The Doll's House by Natasha Boydell
Genre: Psychological thriller
Read: 5th February 2025
Published: 13th January 2025
★★★★ 4 stars
DESCRIPTION:
She lives in my old home, she looks like me, she dresses like me… And now she wants my life.
Naomi is devastated when the sale of the apartment falls through, her dreams of moving to an amazing ‘forever home’ nearby with her family are momentarily dashed.
But then a sweet-natured single mother named Summer appears, announcing her intention to buy Naomi’s old apartment. And all of a sudden, it looks like Naomi might get her new house after all.
At first, it feels like Summer’s saved her life. But as soon as the sale goes through, Summer starts turning up at Naomi’s new house. She’s enrolled her child in Naomi’s daughter’s class. She’s dressing like Naomi. She’s suddenly best friends with all her friends… And then Naomi discovers she’s got a pretty little doll’s house. One that looks just like Naomi’s new home.
Naomi wants to believe she’s just imagining things. What could Summer possibly want? And how far will she go to take everything that Naomi has?
A totally page-turning psychological thriller, that fans of Lisa Jewell, Sue Watson and Daniel Hurst will be unable to put down.
MY THOUGHTS:
Trigger warning: mean girls, bullying, gaslighting
OK, so gaslighting is often a major factor in psychological thrillers but this goes hand in hand with the bullying, which is subtle and oh so heartbreaking. I'm the first to say I'm not a fan of kids and I have none of my own either but after reading this book and reliving my own childhood hell, it reminded me why I don't like kids or have any of my own. The mental and psychological scars from childhood bullying can be so detrimental and lifelong in some cases, so painful it is. And the gaslighting is just an adult's version of bullying because it amounts to the same thing. But when adults start to use children in their games, well...that is just cruel. As intriguing and engaging as this book was, it also made for some uncomfortable reading.
So this is my first book by Natasha Boydell, though I do have a couple of others by her on my shelf "to read", and I was immediately drawn to the story. I felt for Naomi because no one would listen to her or believe her. And while we didn't see anything untoward as the reader (just the nuances Naomi picked up on - but was she reliable?), there was this undercurrent of uneasiness throughout. Summer made my skin crawl and I didn't trust her one bit. But Naomi didn't help matters either by playing right into her hands.
We meet Naomi when the sale of her flat falls through and in walks Summer, a previous bidder, and Naomi, desperate to sell, accepts her offer. It's a wrench leaving behind the flat but the house her and Oliver have bought mean a separate room each for the girls - Bella (12) and Freya (7) - and an office for Naomi who works from home as an accountant. The girls now have a yard in which to play and they have more space for themselves. It's a dream come true. But then things start breaking down in their new home. The boiler packs up. There is damp mould in one of the rooms. And Naomi wonders if they have bitten off more than they can chew by sinking all their savings into their dream home on an affluent street they had only dreamed of in the past. But that is just the beginning.
Everything is fine until Naomi notices that Summer has started wearing the same clothes as her and had her hair cut in the same style. Then Summer enrols her seven year old daughter Luna into the same school that Naomi's daughter Freya who is the same age, on Naomi's recommendation. And soon school drop off and pick up becomes something of a nightmare. Especially when Summer inveigles her way into Naomi's tight friendship group and shutting Naomi out. Soon Naomi's friends are Summer's friends and their children are besties with Luna when they had once been Freya's. Even the parent's WhatsApp group has gone silent until Naomi learns that Summer set a new private one for her and her friends, shutting out Naomi once again. She's also inviting them all around for drinks and get-togethers without Naomi. Not only is Naomi shut out but so is young Freya. To the point where nasty lies are said about Freya and she no longer wants to go to school.
Naomi cannot confide in her friends because they are now Summer's friends and won't have a word said against her, believing it's all in Naomi's mind. I mean, what does she have against Summer and Luna? Both of them have been nothing but lovely to everyone so why does Naomi dislike them so much? But it doesn't matter what she says or who she says it to, no one believes her. Even her voice of reason, her stalwart, husband Oliver is beginning to doubt her. But when Naomi starts hearing sounds outside her door, notices things have gone missing and one of a kind earrings that Oliver had bought her one Christmas are now being worn by Summer, Naomi begins to feel even more threatened. Scared even. This woman has been in her home without her knowledge and stolen little items that the police would laugh at her reporting. And then Naomi sees the smile. Not a pleasant smile. But a small smug smile that tells her she knows that she knows and there is not a damn thing she can do about it.
Naomi has never felt so alone. Until she finds an ally in an unlikely source. And together they aim to show Summer up for the fraud that she is and bring her down to size once and for all.
This is one hell of a creepy read. It just makes your skin crawl. Summer is someone you just love to hate. She comes across all nice and innocent but you just know there is something evil lurking beneath the surface...you just don't know what it is yet. I devoured this book in just over a day because it is a quick read but I also wanted to escape Summer's presence. She makes you want to take a shower just to wash off any trace of her. And that's just reading about her!
I felt sorry for her daughter Luna. She is only seven and the pawn in her mother's game. Children can be horribly cruel, as I remember all too well, but when adults use those children to play their mind games with others that is just not on. It is child abuse and that kind of treatment only serves to damage the child further. And Summer wonders why Luna is how she is?
The story unfolds through Naomi's narrative as we witness firsthand her downward spiral at Summer's subtle hands. And her friends, who have known Naomi for years and Summer for five minutes, were so quick to turn on Naomi and defend Summer. It's hard to be so forgiving when they saw the error of their ways in the end. I would be livid with them. They knew Naomi. They knew she wouldn't make up stuff like they claimed she was. They should have stood by her. But instead they sided with Summer who they didn't know at all but who appeared sweet and innocent on the surface. People are so fickle and if your friends are going to be as fickle as that, then they aren't true friends.
A creepy read throughout, it is fairly predictable but with a few surprises along the way. Especially at the end which will both shock and chill you. And then that final paragraph in the epilogue. Chilling. The complexities within the plot make it all the more intriguing. My first Natasha Boydell but not my last. A chilling and thrilling read.
I would like to thank #NatashaBoydell, #Netgalley and #BoldwoodBooks for an ARC of #TheDollsHouse in exchange for an honest review.
MEET THE AUTHOR:
Her new book, The Doll's House, will be released in January 2025.
Natasha's novels are available around the world in ebook, paperback and audiobook. She lives in North London with her husband, two daughters and two rescue cats.
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