The Silent Dolls: An absolutely gripping mystery thriller (Detective Ellie Reeves, #1)

by Rita Herron

Silent tears trickle down her cheeks as she curls inside the tiny cave-like space. She lies on her side, darkness all around her, rubbing her fingers over the little wooden doll he’d carved. He told her to be quiet, not to cry or scream. Not to be a baby. Her throat was raw, her eyes swollen shut. She wanted her mommy and daddy. She wanted to go home.

When Penny Matthews, a seven-year-old girl with blonde curls and a gap-toothed smile, goes missing in the Appalachian mountains, Detective Ellie Reeves is called straight to the scene. According to Penny’s parents, their daughter vanished after a picnic by the creek. All that’s left behind is a pink friendship bracelet etched with “Penny”.

Ellie knows all too well that the mountains’ endless miles of dark forest and winding rivers are the perfect place for a criminal to hide. Racing against the rapidly setting sun and a brutal winter storm on the horizon, she searches desperately for Penny.

Special Agent Derrick Fox is determined to join the hunt. His younger sister, Kim, disappeared in the same area twenty-five years ago––on the day he was meant to be watching her. He’s certain the cases are linked and that over a dozen girls have vanished in the last decade. Ellie refuses to believe that their tight-knit mountain community could be home to a deadly criminal, but even she can’t deny the similarities in the cases. And when they discover the remains of a small body buried with a carved wooden doll, it’s clear they’re up against a deadly serial killer preying on innocent little girls.

As the temperature plunges, Penny’s life hangs in the balance. Most people who get lost in the woods never make it out alive. Can Ellie and Derrick defy the odds and find out the truth about all the stolen girls? Or will the mountain, and its twisted killer, claim another victim? 

• ASIN: B08776Y5SQ
• Publish Date: 17 July 2020
• Publish Status: Unknown
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Bookouture
• Format: eBook (Kindle)
• Pages: 334
• Language: English

Reviews

[Emma (SCR)]

This review was originally posted on Star Crossed Reviews I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review. Thank you to Bookouture for letting me take part in this tour and my copy of this book via Netgalley. I LOVED the cover and was intrigued by the blurb.

This is the first book in a new series following Detective Ellie Reeves. Ellie is a strong character despite her past and others trying to hold her back. I liked Ellie she has that independent streak and the passion to not give up! I'm looking forward to seeing more of Ellie as the series progresses.

This book is a real page-turner. It's full of twists and turns. With the Appalachian Trail (AT) full of dark scary places. I'm not familiar with it but Rita does an excellent job of describing it. It's definitely not somewhere you want to be late at night! Rita manages to do an excellent job of keeping you right on the edge throughout the whole book. I was so nervous for Penny throughout the whole book. The flashbacks to Ellie's time in the woods were also extremely nerve-racking!

I liked the way the story unfolded. The pace was just right, keeping me interested and wanting to come back to read chapter after chapter.

I got to the end of the book and all I could think was I need the next one!