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Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Kathryn Dance, an investigator with the California Bureau of Investigation, returns from Deaver's The Cold Moon (where she was a secondary) in this post–prison break pulse-pounder. Dance is the lead cop handling the escape of psychopathic killer Daniel Pell, dubbed "Son of Manson" by the press for his "family" of young runaways and his most horrendous crime, the murders of computer engineer William Croyton, Croyton's wife and two of their three children. The only child left alive, nine-year-old Theresa, is known as the Sleeping Doll. Pell, charismatic and diabolically intelligent, continually eludes capture, but Dance, a specialist in interrogation and kinesics (or body language), is never more than a few suspenseful minutes behind. Dance is nicely detailed, and procedural scenes where she uses somatic cues to ferret out liars are fascinating. The book sags in its long middle, but toward the end Deaver digs into his bottomless bag of unexpected twists and turns, keeping readers wide-eyed with surprise, and leaving them looking forward to more of the perspicacious Dance. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
Review
'This is a novel that will chill your blood on the warmest day of any summer holiday. Keep looking over your shoulder...' -- Independent on Sunday 'The best psychological thriller writer around' -- The Times 'Jeffery Deaver is a master at crafting intricate crimes that are solved through guile, tenacity and sheer creative genius.' -- Harlan Coben 'There's no question ... about Deaver's unexcelled ability to pull the wool over your eyes. When he describes a colorless, odorless glass of liquid as water, don't assume it is until somebody drinks it down - or maybe till an hour later.' -- Kirkus Reviews on THE TWELFTH CARD 'The most creative, skilled and intriguing thriller writer in the world ... [Deaver] has produced a stunning series of bestsellers with unique characterisation, intelligent characters, beguiling plots and double-barrelled and sometimes triple-barrelled solutions.' -- Daily Telegraph
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Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
An Absolutely Great Book!,
By
This review is from: The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Hardcover)
I loved The Sleeping Doll by Jeffrey Deaver! This is the second book by this author that I have read; the first being The Cold Moon. I really enjoyed his first one and loved this one! The Sleeping Doll is written so well that, fifteen minutes into the book, a major event has taken place and the thrill of the chase of a psychotic murderer is on. The main character of Kathryn Dance is appealing, smart and interesting. I just love the writing style of this author. Every page is brilliantly easy to read and the twists and turns, while everyone believable, many are unexpected. I loved that I was surprised by what took place in the book - a Jeffrey Deaver book is never predictable! And the book is incredibly easy to read - I spent many a night staying up much too late because it was just too good to put down! I highly recommend this book!
4.0 out of 5 stars
Introducing Kathryn Dance, a new female investigator,
By
This review is from: The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Mass Market Paperback)
Most thriller fans will pick up a Michael Connelly novel expecting that it's going to be about Harry Bosch. Similarly, most Jeffrey Deaver fans (and I expect there's a whole pile of crossover), will pick up one of his novels expecting a story about Lincoln Rhyme and his erstwhile lover, Amelia Sachs. So it's a very pleasant and unexpected surprise to be treated to a new heroine in Kathryn Dance, an investigator with the California Bureau of Investigation who is known for her near psychic interrogation skills, Kathryn Dance is a master of kinesics, the ability to read body language, facial tics, changes in skin tone, key words, intonation and the hundreds of other tiny indicators that let a skilled questioner know whether a subject is lying, uncomfortable, attempting to mislead, frightened or, in some other fashion, is simply avoiding the truth."The Sleeping Doll" is the story of Daniel Pell, a modern day Charles Manson serving life in a maximum security institution for the brutal, gruesome slaughter of the Carmel family - everyone in the family, that is, except for the little girl who was asleep in her bed when the murders took place. Now the "sleeping doll", as she was dubbed by the media when her family was taken from her, is a teenager and Kathryn Dance needs her help and her distant memories to re-capture Daniel Pell who has engineered a daring escape from custody and looks to be on the killing warpath again! As a thriller, "The Sleeping Doll" is certainly workmanlike and quite compelling. The plot is exciting and there are more than sufficient twists and turns to keep a reader well glued to the pages. But it doesn't leap off the pages and stick in one's reading memory or have that deep down gut-wrenching shock value that would put it into a league with Thomas Harris' "Silence of the Lambs", for example. The most enjoyable feature of "The Sleeping Doll" is actually the serious discussion of the science (or art) of kinesics. Deaver has also done a yeoman's job putting us into the very creepy mind of a serial killer in those sections where he has placed Daniel Pell into the role of a first person narrator. I'll look forward to Kathryn Dance's return performance in her next novel "Roadside Crosses". Highly recommended. Paul Weiss
