The Doll Maker

A Detective Sophie Whitton Story

By: Claire Highton-Stevenson

Narrated by: Fiona Thraille

Length: 6 hrs and 49 mins

Publisher's summary

A body turns up in a field. She’s blonde and her eyes have been gouged out. DI Sophie Whitton knows it's him - The man the press has dubbed: The doll maker. Whitton and her team must act fast if they are to stop anyone else falling victim to the doll maker.

With an innate need to seek the truth and find justice for the dead, DI Whitton risks losing it all, including her long-term relationship with live-in lover, Yvonne, as she strives to find a killer, and maybe even herself along the way.

©2018 Claire Highton-Stevenson (P)2019 Claire Highton-Stevenson

Oh, wow!

I knew this would be difficult for me to read, based on the content, so I put it off for a while. But now was a good time, I guess. I also knew I was going to like it, because it was clearly so well-written. And I was correct.

I'm glad I finally had a good time to "read" it (listen to it!), and it was helpful to listen instead of read, because it was easier to turn it off and on when needed.

The narration is *so* good, too, as well. I can't wait until I'm ready to be able to read the next Sophie Witton story.

Such a twisty book! Love it

This story is one of my favourites, and I was a little hesitant to try the audio version, but I'm so glad I did. I hadn't listened to this narrator before, but she did a great job of bringing this book to life, and I'll certainly be listening again!

An edgy mystery romance you must read.

This mystery romance from Claire Highton Stevenson changed my perception on the genre. I was grabbed by the story from the first chapter. The plot twists and completely surprising ending kept me reading. The life of detective Whittom was brought to the pages so imperfect yet all you could do was love her. The romance so directly tied to the case unfolds beautifully. Fiona Thraille was marvellous in voice character's and makes the story a great listen. It is so worth the listen.

Hold onto you seats!

I loved The Doll Maker. This book is not for the faint of heart or the squeamish. Great detective work, police procedures and of course romance.

Good gritty mystery/romance

I enjoyed 'Escape and freedom' by this author, and was lucky enough to win a copy of this one. I am not really a fan of mystery/romance, unless it is really done well. So I was pleased this read like a typically good British crime story, with a lesbian romance added in. Dectective Sophie Whitton is a prickly, workaholic detective whose relationship with her lover of 4 years is teetering on the edge of collapse. Her already tough cop's life has gotten much tougher, due to the serial killer who is evading their best efforts to catch him. He is escalating, and Sophie and her colleagues become more and more obsessed with stopping him. Will Sophie manage to solve the case? And is there love and happiness in her future?
I thought the mystery was really well done - I was quite hooked. I must admit that I didn't always like Sophie, especially at the beginning when I thought she should have been more aware of her part in the problems in her relationship. But I had to admit that it was depicted pretty realistically and she grew on me. I also enjoyed the further developments on the love front...won't spoil it for you. I also liked the other characters, like Sophie's partner, Dale.
The narration was decent, but not my favourite. I didn't like Rachel's voice - I thought it was a bit too breathy and coquettish. And she is important in the story, so featured a lot. But I have learnt that we all experience narrators differently, so it could very well not be a problem for others. I look forward to discovering new works by this author - I feel she will get better and better with each book.

excellent read.

great story, great mystery. i thoigh i had it all figured out and i was so wrong lol. great characters and romance. end shook me at first. highly recommended!

Wickedly good thriller!

Let me start by saying I thoroughly enjoyed this audiobook, both because of the author's skill and the flawless narration by Fiona Thraille. She was a perfect choice for this book and did a wonderful job In Narrating...with that said I’m still astonished that this is the first time Claire Highton Stevenson dabbled in Murder/Mystery/Thriller. The story is so well written and thought out. The main character “Sophie” is no where near perfect and carry plenty of baggage while trying to do her job. Rachel is the mysterious Nurse who catches Sophie’s eye and yet has some secrets of her own. Then you have the Killer who is wickedly brutal and seeks to tell his story the only way he knows how and that is threw murder and revenge. All the bases for creating such a great thriller is in this book including twist and unexpected turns. It had me turning the pages when I originally read the book. It’s the same with the Audiobook, I found it hard to stop at times and just wanted to listen to it threw the very end. I highly recommend you give this book a listen! I’m also keeping my fingers crossed that will see another Detective Sophie Whitton Story in the near future 🤞

Kept my Attention

The story was very engaging with several twists and turns. The main character Sophie was very likable and I could picture her in my mind. I enjoy a good mystery and this one kept me guessing for a while 'who is the serial killer'. If you are looking for a good thriller and can handle the violent nature of the crimes, then this is the book for you.

Absolutely amazing story.

Absolutely amazing story. I love good mystery and this one hits the spot. The complicated cop and lovely nurse make the most wonderful couple. Now add murders to solve on top of that and it all creates amazing read. I thought I had it all figure out by chapter 15 and was I wrong! The ending though….that got me, and all I can say thank you! If the ending took other turn, I am not sure I would forgive the master writer – Claire, any time soon!

best written books in the genre

this is a well written book good characters and a good story. the language draws the image so well that you get still life moments in a scene. I plan on reading all of her novels.