A Magical Doll

Doll collecting has grown into a huge industry and it's not a hobby for women only. Many men are as avid collectors as the women. In A Killer Keepsake by Ellery Adams and Parker Riggs, The Forget Me Not Doll Club is in the middle of its ritual club meeting argument.

Freelance writer Molly Appleby's assignment for Collector's Weekly was to interview the club members for an article. Now with the article in print, she attends a meeting to present copies to the club members. There's Rita Garrett and her goth daughter-in-law Eliza, estranged couple Luke and Vanessa Kearns, senior citizen Lamar Aldridge, doll dealer Sierra Davis and HBIC Miranda Perry. The bickering turns to a new topic. Miranda wants to buy Sierra's doll Emma, reputed to be haunted, because she thinks the doll will help her gain a better divorce settlement from her soon-to-be-ex-husband. Sierra refuses, but Miranda harangues.

The next day Sierra's store is robbed, Emma (the doll) is missing and Miranda is found murdered

with Emma in her home. Molly and her pal Detective Tony Lombardi start to investigate.The doll's backstory is told through a series of flashbacks involving a young woman named Evelyn Conway married to an abuser in Germany in the later 1930s. The magical qualities of the doll seem to save the life of Evelyn and the doll finds her way into Sierra's mother's life.

The plot of A Killer Keepsake is intricate and complicated and the reader better pay attention to even the smallest details in order to solve the mystery or mysteries, as there are several.

I have always enjoyed books by Ellery Adams and this one was no different. It did take another level of attention span to stay in the story though.

For a review of other books by Ellery Adams, click here. For other books by Ellery Adams, click here.  For books by Parker Riggs, click here.