Sixteen years ago Leah was the editor of the local newspaper. She made a decision that still haunts her today.

Leah is about to make a documentary for Netflix regarding the disappearance of two girls sixteen years ago. Instead of giving the girls equal exposure, the girl the paper highlighted was found the next day. The other girl has never been found. Leah is now being hounded by someone playing mind games with her.

The story is told in the past, sixteen years ago and the present day. The plot is interesting with unlikable characters. I did like the the relationship Leah had with her son and her best friend Bunty. The pace us slow but it does pick up in the second half. This is quite good for a debut novel.

I would like to thank NetGalley, Quercus Books and the author Lisa Bradley for my ARC in exchange for an honest review.

What a fabulous, thriller of a read!

Leah is the main character, a journalist who left her job in shame and who now lives with her husband and son and depression. There are missing girls, guilt, sexual obsession and friendship, all wound up in this tense page turner of a psychological thriller. It's such a fabulous read.

Not only did it have thrills, I also learnt things, such as the Kendo method of tidying......mmmm.....thanks, I think! There's a few hours I won't get back, having gone off and tried it! haha.

I loved the fact that Leah has a cross trainer in her garage that "she never actually used, just sat in her gym gear eating pork pies and watching glee" definitely my type of protagonist! And, despite the dark, thrilling, 'heart in your mouth' storyline, there's some great humour.

It's such a fabulous read that kept me hooked and guessing throughout and I read in one sitting.

I loved it!
5*

Thanks so much to NetGalley, Quercus books and the author, Lisa Bradley - many congratulations and can't wait to read your next one!

Leah is still trying to get over the story of a young missing girl she pushed onto page 18 rather then the front page of her local paper 16 years ago. Her decision as editor haunts her.

Now, all those years later, settled with her husband Chris and her son Luke, someone is trying to send her a message. Paper dolls and candles appear in places they shouldn’t and Leah is scared someone’s come back to shiny her.

This was a real chilling thriller! In some places it really creeped me out! I loved Leah’s character and how those around her thought she was losing her mind. Bunty was a good contrast to her and a great ally.

For a debut novel this was gripping and scary and everything I want from a psychological thriller. I can’t wait to read more from Lisa Bradley.

Thanks to Netgalley for this previtw. It was the first time I had read a Lisa Bradley book and won't be the last. Her style of writing is face paced and thrilling with plenty of twists, a great read and it deserves to be a best seller.

I loved this book - I literally devoured it in a day, I really enjoyed the plot and liked the main protagonist Leah who is haunted by a decision she made as a newspaper editor some years before. Her decision to prioritise a story on one missing teenager - Leah - over Tilly has wide ranging consequences for her. Fabulous characters and storyline - watch out for The Moog!

An amazing read which had me gripped till the last page.
I look forward to reading more books by Lisa

Thank you to Netgalley and Quercus Books for the arc of Paper Dolls by Lisa Bradley.

This follows Leah an editor of a local newspaper made a decision which haunts her to this day, the decision was made 16 years ago and then. Two girls disappear on the same day whom are Hope is from a white, comfortable background, she’s never run off before so there’s major concern and then there is Tilly in whom is black and an often runaway from their council estate. Hope ends up making the front page headlines in the newspaper in where tilly dont....



4 stars- recommend highly- read very quick as very enjoyable and couldn't put it down. I like how it explores both black and white communities!

Have you got any plans for August 6th? Well I’ll suggest some for you: buy Lisa Bradley’s debut novel!!!!!  

This book was terrifying (in the best way) and is reason that I have now implemented a ‘no thriller reading after 2am’ rule, as I finished this at 5am and was too scared to sleep! I would have stopped reading but I literally couldn’t, I was physically incapable of putting it down as it had well and truly sucked me in – I needed to know what happened. 

It seems to be a theme throughout thrillers to have split dialogue between the past and present, this is a technique that generally is used to build tension, when we know that the protagonist did ‘something’ bad in the past, but have to wait until the very last page to find out what that was. In my opinion this is generally overdone and a bit of a tired storytelling device. But Bradley evaded this pitfall by telling us what happened straight away (literally in the blurb). Which was a refreshing change in this relatively oversaturated genre. The snippets that were set in the past served only to further character development, giving us a deeper view into the complex life of protagonist and ex-journalist Leah.

As a journalist herself, Bradley injects some interesting insights into the career, mainly bringing to attention the guilt that can persist, as split-second decisions in a newsroom create ripples of bad consequences years later. This is the case for Leah, the head editor of a local paper in 2003, who, when faced with 2 teenage girls going missing on the same day, chose to place the upper-class white girl (Hope) on the front page, and bury the working-class black girl (Tilly) on page 18. The following day, Hope was found at a train station, thanks to the picture on the front of the newspaper, meanwhile, Tilly has never been found. Years later, Leah features in a Netflix documentary discussing missing white women syndrome, and then strange things start to happen. With a persistent feeling that someone was watching her, and breaking into her house, she gets sent paper dolls, cut out of the newspaper that featured the two missing girls in 2003. 

