Death of a Doll by Hilda Lawrence

Death of a Doll by Hilda Lawrence ISBN-13: 9781913099237 ebook: 308 pages Publisher: Agora Books Released: March 7, 2019

Source: ebook review copy from the publisher through NetGalley.

Book Description, Modified from Goodreads:
Hope House, a New York boarding home for women, has led a rather sleepy existence in terms of emergencies. Until new tenant Ruth Miller’s limp and lifeless body is found in the courtyard after plummeting to her death. The attending doctor and police decide she must have fallen or jumped from a window. Ruth has no friends to ask uncomfortable questions.

But this was no accident: upon Ruth’s arrival, the atmosphere of this happy house shifted, her paranoia was catching, and her last days were filled with dread. If the heads thought a scandal could be averted, they were wrong. It turns out Ruth did have a friend… and she’s out for justice.

Equal parts cosy and suspenseful, it’s sure to captivate lovers of all genres of classic crime. Death of a Doll was first published in 1947.


My Review:
Death of a Doll is a mystery originally published in 1947 and set in New York city. The story begins in the viewpoint of the victim. We get strong hints about who the murderer is, but the murderer is never identified. There were only about 6 to 8 real suspects, and the death was initially dismissed as a suicide. The two old ladies come to visit their private detective friend, and they hear about the death from a rich lady who liked the shopgirl and is upset about the death. The girl had been excited about living at Hope House, so it made no sense that she'd commit suicide.

So the private investigator started to look into the death, and then two ladies somewhat bumblingly also investigated on their own. Soon, the private investigator was given official permission to question people and the police were also called in. At this point, it's a matter of questioning people and comparing their stories. Because we saw events from the viewpoint of the victim, I strongly suspected one character. Things happened that made me waver in my belief, but I kept coming back to that character and was correct in that guess. So whodunit is guessable, but not glaringly obvious.

The characters were interesting, but too many of them were viewpoint characters. The author just slipped from one character to the other, and this frequent change of viewpoint was sometimes confusing. There was occasional use of bad language. There was no sex. Overall, I'd recommend this interesting mystery.


If you've read this book, what do you think about it? I'd be honored if you wrote your own opinion of the book in the comments.


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