The Doll Maker

Description

Mr. Marseille is polite, elegant, and erudite. He would do anything for his genteel true love Anabelle. And he is a psychopath. A quiet Philadelphia suburb. A woman cycles past a train depot with her young daughter. And there she finds a murdered girl posed on a newly painted bench. Strangled. Beside her is a formal invite to a tea dance in a week's time. Seven days later, two more young victims are discovered in a disused house, posed on painted swings. At the scene is an identical invite. This time, though, there is something extra waiting for Detectives Kevin Byrne and Jessica Balzano. A delicate porcelain doll. It's a message. And a threat. With Marseille and Anabelle stalking the city, Detectives Byrne and Balzano have just seven days to find the link between the murders before another innocent child is snatched from its streets.

Richard Montanari was born in Cleveland, Ohio, to a traditional Italian-American family. After university, he travelled extensively in Europe and lived in London. Returning to the US, he started working as a freelance writer for The Chicago Tribune, The Detroit Free Press, The Seattle Times, and many others. He wrote his first book, Deviant Way, in 1996 and it won the OLMA for Best First Mystery. His novel Shutter Man was named a New York Times Crime Novel of the Year for 2016, and his books have now been published in more than twenty-five languages.

A relentlessly suspenseful, soul-chilling thriller - Tess Gerritsen Taut, propulsive and darkly gripping, Montanari is a master of suspense and The Doll Maker is a fiendishly haunting thriller. - Chris Ewan, bestselling author of Safe House Scary good! Montanari expertly weaves a mesmerizing tale - Lisa Gardner A master of the pulse-pounding novel of suspense - Good Book Guide Byrne and Balzano make a great cop duo - Peterborough Evening Telegraph A sizzling story that will not only keep you turning the pages, but also provides the kind of tender note not usually found in a thriller as taut and exciting as The Killing Room - Mystery People