A review by bobbityboo
The Doll's House by M.J. Arlidge

dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The premise is great but the execution could have been done better. It took a long time to get into the book because of the writing style. 

I read that the writer used to write for TV and you can tell in his books. It is as though he has written perspectives for each character and presumes we can see them before he tells us who they are.

The chapters are short (which normally I love) but they are very short. Most are only 2-3 pages long. Each chapter is from a different person’s perspective. 

(This may have been made a little harder for me as I realised I was reading the books out of order. This is the 3rd in a series) 

It was really hard to grasp who’s view each tiny chapter was from as their defining feature (a place related to them, a name, an emotion etc) was not mentioned until at least the 2nd paragraph in each chapter. This made it very difficult to depict in your mind.

As the book went on, this improved slightly but I only started settling in to it around halfway through. Before that, it was like the book started over again every few pages. 

The plot was good, the ending was fine and the words written are easy to read. If you are used to this writing style and you like short chapters, you’ll like this book. Just, start with number one in his series. You may have an easier time :)