The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Kathryn Dance, No 1) by Jeffery Deaver
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Book Reviews of The Sleeping Doll: A Novel (Kathryn Dance, No 1)
Book Review: Uneven
Summary: 3 Stars
The Sleeping Doll follows the efforts of police detective and "human lie detector' Kathryn dance to capture Daniel Pell, a mansonesque killer. Dance interview Pell in connection to another murder investigation that turns out to be part of a brilliant and fiery escape.
Pell was convicted of murdering a genius computer engineer and his family save the youngest daughter, who was asleep in her toy laden bed. Dance,with the assistance of a supporting cast, including her fellow officers,her police mentor,a true crime writer and a cult expert/potential romantic interest from the FBI, pursues the wily Pell through a series of near captures. she reunites the remaining members of Pell's "family" in an effort to get inside his head and finally interviews the survivor of the massacre, the Sleeping Doll of the title.
Although readable, this effort is not nearly as suspenseful as earlier Deaver efforts. the twists seem contrived and the final two unbelievable and unsatisfying. Moreover, the book is bogged down by all the characters. In addition to all the police characters, there are Dance's two kids, parents, friends, business partners, cult members, the writer's family and the sleeping doll's guardian. Dance is a likable and interesting character. however, her inability to use a gun grates and her judgment seems impaired. She blithely blabs all the details of the investigation to the former cult members,never considering that they are first, not the most stable to begin with and seemingly unconcerned of their possible involvement. she keeps the writer of dubious credentials in the loop lets her sex drive override her common sense. the pacing is off, the book is long and drags in some portions.
although not a terrible book, it is a disappointment coming from an author as talented as Jeffrey Deaver.
Book Review: Plot twists are exciting, but most characters left me cold
Summary: 3 Stars
''The Sleeping Doll'' charts new territory for Jeffery Deaver by using the character Kathryn Dance as a protagonist in the novel. Set in Northern California, the story focuses on Dance using her skills of studying body language (kinesics) to track a serial killer/cult leader named Daniel Pell. The plot has some surprising twists that caught me off guard and made it worth reading.
On the downside I think the author tried too hard to veer away from the Lincoln Rhyme type of police investigations and use the study of body language to solve the case. The plot required an awful lot of characters to flesh everything out, and many of them were not terribly interesting people. The plot also slowed to a crawl in the middle and I caught myself counting how many pages were left more than once. Overall The Sleeping Doll is not a bad story, as it is rich in detail and has a well-developed plot. But I prefer the Lincoln Rhyme books over this one any day.
Book Review: Pretty Good Thriller
Summary: 3 Stars
In The Sleeping Doll, a convicted killer and leader of a cult, Daniel Pell has escaped prison. It is up to the novel's main protagonist, Kathryn Dance, an agent with the California Bureau of Investagation, to track him down. Kathryn is an expert in kinesics - an ability to read body lanuage and behaviour.
I found this book quite a fairly enjoyable read. The cast of characters is quite solid, with the manipulative Daniel Pell, making an interesting, formidable and creepy villian. The character of Kathryn Dance is quite well thought out, also.
I would not cast storyline as a page turner. It is action packed in some parts, slow in others. The story has the usual Jeffery Deaver twists, that you may not see coming if you have not read any of this author's novels before. If you have, they may not come as such of a suprise. Overall, not a bad read, but not as good as the Lincoln Rhyme novels.
Book Review: Deaver's new heroine steals the show
Summary: 3 Stars
I was expecting another Lincoln Rhyme novel, but was a bit surprised that it seems like Jeffrey Deaver is starting a new series character. Kathryn Dance comes at crime differently than Lincoln. She looks at people's emotions and reads them the way Lincoln reads physical evidence. Kathryn was first introduced in "Cold Moon", which was a Lincoln Rhyme novel. Now she's on her own.
In "The Sleeping Doll", Kathryn is trying to catch a killer who escaped from prison. We are introduced to a whole new set of characters, but I didn't find any of them particularly interesting, other than Kathryn and Daniel Pell, the object of her pursuit.
The book is not as fast paced as some of Deaver's previous works have been, but it is interesting and enjoyable.
Book Review: Not the Deaver I like
Summary: 3 Stars
Could not find the magic Mr Deaver gives to his twisted plots, in the sleeping doll. He keeps doing what he has been doing in his latest books, no twist and turns the way I like and the unveiling of the mystery in the last chapters, the pace was in a way slow, to the point that I could guess that he had an ace under the sleeve with a given character. I was neither thrilled nor enthralled with this story