The Killing Doll [Mass Market Paperback]

Ruth Rendell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 12, 1985

In a shabby London suburb, sixteen-year-old Pup Yearman dabbles in magic. But for Pup's older sister Dolly, the magic is more than dabbling. Deformed by a facial birthmark, Dolly desperately wants to be cured, and her obsession with Pup's magic sends her on a dangerous downward spiral into confusion, madness, and possibly murder. And meanwhile, in a squalid boardinghouse not far away, a young Irishman sharpens a set of butcher knives . . .

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is vintage spooky Rendell (One Across, Two Down), made even better by the fine reading by Ric Jerrom. Pup Yearman sets up a temple of occultism and casts spells, which convince his unbalanced sister Dolly that he can actually do magic, even commit murder. As Pup tries to get out from under the burden of his sister's belief, Dolly falls further and further into madness. Meanwhile, in an apartment nearby, Diarmit Bawne (and his alter ego, Colin Moore) hears his own much deadlier demons and keeps his knives and cleavers sharpened against them. Listeners will love this journey into the dark side, where reader Jerrom never falters in his eerie evocation of the all-too-believable characters. Recommended for all fiction collections.AHarriet Edwards, East Meadow P.L., NY
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

“This is vintage spooky Rendell.” —Library Journal

“The page-by-page storytelling—wry, superbly paced, full of arresting character details—is still unsurpassed in the mystery field.” —Kirkus Reviews

--This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback
• Publisher: Fawcett (April 12, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 034531199X
• ISBN-13: 978-0345311993
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,818,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Ruth Rendell is truly amazing, November 30, 2003

By 

RachelWalker "RachelW" (England) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Doll (Hardcover)

Ruth Rendell has written so many novels that publishers have a job keeping them all in print, all readily available, and normally they fail dismally, meaning that only the most recent novels are available, and older, equally brilliant little gems, are only eclectically available to readers, and thus people frequently miss out on the author's entire marvellous cannon. The problem is that if even one novel by Rendell remains out of print, readers are missing a unique and unequalable reading experience. The Killing Doll is just such a case - an absolutely unique book among her body of work, yet it retains all the factors which conspire to make each novel brilliant. Psychology, irony, chill, skin-crawling reality, brilliant characters, brilliant plots and shocking twists, etc etc etc.

The Killing Doll is a relatively hard novel to pin down. Most of Rendell's novels outside the Wexford series tend to be. This one is, on the one hand, a book about the Faustian pact of young Peter Yearman who sells his soul to grow taller, and soon becomes drawn, along with his adoring older sister Dolly, into the world of the occult. However, as Peter grows up he turns away from the magick he once believed in, and goes out into the real world. Unfortunately, Dolly - shy and friendless, nervous of going outside of the house due to a large birthmark on her cheek - cannot separate herself from it - she still believes his seeming powers are genuine. As events conspire to tip her further over the edge - from very early on it is clear that isolated Dolly, who talks to her dead mother and comes to make dolls representative of those she hopes Peter's magic will harm, is a little Schizophrenic - the novel from then on dwells in the very dark places of madness, as all the characters move along happily with their dangerous delusions, until the final catastrophic chapters in which all the events are brought to a shattering climax.

I adore her books. I have a passion and thirst for them which will not be slaked, and I defy anyone to deny that she is not one of the best novelists writing today. Fine, I have no problem with people disliking her books (after all, some people of course won't like keeping company with strange, slightly warped characters who tang with a disturbing, uncomfortable reality) if they find the things they cover slightly disturbing, but anyone should at least be able to admit the incredible quality which lies at the core, whether they like the subject matter or not. It is quality that sings to me, sings to me of damaged people and twisted things, terrible worlds of Shakespearean irony (the tradition of the great Tragedy is alive and well in Rendell's novels) , and lives lived at risk from those around us who need just a subtle trigger to send them to madness. She is an insightful, clever and diabolically vicious writer who never shies away from showing us a different side of life, and The Killing Doll is another work of genius.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Ruth Rendell Rules!, July 7, 2001

By 

Marcie "nuts about books" (Carpenter, SD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Killing Doll (Hardcover)

I have been on a Ruth Rendell kick lately, the last five novels read have been hers. The first, and still favorite was "A Sight for Sore Eyes", but "The Killing Doll comes in a close 2nd. This book centers around a young woman named Dolly who is quite an introvert due to the huge disfiguring birthmark on her face. She stays in her house for the most part and does sewing for the neighbors to make money. After her mother dies, Dolly becomes the mother figure to her younger brother, Pup who, as a teenager, sells his soul to the devil in order to grow taller. This leads to a fascination with the occult and Dolly is soon his biggest supporter, urging him to conjure up spirits and get rid of the people she feels are ruining her life, such as her new stepmother. Pup humors her and after performing some rituals, the stepmother does indeed die. Dolly begins to lose touch with reality and plunges deeper into the occult, while Pup is losing interest in it. The story shows how disturbed Dolly becomes and how her fate entwines with another disturbed young man. As usual, Ruth Rendell writes a real page turner with a style all her own.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of Her Best, February 14, 2001

By 

Paige Turner (Mission Viejo, California USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Killing Doll (Hardcover)

I think Ruth Rendell is the best suspense writer living. If you have never read one of her books before, then prepare to be enthralled by her characters, her plot and by the fierce intelligence evident in her writing. I have read everything she has ever written and "The Killing Doll" is perhaps her finest work. This is not a nice, neat, cosy stereotypical English mystery. It is a story about disturbed and disturbing people who act out of desperation, loneliness and fear. You will feel pity for some of her characters and loathing for others. Their stories will remain with you long after you turn the final page.