside influence, when does the need to survive slide into something more sinister?

Proudly represented by Crystal Lake Publishing - Tales from the Darkest Depths.

Interview with the author:

What makes your Doll Crimes novel so special?

Karen Runge: This novel aims to broach difficult subjects, handling delicate truths with care, respect, and empathy. Doll Crimes engages with a sensitive topic from a unique perspective. This is a story about the ultimate type of betrayal, and offers insights into what happens when a blinded soul finally discovers its wounds.

Tell us more about your lead character.

Karen Runge: She’s a girl too innocent to know that she’s lost her innocence. Isolated by her mother, her world is a cage she cannot recognize. Nameless, she is kept blank and malleable. As she matures and her inner life and personal desires develop, she begins to recognize the walls that entrap her.

Why should listeners give your work a try?

Karen Runge: In my work, I try to explore aspects of life that are vivid, emotive, and recognizable in the real world. The bloodier the steps, the darker the stain. There’s a lot of beauty and complexity in psychological/trauma horror - perhaps more so when handled with empathy and care.

©2019 Karen Runge (P)2021 Fireside Horror

Doll Crimes

Wow I am speechless. Definitely check trigger warnings. Doll goes through so much trauma with her mother that she doesn’t know any better. Wow that ending was crazy. I almost wish there was a second book. A glimpse of more from Doll and Suzy. Linda Jones did a great job narrating this story.

Excellent

Doll Crimes is beautifully written by Karen Runge. It broke my heart over and over again, but I was happy to let it do so. Linda Jones' narration is wonderful, as usual. I was hanging onto every word, with my heart in my throat.

Dark but powerful and moving

I would give this book 4.5 stars. Wow, this book is highly triggering and disturbing but makes you stop and think. Fair warning this novella is dark, evil, and deals with subjects your going to want to forget. A mother and her daughter travel from place to place and person to person living like drifters. The mother had her daughter at 15. We never learn the mother or daughters real name. The daughter's age is never figured out either. The mom uses whatever age is best at the time. At first there are innendos at what may be going on but you think surely not. This novella is only told from the daughter's point of view. When every man the daughter meets is Uncle Steve or Uncle Tim go sit in his lap, a clearer picture begins to form. A picture that the mother is using her daughter sexually to gain money. The whole time the pair stay off the radar of the police and child protective services. The girl finds a savior in the last boyfriend of her mother's. This man finds out what has been going on. Actually according to the epilogue, personally, I don't know how much of a savior he really was. I think he just took the place of her mom but wasn't deceitful about it but that doesn't make it right. What a sad life this girl had. What's even worse is how many people could really be living this way and no one could have any idea. It really makes you stop and think.

WOW!! 😳😳😮🥺😭😡😤

wow, I was not expecting this. to be honest, I was kinda confused 😕 there for a minute, but once I figured it out, I was very heartbroken 💔, me being a single mom and having a daughter it hurt. but I have to admit this was well-written, man I've never heard of a book like this. it's a beautiful but sad story, and that ending was good but still sad. but at least this time it is her choice and she did find love. the narrator did an amazing job bring the character's to life.

Haunting

This was not the type of horror book that I was expecting, but it is about the worst kind of horror there is. It is very well written and the performance is excellent. It takes a little bit to understand exactly what is going on but when you do, it hits you like a truck. Such a sad story.

Doll Crimes

This was an excellent book!A young girl is subjected to many crimes by her mother,until an unlikely ally appears.I found it spellbinding.Linda Jones was a terrific narrator.I was given this free review copy audiobook at my request and have voluntarily left this review.'