Saturday, June 6, 2020

The Case of the Broken Doll by Alison Golden – Book Review


Book: The Case of the Broken Doll
(Book 4 in The Inspector David Graham Series)
Author: Alison Golden
Genre: Cozy Mystery
Number of pages: 230 pages
Publication date: 3 December 2016
ASIN: B01N6D4GKY


Can anyone give a book 10 stars? Because that's what this book deserves!

The Case of the Broken Doll is the third book in the Detective Inspector Graham Series by Alison Golden. The book can be easily read as a standalone.

Inspector David Graham is a tea-loving detective in the small British island town of Gorey. He heads the Gorey Constabulary which includes three other members: Sergeant Harding and Constables Roach and Barnwell.

The Case of the Broken Doll is different from the rest of the books in the series as Graham stumbles on a cold case that has pained the citizens of Gorey for years. Graham learns that 15-year-old Beth Ridley had disappeared one morning on her way to school almost 10 years ago.

"People don't just vanish into thin air, Marcus. I know the world is a strange and mysterious place, but I'm still a big fan of cause-and-effect when it comes to explaining what people do and why."

Graham decides to sleuth around the case but ultimately reopens it. He discovers a story Beth had written featuring animal characters but soon Constable Roach determines that the characters represent people in Beth's life and attempts to solve the mystery of who is who and Beth's deductions and secrets about the people around her.

One of the things I like about the series is seeing how the sergeant and two constables are developing. Graham is already a developed and insightful character. In The Case of the Broken Doll, Graham acts as a kind of teacher to his constables. I liked the way he explained that the evidence they had would not be admissible in court and so on.

"You're culpable of putting two and two together and getting seven. Fascination doesn’t equate criminality. Obsession doesn't connote murder. And his preoccupation with Beth Ridley shouldn't lead us to assume guilt." (Graham to Sergeant Harding)



Soon after this comment, Sergeant Janice Harding realizes her mistake and tells Roach – on a similar note pertaining to the case: "We've both been fixated on the person and not on the evidence." This is character development within the course of the book and it's excellent!

In addition to the mystery of the missing Beth Ridley, there is a second minor mystery at play, where Graham instructs Barnwell to investigate. This adds to the already-suspenseful novel.

I literally couldn't put The Case of the Broken Doll down. I gobbled it up in 24 hours! I stopped doing everything else – including work – and just had to read and finish it. It's been a while since I've found a book I couldn't stop reading like that. Thanks Alison Golden!



What Graham uncovers in The Case of the Broken Doll will leave you gaping and stunned. The story is amazing, unputdownable and the best in the entire series!

Overall rating for Alison Golden's The Case of the Broken Doll: 10 stars.

Add the book on Goodreads.
  
Other book reviews in this series:

The Case of the Missing Letter

Start reading the first book in this series, The Case of the Screaming Beauty when you subscribe to Alison Golden's newsletter. I downloaded The Case of the Broken Doll when the author made it free for a week as part of her #StayHomeReadBooks series.




No comments:

Post a Comment