I can confidently say that this is my new favourite psychological thriller read, each time I thought I’d guessed the ending, there would arise a new layer to the story that would twist it in a new direction, it really did leave me guessing until the last minute. But not in that annoying way where the ending was outlandish and unexplained. 

This was a complex, terrifying, and all-encompassing read. I enjoyed learning more about the different characters and their relationships, and I found the ‘sub-plot’ equally as disconcerting and creepy as the mystery of the paper dolls. I could talk about this book for quite a while, but I don't want to risk giving spoilers as I want all of you to enjoy it, and the surprise of it, as much as I did. 

Also, this was the first book I read with a character that shares my name! (aside from the Roald Dahl classic) So, this book gets extra points for that because it stupidly made me very excited.

“Paper Dolls” is a clever, twisted thriller, laced with dark humour, gripping suspense, shocking reveals and a cast of engaging characters. Lisa Bradley’s novel is definite one of the debuts of the year and I can’t wait for more from her!

Leah is the former editor of a prominent local newspaper, who chose to run a front-page story on a missing white teenager called Hope. On the same day, Tilly a black, disadvantaged teenager from a rough neighbourhood also went missing. Tilly was considered a runaway and as the police were not taking the case so seriously, Leah ran the story deep within the pages of the paper. When Hope was found two days later and Tilly remained missing, the latter’s family sued the paper, claiming that their daughter’s disappearance was buried in the paper because of racism. Nearly 20 years later, Leah appears in a Netflix documentary on institutionalised racism in journalism and acknowledges the decision she made. Shortly after the documentary airs, Leah starts receiving paper dolls and someone keeps lighting candles in her garden or within her home. With a constant feeling of being watched, Leah starts to fear for her and her family’s safety. But Leah has suffered from mental health issues in the past and not everyone believes that there is really a threat... Is someone really out for revenge or is Leah suffering from delusions?

“Paper Dolls” is an expertly crafted thriller. Bradley manages to create an atmosphere of genuine paranoia and confusion. I found myself immediately believing that there was a threat to Leah and her family, but there were moments where I questioned whether she was carrying out these things against herself. I was kept guessing throughout the entirety of the novel and the mark of an exceptional thriller for me is exactly that. There are plenty of moments of edge-of-your seat tension, but also lots of episodes of humour interwoven. The relationship between Leah and her best friend Bunty is wonderfully written and there are some laugh out loud moments between the two. Bunty provides some much appreciated comedy amongst the mental anguish that Leah is subjected to. This really helps create an authentic atmosphere and “Paper Dolls” is all the more unsettling because of the plausibility, which is predominantly down to the intricacies of the human relationships Bradley creates here. Similarly, Bradley writes exceptionally well about Leah’s mental state and I found myself thrown into her anxiety and fear, which helped me physically feel the stress and the tension that she does. Again, I found this made “Paper Dolls” all the more readable and I found myself reading well into the night, as I needed to read just one more chapter. Building to an exhilarating ending with multiple shock twists, this is a thriller that genuinely thrills!

I also found that the narrative was full of engaging characters, who helped propel the mystery and intrigue around Leah’s harassment, whilst also providing tension in other ways. The relationship that Leah forms with her neighbour Sam is an interesting subplot and I found myself hoping that aside from discovering and overcoming her tormentor and personal guilt, Leah would find romance with Sam. The true nature of Sam came as a complete surprise and was a gripping twist in the plot. Leah’s husband Chris was also well written, as I took an early dislike to him, only to find that this was a clever piece of misdirection and it also transpired that not all is as it seemed with him too. As mentioned, Bunty provides much of the humour and I found that she quickly became my favourite character. I loved her brash, brassiness and her “no f*ck” attitude. However, this didn’t stop me having certain suspicions about her and Bradley plants enough red herrings to question whether Bunty is the friend to Leah that she proclaims to be. Leah’s son Luke is an integral character within the narrative, particularly in relation to Leah and her relationship with him. I really enjoyed reading the banter between mother and son, which established their relationship more along the lines of friends in their interactions. This blurring of the lines helped cement a strong bond between mother and son, which heightened the suspense around Leah’s anxiety towards Luke’s wellbeing. This brings me to Leah, who I found a really interesting, complex and appealing heroine. I liked the fact that she was equal parts vulnerable and strong, helping to cast shadows of doubt over her mental state whilst not alienating readers from her. Bradley also tackled the notions of institutionalised racism within the media very adeptly through Leah. The fact that Leah accepted that she had made a mistake by not running Tilly’s story beside Hope’s helped demonstrate the personable accountability, taking away any racial motivation from the decision made. The fact that the role of race in the media is explored makes “Paper Dolls” a very timely and apropos novel, as we discuss notions of institutionalised racism in the real world.

