August 21, 2017
Aspiring journalist Rose Blakey, the protagonist of Snoekstra’s uneven second thriller (after 2016’s Only Daughter), is desperate to escape her small town of Colmstock, Australia, and her unhappy family. Spending evenings serving beer to the local cops, one of whom spends most of his time leering at her, is not how she pictured her life. When the courthouse burns down, killing a child, the town residents are devastated, and when someone begins leaving porcelain dolls on doorsteps, people are further alarmed. Rose sees opportunity and submits a lurid story about the dolls to a newspaper. After it’s accepted, the ecstatic Rose plows unthinkingly over anyone who disagrees with her, while the inept police only help fuel the town’s growing hysteria. Rather than plumb the dark depths of a town in economic ruin, Snoekstra instead presents a chorus line of people behaving very badly. The many twists (one of which offers a bit of clever irony) and the big reveal will mainly strain reader credulity. Agent: Mackenzie Fraser-Bub, Fraser-Bub Literary.
September 15, 2017
Colmstock, a small, hardscrabble Australian town, has been devastated by the closure of the local mine and a tragic fire that burned down the city's courthouse and killed a young boy. The residents are on edge, turning to alcohol, drugs, and paranoia to pass the time. Rose Blakey dreams of escaping Colmstock and pursuing a career as a journalist, but opportunities are few, so she works at the local tavern. When porcelain dolls resembling Colmstock's youngest residents begin appearing on doorsteps, Rose senses a story and collects information from the police officers who frequent the tavern. Soon, Rose and her creepy-doll story attract the attention of a major newspaper, and the possibility of a way out leads Rose to embellish the detailsto the detriment of the people she cares about. Snoekstra creates a distinct sense of place; readers will visualize Colmstock and its wounded residents, struggling to get by. The novel touches on social issues, including xenophobia, police brutality, and the hunger for lurid news stories, as it twists and turns towards an unexpected ending.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)