Doll House: A Brutal Female Survival Thriller

Doll House by John Hunt is an excellent book. This is the first book of this author I read and I loved it. The plot was very well developed and had some very nice twists hidden within. I did figure out who the culprit was quite a bit before the end, but I think that is only because the author gave enough clues for it. Even so, it was a thrill ride to see how the Jackal would try and end this story. The author captured the feelings of the victims perfectly in my eyes and I had no trouble imagining their plight. I found it fitting that he had such different victims in Olivia, Lucy and Jen, somewhat covering how the human psyche could react to such trauma. Obviously Olivia was an incredible strong yet weak main character and I really enjoyed her. Not that I want to, but in some way I could relate to her. There was a good amount of gore in this book so it is not for the faint of heart, but that was mostly in the beginning of the book, which sucked you in like quick sand! The pace of the book was awesome making it difficult to put the book down. I really enjoyed this book a lot and can only recommend it highly!

Really enjoyed this book. Pretty gruesome at times but isn't that what horror books are about. Characters were super, story line flowed nicely, and liked the little information about AA and pet adoptions, mental health, etc. Recommend highly.

This book kept you guessing ! I truly enjoyed it and starting the sequel next. Just a great read. Thank you John Hunt.

Maybe it's me because I read a lot and these kinds of books are what I read the most. I knew who the jackal was as soon as his character outside of the jackal was introduced. That being said, this is a well written book. A page turner. A fast read. It was worth the story, even if I knew who dun it. Read it! It's a good one.

This is an intense psychological thriller. It kept the suspense at a high level throughout, even when things seemed to be "normal," because I was always waiting for "something" to happen. I thought I had figured out the mystery several times, but I kept changing my mind as new "clues" were introduced. The primary character is a young, intelligent, determined female, which is always nice to see. I liked and admired this character for her strength and her unwillingness to remain a victim of her circumstances. Her relationship with her father is beautifully written. He is also a man to be admired, even through his weaknesses, because he will do anything for the daughter he loves so much. As other reviewers pointed out, there is a lot of sexual violence and depravity, but that is just part of the story. I wasn't quite sure if that was the reason behind the girls' abductions or if the real purpose was to break them. The two perpetrators are very different in their approaches to the girls, which further adds to the psychological torment. This is the kind of book where you jump at every noise, question what you see with your own eyes, and feel your heart pounding in your chest, both as seen from the perspective of the girl and as you're reading it. I had to stop myself over and over again from turning to the end of the book to know the outcome because the intensity is so high. The book is so good you want to get to the end so you know the answers, but, at the same time, you don't want it to be over. I very highly recommend this book. As other reviewers have mentioned, I also would have liked more closure at the end--one extra chapter or an epilogue--to find out what happens to the characters I became so invested in, but I'm not going to change my rating because of it. Maybe the author wanted it left open to our imagination. Read this book.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that I loved this book. I could tell by the writing style that the author was relatively new, but it was OK... my usual "new author" pet peeves were non-existent (there were no loose ends and editing was done pretty well). But the story was great... Olivia was a typical 18 year old, brand spanking new college student with a bright future who was abducted and tormented in a little pink cell with everything bolted to the floor. (I imagined a pepto bismol bottle explosion in my head!) Relatively early on in the book (but 5 years later in the story), Olivia's dad (now an alcoholic) answers the phone, "Listen, I'm drunk, tired and not interested in what you're selling." and the response he gets is "Daddy!" And so the rest of the story begins... where every bump in the night becomes the bogeyman and every shadow screams danger. At first I thought the middle portion of the book was going to crawl a little... how much could be written about being scared... but it actually was paced well and I didn't find myself skimming or skipping pages, which I often do during slow books. I saw another reviewer state that they found it to be a little slow b/c several points of view went over the same events, however, I actually like that. I like to see the same events from different points of view, so I found that to be a positive. Throughout the book, I felt certain I knew "whodunit", however, I was wrong (although I wasn't far off... but I was still wrong). I always like when I think I know where the book is going and it turns out I was dead wrong. Another positive for me. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to future books by Mr. Hunt.

I can't wait to start the next book immediately. That ending was mind blowing. I'm still in shock. Definitely worth the read.

A brutal, claustrophobic psychological thriller with tension in the vein of Emma Donoghue’s "Room." Hunt uses confinement and control to generate pulse-pounding fear in the reader, delivering a study in power, endurance, and will. I couldn't put this dang book down! His protagonist--Olivia--is resourceful, furious, and quietly indomitable, and it's her resilience that gives the story its moral center. Recommend!

It honestly feels like the author didn't put much effort into the writing itself. Not saying it's bad, but it's not something I'd enjoy reading. Sorry, but I couldn't finish it.

Oh my goodness! I could not put this book down! I was hooked right from the very beginning. I loved that the plot wasn't silly or unrealistic- stuff like this would unfortunately be happening all over the place. The Jackal and Gorilla were scary. I would love to hopefully oneday see a prequel from the perspective of the Jackal - what made him believe there was a connection between himself and Olivia? What made him decide to create the pink rooms and start taking girls? How did he and the Gorilla meet and how did the Gorilla become involved? I have so many questions!

First of all, this book is definitely not going to be for everyone. That is not to say that it isn't good, but Dollhouse does feature scenes of rape and extreme violence, this is not going to be something all people want to read about, so make sure you are ok with the subject matter before ordering this book. That out of the way, it's a hell of a story. Olivia is kidnapped on the day she moves away to start university. What follows are five years imprisoned in purpose built prison (the Doll House of the title) where she is subjected to unimaginable horrors. Then, somehow, she manages to escape, along with two other girls who were kept separately from her in the same conditions. Going back to her ordinary life was never going to be easy. While she was gone her father became an alcoholic, and with one of her kidnappers still at large, she struggles to feel safe. She is sure that he will come back for her... Parts of this book are shocking and uncomfortable to read but it is always compelling and thrilling and keeps you guessing for quite some time. The characters are well written and give some insight into the minds of the insane killer and torturer, the survivor looking to rebuild their life, and the family members left behind. Recommended for fans of horror and thrillers, Doll House is a great read.

Scary eerie andreepybut cant keep it down till its over I skipped reading the violent parts though. It's a good read but scary

Olivia has just moved away from home to start college when she's abducted. What follows is imprisonment in a 'doll house.' So labelled because it's decorated and furnished in pink, and it's captives are seen as dolls to play with. I've read a lot of dark fiction that covers topics including kidnap, violence, torture and rape, but some scenes in this book made me wince. They didn't seem used just for their shock factor, they showed the evil nature of the captors, and how Olivia's determination to escape kept her from giving up completely. Some parts are hard to read though. Overall the story flows well and Olivia is a likeable and brave character. Some small parts seemed a bit repetitive, but the plot was interesting so I kept reading. And, because you can't beat a great fictional dog, a special mention has to go to Brutus, Olivia's dog who has a very important part to play in the story.