Dollface by Lindy Ryan
First line: My little sister collides with the open doorway of the master bedroom, skidding to a halt at the foot of the bed in a gust of chlorine and sunscreen and girl sweat.
Summary: Jill, horror novelist and mother, has recently moved across the country with her family to New Jersey. On her first day in the new house she meets her sweeter than sugar neighbor and PTA enthusiast, Darla. In one interaction is she is part of the PTA and meets the women who will become the victims of a serial killer stalking the town. As Jill tries to use her knowledge of horror to figure out who is terrorizing the PTA moms she starts to worry that she might be the final girl in a real-life horror story.
My Thoughts: When I finished reading this I struggled with how to rate it. I had fun reading it but there were a few things I found to be a little much. Starting with the good, I would say that this is definitely a good slasher book. There is gore and horror to the scenes with the serial killer. While these moments were a bit too much for me, others will definitely like them. I felt like the pacing went well and the story was not drawn out. I never thought it was boring and I wanted to pick it up each night.
Now for the negatives. There was a phrase that seemed overly used, “creaky-not-creepy house”, which just made me roll my eyes by the third or fourth time. The thing that made my rating a three rather than four stars was the fact that I was sure who was behind from early on! It seemed rather obvious and some of the big reveals at the end were not as shocking as they should be.
With all this said, I let myself enjoy the almost ridiculousness of the story and have fun with it. Fans of campy horror or slashers will like this very reason. Just enjoy and do not think too much about it.
FYI: Very gory!
**Release date is February 24, 2026. Place it on hold today!