Book Review: The House of Dolls by David Hewson, who shows that there really is life after The Killing

I’ll begin with being honest about the doubts I had when I picked up this book.  I finished The Killing 3 recently and thought it was brilliant.  Not having read any of Hewson’s previous books, I wasn’t sure whether he could pull off from scratch a novel of the same exceptional quality of characters, plot and action as The Killing.  I’ve also blogged before about how utterly bored and put off I am by novels centred on serial killers that do ever more bizarre things to their victims.  The title The House of Dolls put serious doubts in my mind…here we go again I thought, convoluted plot with a weird, heavy breathing psycho nutter, etc etc.

So, about the book.  Pieter Vos is a former detective, gone to seed.  Three years previously, his teenage daughter disappeared and shortly after, Vos received a doll in a coffin shaped cardboard box with a lock of his daughter’s hair.  Despite leading an intensive investigation into the disappearance, Vos’ team draws a blank, and Vos leaves the police, to lead a lonely solitary life on a houseboat, a truly burnt out case.  One day probationary detective Laura Bakker appears, telling Vos that his old boss de Groot wants him back at work.  A high ranking city politician’s daughter has been kidnapped and you guessed it, a doll left for her parents too.  It’s pretty obvious that Vos will be drawn into the case, with its obvious links to his daughter’s disappearance.

If your plot prejudices are the same as mine, you might be groaning visibly – fear not!  I can honestly say the book was great.  Burnt out Vos and the gauche hayseed Bakker (yes, they do have yokels in Holland) make a genuinely sparky detective team – Bakker eager to learn but cross at the constant put downs and prejudice because of her rural origins;  Vos quiet, calm, brooding and at times just a little odd.  The other characters include a number of dysfunctional but credible detective colleagues, criminals, corrupt politicians and just to make Vos’ life and the investigation even more complicated, his ex wife is now married to the kidnap victim’s father!

I wouldn’t describe this novel as a runaway race against time thriller, although the plot is fast and has a steadily increasing pace.  It kept me completely glued to the page – 450 over just two nights.  It’s simply a very well written novel - no cheesy or clumsy clues, a range of genuinely felt emotions in the characters, particularly guilt, anger and remorse as well as greed, betrayal and lust.  You can see why I warmed to this book so quickly!

I also liked the Amsterdam setting.  I had a lovely holiday there several years ago with Mrs Romancrimeblogger and this book gives a different perspective on the city, seeing it through the eyes of criminals and the police, being much “edgier” than what you might observe as a tourist (Mrs Romancrimeblogger wonders how we’ll perceive Copenhagen during this year’s holiday).   Even though the setting is in a different country, Hewson made it appear completely natural to be there, genuinely authentic - nothing jarred or grated with me as it does with some novels set abroad.

Oh, and finally, those dolls.  I take back everything I said about my prejudices and apologise for even thinking that Hewson could have relied upon shoddy plot devices.  The dolls are not just essential, but actually work perfectly.  My verdict? Five stars and highly recommended.   

Want to know more? Here’s the link to a Youtube promo video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvwLu1-_fHc

Romancrimeblogger