Review - The Sleeping Doll

I read rather more thrillers and detective stories than I should. I certainly have other things I should read, technical books for my work, newspapers and periodicals to keep informed, nonfiction books to lend perspective of a larger nature, and "serious" fiction, including classics to expand my understanding of humanity.

But reading a ripping good yarn has its place too. It's been harder to find such a book lately, it seems all the good serial killer plotlines have been taken. So, if I'm going to enjoy such a book, it better bring something else to the table, an interesting locale, fascinating characters, something. Either that, or the plot should be propulsive, not giving me a chance to think about how much it resembles the last episode of the TV series Criminal Minds.

So I was happy to read, and am happy to recommend, The Sleeping Doll by longtime thriller writer Jeffery Deaver. It's been a while since I read one of his books, so this was a welcome surprise.

I won't summarize the plot here, you can get that at the Amazon link above. The important things in this book are the vivid description of the beautiful Monterey area of California, the depth of the pathology of the villain, and the interplay among the characters, most of whom definitely do not want to be involved. The main character, Kathryn Dance, I did not find as interesting, but the good guys seldom are. And there are plenty of plot twists to keep you interested. A good read.

Note: after writing this, I looked at some of the Amazon reviews. There was a fair amount of criticism concerning the plot twists, that they were too frequent and too preposterous. This is probably a matter of taste. I also like the TV series 24, no matter how ridiculous it gets. Chacun a son gout.