The Doll by J.C Martin - A book review
The Doll is a short novelette by J.C Martin. It is a thrillingly creepy horror which keeps you sitting on the edge of your chair. Or under it if you're reading alone at night.
The Author
The author of The Doll is J.C Martin, a wonderful Malaysian author living in South London, England, with a husband and three happy dogs. The pharmaceutical researcher turned teacher turned martial arts instructor enjoys writing in her spare time, winning the 2010 IFWG Publishing Story Quest Short Story Contest.
The Story
The story follows a mother and her young daughter as they take a break in Mexico. The duo, along with another group of tourists, take a trip to a nearby island, the Island of Dolls, which has been dedicated to a local girl who drowned in the surrounding waters.
If the dolls placed and hanged around the island as offerings to the drowned girl are not creepy enough for you, wait until you read about the altar for the drowned child. Although the mother is creeped out by this experience, the daughter is thrilled and wants to take a souvenir back home with her. The horror for this poor family has only just begun.
The Review
The first thing that attracted me to this book was the cover. I know, it's a crime in the book world to judge a book by the cover. The darkness and sinisterness of it drew me in, as well as the fact that the cover uses one of my favourite photoshop fonts, called Bleeding Cowboy. Probably implying the author designed the cover herself - if she did, then she did a fantastic job of it.
Although this story is a short novelette, it is filled to the seams with horror, creepiness and the unexpected. The author's brilliant writing style ensures there is a lot of suspense in the story. The characters are very relatable and easy to connect with. There are very dark and creepy overtones which will send a shiver down your spine as you progress through the story. The way the story unfolds, from a mysterious and strange beginning to a sinister and horrific ending, is perfect.
The author has a very intriguing imagination and inventive storytelling skills which leaves you hanging onto every word, page by page.
A Creepily Fun Fact
The Island of Dolls actually exists, in real life.
There is really an island in Mexico called Isla de las Munecas (The Island of Dolls), which indeed is dedicated to a girl who drowned. The fact that J.C Martin was able to take this factual place and use it in a work of fiction (or might it really be non-fiction? *creepy laugh*), I think, makes this story the more scarier.
You can find out about the real Isla de las Munecas on the island's official website.
My Rating
I award The Doll by J.C Martin five stars out of five!
I highly recommend this book to anybody who is a fan of horror, short stories or being creeped out. Go grab a copy today.
Have you read The Doll? What would you rate it?
Do you enjoy horror books?
Another Notable Book From this Author
It may also be worth your while to check out J.C Martin's book titled Oracle.
Oracle is a similarly creepy story, this time falling into the crime genre, about a serial killer stalking the streets of London while the city prepares for the Olympic games.
Like The Doll, Oracle has very positive reviews.
Follow J.C Martin
You can follow J.C Martin for updates on her Twitter page.
You can also follow her official page on Facebook.