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
3.8 out of 5 stars (114 customer reviews) 44 of 50 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Not as good as previous works,
By Brian Reaves - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Hardcover)
There can be no doubt Deaver is a master of plot twists. In the past, his novels have kept me guessing throughout the story. Unfortunately, somewhere along the line he became known as a "plot twist writer", and started adding more and more to each story. In "The Sleeping Doll", I'm afraid he's gone so far as to almost seem a parody of himself. There are so many plot twists in the story that the only plot twist would be if what LOOKED LIKE was going to happen actually DID.Let me say it like this (and none of this happens in the book so I'm not giving anything away, but it happens LIKE this): The victim is home helpless as the killer sneaks into her house...he raises a knife to kill her...BUT the victim knew the killer was coming so it's actually a cop dressed as her waiting to stop the killer...BUT the killer knew the victim would be ready for him, so he waited outside while sending in a flunky to do the actual murder...BUT the FBI knew he'd do this so they waited outside to catch him...BUT he figured someone would be watching so he... You get the idea. Books like "The Vanishing Man" and of course, "The Bone Collector" showcase Deaver's style at his best. His two short story collections are perfect examples of suspense fiction. But lately it seems like his editors have been wanting him to focus more on the twists, and now the entire story is nothing more than one after the other. The last five minutes of "The Sixth Sense" took your breath away because of the plot twist ending you should have seen coming but never did. If the whole movie had been that same way, you'd have walked out of the theater in frustration because nothing at all is as it seems at any point in time during the story as the rules keep changing every few minutes. That's the same way "The Sleeping Doll" plays out. While there were a few moments that I honestly didn't see coming and found pleasantly surprising, most of the things happening in the book lost their impact after the first few chapters as you realized everything you THOUGHT was going to happen, actually wasn't. I'm sure Deaver will trim things back a little for his next story. But even with all the twists in this one, it still makes for a good novel. It's by no means bad...just not at the same level as his previous books. 42 of 49 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A page turning thriller...,
By Robert Busko - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Hardcover)
I think Deaver has done us all a good turn by turning away from the Lincoln Rhyme novels. Kathryn Dance is an interesting character on her own and when combined with Deaver's rather deep reserve of storylines you have a sure-fire stable of future bestsellers.In Sleeping Doll we're introduced to Daniel Pell, a killer of terrible repute. Having been convicted of the murder of four members of the Croyton family, Pell is serving his time. Kathryn Dance an investigator with the California Bureau of Investigation wants to interrogate Pell for another unsolved murder that predates his conviction. Instead of going to where Pell is serving his time, he is brought to Dance. This sets up his escape and also starts his murder spree and launches you on a read you're sure to remember. Deaver is a master of ingenious plots, twists and turns as he leads the reader through his stories. The Sleeping Doll is a winner. Great characters with terrific development through the book, fast paced, you won't want this read to end but you won't be able to keep from devouring each line. 8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Kinesics - who knew?,
By Sandy Rhoad "Insatiable reader" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Hardcover)
Kinesics - reading every little movement, smile, grimace and eyebrow askew. That part was scary - a Charles Manson character and how he gages others is totally frightening - knowing how many nuts are "out there" now. The book - not so much scary - the ending -- flat and totally NOT like Deaver. He must be getting tired of writing. Not a bad read --- but definately NOT a good Deaver read. Read in between your other "good" books.
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