The Dollmaker's Daughters (Bo Bradley Mysteries, Book Five) [Kindle Edition]

Abigail Padgett (Author)

Book Description

Fifth in the Bo Bradley series,following TURTLE BABY, in this psychological thriller Bo reaches out to 15-year-old Janny Malcolm, a teenage foster child found frozen in terror at a popular goth hangout. A battered antique doll is chained to Janny's wrist. Against all departmental rules, Bo befriends Janny and picks up a 13-year-long trail of child abuse, deceit and murder that may involve Child Protective Services at the highest level. When Bo learns of a grim medical facility and secretly observes a closed funeral attended by only two people, her investigative instincts rev into high hear. This story is rich in atmosphere, and Bo, with her heightened psychological insight and empathy, is at her best.

"Excellent ... a Bach concerto of a read... Fascinating... outstanding blend of the comic and the eerie ... engrossing and enchanting ... It is impossible to put down."
—New Brunswick Reader

"This is a book I hated to put down until I reached its satisfying conclusion."
—St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Some of the surprise of having a heroine who keeps her manic depression under control with medication while working for a public agency that protects children has gone in this fifth book in the series, but Abigail Padgett's Bo Bradley is still an original and fascinating character. When a 15-year-old in foster care is found in a catatonic state at a vampire-themed teenage hangout, Bo breaks the rules to befriend the child and digs up a sordid saga of abuse that reaches into her own agency. Past Padgetts available in paperback include Child of Silence, Moonbird Boy, Strawgirl, and Turtle Baby.

From Publishers Weekly

Bo Bradley, 41, works for San Diego's Child Protective Services and suffers from a manic-depressive illness which she controls with medication. Bo's fifth appearance (following Moonbird Boy, 1996) is an uneven tale in which the investigator draws on her own experience, as she has in the previous entries in this generally commendable series, to establish rapport with others who are troubled. Here, she reaches out to 15-year-old Janny Malcolm, a child in foster care who is found in a catatonic state at a popular vampire-theme club. A battered antique doll is chained to Janny's wrist. Against all departmental rules, Bo befriends Janny and picks up a 13-year-long trail of child abuse, deceit and murder that may involve the Child Protective Services at the highest level. And when Bo discovers that her fusty and judgmental supervisor has secretly attended the closed funeral of Janny's identical twin (dead after 13 years in an assault-induced coma), her investigative instincts get into high hear. This story is rich in atmosphere, and Bo, with her heightened psychological insight and empathy, makes a compelling sleuth. But melodramatic plot twists and an excess of bizarre behavior explained in mini-avalanches of psychobabble interrupt the suspense and continually knock the narrative off its track. Author tour.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• File Size: 416 KB
• Print Length: 320 pages
• Simultaneous Device Usage: Unlimited
• Sold by: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
• Language: English
• ASIN: B006RYVS9K
• Text-to-Speech: Enabled
• X-Ray: Not Enabled
• Lending: Enabled
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #270,056 Paid in Kindle Store (See Top 100 Paid in Kindle Store)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful--unpredictable, and I love Bo Bradley! July 22, 1998

By [e-mail]

Format:Mass Market Paperback

This book was wonderful. It was unpredictable with no clear-cut villain. It's very inspiring to have a competent heroine with manic-depression, or any mental illness for that matter. It adds a whole new dimension to the story and an unusual one at that for a detective story. The characters are all complex and well-written. This book, like Padgett's other Bo Bradley novels, are wonderfully written and lovely to read. I have read this book over and over again and pick up new nuances each time.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Dollmaker's Daughter is top-notch mystery fiction May 12, 1997

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

Abigail Padgett is my numero uno favorite mystery writer. My choice is based on her characters (I feel that I know Bo Bradley better than some friends). superb plotting, and excellence in her way of telling the story. "The Dollmaker's Daughter" is a page-turner spiced with some wonderful comments on bureaucrats. I laughed at Bo Bradley's spunky handling of her officious boss, and I kept turning the pages to find out "Who is Janny?" and "Who is trying to hurt Janny", and "Will life work out for this lovable girl?"

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read! July 26, 2012

By Elizabeth Vrabel

Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase

I downloaded "Child of Silence" when it was offered free and loved it enough to buy ALL the other books by Abigail Padgett; she crafts an intelligent, well-structured story that draws you in and doesn't let you go until the final page.
After reading the "about the author" blurb and discovering that Abigail Padgett worked for Child Protective Services, I was not surprised at how clearly she can explain the inner workings of the system to make them understandable to a layman.
The characters are believable and multi-dimensional and the balance between mystery and romance will keep your interest well past your bedtime!

More About the Author

Abigail Padgett grew up in Vincennes, IN, and holds degrees from Indiana University, the University of Missouri and Washington University, St.Louis. She has taught high school English and college courses in Sociology and Creative Writing in San Diego and Boston, directed an ACLU chapter in Houston and worked as an advocate for the mentally ill, plus enduring some truly weird temp jobs.

Abbie is the author of seven highly acclaimed mystery novels that have been translated into five languages, one novel among which, CHILD OF SILENCE, was made into a movie in France. (Which must have been challenging, since the novel's action takes place in the California desert and features Native American Paiute people.) Her eighth and latest mystery, BONE BLIND, is set in the Boston suburb of Newton, where two horror novelists and a detective just months short of retirement investigate a decades-old unsolved murder the spin from which proves even more deadly than the original crime.

Two new mysteries and a magical realist novel are in various stages.

San Diego is home, although Abbie spends much time on the East Coast and in France, where one of the new mysteries is set. She is a dog person happiest in the company of dachshunds, a lapsed vegetarian with heartland food preferences, and a lifelong fan of Poe, Algernon Blackwood and the Graveyard Poets.