“Paper Dolls” is a fantastically entertaining debut from Lisa Bradley, who establishes herself a powerful new voice in the genre. With depth and substance, this is not one to miss!

#PaperDolls #NetGalley
A twisted tale.
Once upon a successful journalist Leah is now housewife with her son Luke and her husband Chris..
Having problems in her marriage she developed a friendship with her neighbour Sam.
Shirdila terrible mistake in her career. Two girls went missing at the same time. One was black and one was white. She gave more space to white girl in her newspaper II and a tiny kolam for the black girl. White girl was found and black one was never found. Now someone wants her to pay for what she did.
I loved the characters of Leah, Chris, Sam, Luke and Hannah.
Narration of the story is interesting.
Thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for giving me an advance copy of this awesome psychological thriller.

This was an interesting story with lots of twists and turns. It was very well written, I'd like to read more from this author.

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this E-book to review via Netgalley.

This was a fun read. Well written. Held my interest. Just an enjoyable read overall.

I would recommend this book to my friends and family for sure!

Even if I think this book has a lot of potential and it's well written the story didn't keep my attention and it fell flat.
Not my cup of tea.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine.

A great thriller. Dark, twisty and unexpected. Really enjoyed this one, and couldn't put it down. Ideal holiday read!

A well written book with twists and turns but a bit slow at times, nevertheless a good story and would read more from this author

This was a really interesting and thought provoking story which kept me on my toes the whole time. Great story. Highly recommended xx

Sixteen years ago Leah an editor of a local newspaper made a decision which haunts her to this day. Two girls disappear on the same day. Hope is from a white, middle class comfortable background, she’s never run off before so there’s major concern. Then there’s Tilly, who is black, a frequent runaway and from a council estate. Hope makes the front page and Tilly doesn’t, Hope is found, Tilly is not. The case is resurrected again following a Netflix documentary and strange and threatening events start occurring to Leah with someone leaving her paper dolls. Her husband Chris, son Luke and best friend Bunty believe the guilt, obsession and torment over Tilly’s fate is making Leah unstable and deluded. This story has timelines from the present day and flashbacks to 2003.

I really like the premise of the book which I think makes a valid point with the ‘missing white woman/girl syndrome ‘ with some attracting much more media attention than others. I’m sure we could all cite well known examples of child abductions where parents from different social backgrounds are not treated the same. I like the characters and the relationship between Luke and Leah is terrific with some of their banter making me laugh, their bond warms your heart. Leah’s best friend Bunty is one of the standout characters, she’s acerbic and their dialogue is whip-smart and often funny. This provides a good contrast to the unsettling events that occur to Leah. Is she imagining these things, doing it herself as her mental health seems to be suffering or is the threat real? It’s certainly creepy and both Luke and Leah are spooked. The ending is unexpected which is good as I hadn’t anticipated that!

However, the pacing of the novel is uneven and the storyline does seem to be drawn out at times although a lot of that starts to make sense as the strands of the storyline come together at the end.

Overall, I did enjoy it and I want to read more by Lisa Bradley.

With thanks to NetGalley and Quercus for the ARC

This book is a very good read. It hooked me from the first page and did not let me go til the last.
I had no idea until the reveal who were the 'bad' people.
The characters were really well thought out and each with their own peculiar traits that I certainly connected with.
As the story progressed a chilling sense of unease pervaded into the story making it quite creepy,which I loved and the ending was actually well wrapped up.
I would definitely read another book by this author.
It was a joy to read and a truly gripping book.

Highly enjoyed this book I could not put it down it had me hooked from start to finish highly recommend it first book by this Author I have read I would read more from this Author!

Paper Dolls by Lisa Bradley was a quick read with an interesting story. It started off really well but I felt a bit disappointed by the ending. I didn't see how it was going to finish and it did surprise me, The main characters were all a bit irritating to be honest.

16 years ago Leah was a news paper editor. Her decision to put missing girl Holly, a pretty blonde white girl from a good home on the front page of her paper, while another missing girl, Tilly was relegated to page 17 has always haunted her. Holly was found soon after and Tilly is still classed as missing. Now married and with a sin of her own she finds herself reliving that decision on a Netflix documentary. After it airs, strange things start to happen and it all seems to be linked to the missing girls.

Thanks to Quercus Book and Netgalley for my advanced copy of this book to read.