Product Description

Daniel Pell is a contemporary Charles Manson. A petty criminal with a history of antisocial behavior and obsession with controlling other people, he had a group of women living with him in a quasi cult in central California. Eight years ago, he and another man viciously slaughtered a family for no apparent reason, though the three women in his "Family" were absolved of any part in the deaths. Now, present day, Pell has escaped and Kathryn Dance, the famed interrogator and kinesic analyst (body language) and her team, must find out where he is and why he's staying near the prison he escaped from. She brings together the three women, now leading normal lives, to help her find out where Pell is and what he's up to. Pell, for his part, and a young woman he has manipulated to help him, tries to outguess the police and fulfill his mission, as he learns that Kathryn Dance is perhaps his most dangerous opponent.

This is a typical cat and mouse Deaver novel, in which conflicts abound--finding the killer, as well as reconciling the emotions within Pell's three 'Family' members, which have simmered over the years. The 'Sleeping Doll' refers to the one surviving daughter of the original murder eight years ago--a nickname because she was asleep with her toys and not seen by the killer. Dance has to find her and see what she remembers about the night of the killings.

Nothing is quite what it seems to be . . .

---

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #95361 in Books
• Published on: 2007-07-26
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 432 pages

Review

Praise for Jeffery Deaver's other novels

(: )

'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 best psychological thriller writer around' (The Times )

'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 )

'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 )

'Jeffery Deaver is a master at crafting intricate crimes that are solved through guile, tenacity and sheer creative genius. And Lincoln Rhyme is one of a kind.'

(Harlan Coben )

About the Author
Jeffery Deaver was a lawyer before quitting work to become a full-time writer.

---

Customer Reviews

Readable, but flawed
In this, the first of a new series, Deaver brings back Californian Special Agent Kathryn Dance - a kinesics expert (basically she's a walking lie detector and expert in body language) - who had a cameo in his last Lincoln Rhyme novel 'The Cold Moon'

A murderous cult leader named Daniel Pell escapes from prison after years inside and the majority of this book explores his motivations and actions and the efforts of the law enforcement agencies (with Dance to the fore) to re-apprehend him.

Dance plays the Lincoln Rhyme role here, attempting to out-think Pell and predict what he'll do next.

She does this by gaining insights into his psychology from a series of interviews with those who've had previous contact with him. They include three female members of the cult he led before his incarceration and the young girl he overlooked when murdering a moneyed family in their home: the `Sleeping Doll' of the title.

Without wishing to give anything of the subsequent plot away, Deaver challenges your perceptions by turning situation after situation on its head with some skilful (and sometimes not so skilful) misdirection.

Jeff's stock-in-trade is the outrageous twist, and he's capable of delivering these with more aplomb than anyone else operating in the crime thriller field. And his characterisation is usually way above average too.

But some of his famous twists are a bit laboured here. If, like me, you've read everything he's written in both the shorter and longer formats, you'll find some of them a bit obvious. Which doesn't mean to say you still won't admire the way he pulls them off.

Another negative is that although Kathryn Dance emerges as a fully-formed character, she's just not very interesting, and Jeff struggles to breathe life into her. Her particular schtick, although potentially fascinating, doesn't seem 100% credible either, and on the whole she pales in comparison when placed next to his greatest creation, the irascible genius Lincoln Rhyme.

At the book's closure he acknowledges the sources that formed his background reading into Dance's area of expertise. And although the whole body language thing seems a bit unconvincing, he skilfully weaves his research into the narrative with nary a lapse into psychobabble.

And full marks to the writer for trying to create a new type of investigator here; you can't accuse him of lacking ambition!

In summary, despite some tedious moments and the occasional meandering passage, this is solid enough fare with something for both old fans and neophytes alike.

Not Deaver's best
Jeffery Deaver is best known for his Lincoln Rhyme novels, which - let's be honest - are some of the best books in the world of modern crime fiction today. So when I heard that he had written a new novel with a new lead character, I just couldn't wait to get my hands on it and give it a go.

The story follows CBI agent and kinesic expert, Kathryn Dance who is hot on the trail of a highly dangerous escaped convict who was imprisoned 8 years ago after the murders of a family, leaving only one surviving family member who was asleep in her pile of dolls at the time, dubbing her the nickname "The Sleeping Doll".

When I'd gotten to the end of this book I couldn't help but feel disappointed with it. For me the characters just weren't that interesting with some very basic characteristics and predictable and dull backgrounds. Theresa Croydon (The Sleeping Doll) also wasn't really in it all that much (she doesn't appear in it for about 350 pages then is only in it for a brief time), despite the name of the book being named after her.

The storyline was ok and fairly action packed for the most part but also felt very dragged out and could have easily been a considerable amount of pages shorter. The ending also felt like it went on way too long and I had lost interest in the last 50 pages or so. The twists were all also not all that surprising as I could see them coming from a mile off. Personally, I felt that this very much read like an action film script with not much of a complex plot or twists but a lot of near-miss pursuits, a high amount of killings and high speed action.

I'm not saying I didn't enjoy this book as it was a fairly decent thriller, but it just wasn't up to the high standards that I'd expect from a well established and excellent writer like Deaver. However this is the first in the series for this new character so I will stick with it as the CBI team were all pretty likeable characters and it was quite an easy read.

Overall, if you read this expecting something parallel to the greatness of the Lincoln Rhyme novels I guarantee you will be disappointed, otherwise you should enjoy this and it makes for a perfect Summer read.

An enjoyable read, but over-research gets in the way.
I enjoy Jeffery Deaver books, and have read most of them. There is one thing that has started to irk me slightly about his writing and it is the fact that he has Done His Research, and you know what, he's going to tell you about it! It's been getting worse in recent books, and this is no exception. Within three pages Deaver crowbarred an essay on how kinesics works into the storyline. And not very elegantly either.

However once past that irritation the story picks up, and actually becomes very interesting. The characters are well-developed and the narative moves at a good pace, keeping you turning the pages. There are plenty of twists and turns, some more obvious than others. I thought that I had guessed an obvious plot development, and turned out to be completely wrong (which was a good thing!). There is a little lose end at the end of the book which I presume Deaver will pick up in some later story. Overall, not quite up to Lincoln Rhyme standards but an enjoyable read nonetheless. I just wish Deaver would leave his research notes out of his books!