A delightfully creepy short story by Lisa Unger. A widow finds a second chance at love with Kirin, and she and her daughter eventually move to his secluded house in upstate NY. It’s a gorgeous house with rooms outfitted with them in mind. It is run by an interesting AI housemother, Vivi. Jules is still mourning her husband but is eager to move on with Kirin. She hopes it will be a fresh start for herself and her daughter Scout. Scout has to start her senior year at a new school, but she lucks out and finds a group of friends early in the year. Secrets swirl around Kirin and his sister, who grew up in the area. His sister has been missing for years and is presumed dead. This short story includes many things, including creepy dolls, puppets, and a mysterious girl in the garden. It was a short but enjoyable read for me! Thank you to Amazon Original Stories for my gifted copy. All opinions are my own.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from this short story, but it contains a lot more than you’d expect. Complex characters, creepy mystery and a twisted suspenseful thriller.

Lisa Unger’s latest Amazon Original short story is a creepy and compelling tale just in time for spooky season. Jules, who was widowed a year ago, and Scout, her still-grieving teenage daughter, are moving in with Jules’s new love, Kirin. Kirin is a well-known, well-off artist famous for creating unique puppets and dolls. He’s anxious for Jules and Scout to feel at home in his AI-controlled home, but shortly after they arrive, weird things start happening and just keep getting weirder and more dangerous. Lisa Unger packs a ton of creeptastic aspects into under 100 pages! So much good stuff and I was hooked immediately! The dolls, some of them sweet but others sinister and otherworldly, like the crow-inspired alien: obviously creepy. The AI house that controls access to various parts of the estate and tracks the inhabitants’ movements: creepy. The secret grief garden with its statue of a young girl who disappeared: creepy. The specter of a teenage girl in the grief garden: paranormal and creepy. This one can be read in one sitting, which I did. Short and satisfying, although I honestly think there was enough here to make a fantastic full-length novel.

How can I say this without spoilers? I thought it was going to turn out Kieran knew Doug. I thought his creative process had maybe started sooner than the day in the shop. Still, I enjoyed it.

I have to say that I hate that Lisa Unger’s The Doll’s House is only a short story. I really enjoyed the concept and the story could have easily been expanded to give us a deeper dive into the characters, especially giving us a more thorough exploration into the twisted mind of the villain. The story revolves around Jules and her daughter Scout. At the start of the story all we know is that it has been a year or so since Jules’s husband has died (we’ll learn more about him as the story goes on.) and they are moving into Kirin’s (Jules’s boyfriend) mansion. Scout is less than thrilled with having to move, especially as she is starting her senior year of high school. Kirin is a famous doll maker (working in film/tv) and his house is hi-tec, outfitted with an AI. But the house and grounds feel a bit off, and Kirin’s life has not been without tragedy as well. His sister went missing years ago. And it’s not long before both Scout and her mother begin to suspect not everything is as it seems. It’s a fast paced story, perhaps too fast paced. As I said, I really would have loved to have seen this story fleshed out into a full fledged novel. While as a short story it was still highly entertaining, I do lament at what could have been. Bottomline is: Unger always entertains and most fans of her work are likely to enjoy this story. I’d like to thank Amazon Original Stories and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review an eARC of the The Doll’s House.

read if you like: 📚 short stories 🦄 whimsical fiction 🪆 dolls summary: I love Lisa Unger, so I jumped at the chance to read her latest short story. It’s about a widowed woman, Jules, and her daughter, Scout, who move in with her wealthy doll maker boyfriend, Kirin. While Kirin makes every effort to make the house welcoming to his new roommates, he gifts Scout with a lifelike doll that looks like his late sister who was never found. The doll opens up the door for Scout to wonder more about Emma, and wonder what role Kirin played in her disappearance. I should lead with the fact that I am not a fan of dolls, and think they’re creepy, so I was probably destined to be weirded out by this book. Given it’s a short story, it moves fast, it’s an easy read and it grips you quickly. I struggled with the mystical aspect of it, as I typically love Unger’s more realistic thrillers, but I finished it quickly regardless. The story itself is pretty far fetched, but if you like more mystical or fantasy thrillers, this short story is probably for you! She does do a great job with character development, and even in the short lead up, I found myself attached to them! Thank you to Net Galley and Amazon Short Stories for the ARC. This book releases on September 12!

And the last few lines of this book will give me nightmares tonight. For the entire 99% was not anything I deem spooked. Great story. Quick and captivating but 0% spooky. But that last 1% made this book a 100% spooky for me. It’s worth a couple hours of you time.

This book was suspenseful until the end. The ending could use a bit more work. I will read more of the author’s book because I like her writing style.