Title: Dollhouse

Author: Andrew McManaman

Release date: October 30, 2021

I’m not sure what it is, but there’s a certain extra kick to connecting with fellow Canadian authors. Maybe it’s the perceived “northern isolation,” or that growing up the majority of Bestselling Dark Fiction writers were from the US or the UK, but us Canadian’s love to band together and root for each other. This isn’t just in writing. It’s in sports and film and industry. It’s why, when you watch a hockey game the announcers will typically wax poetically about how the young Canuck began his hockey career skating on the frozen pond that his dad had cleaned off. It’s that “hey, look where I came from and now I’m here” stubbornness. And I’m all for it.

Not long after the novel ‘The Navajo Nightmare’ came out, that David Sodergren and I co-authored, Andrew McManaman reached out on IG to say he really enjoyed the book and it was great to connect with another Canadian author. And – as we all appreciate and respect – he didn’t immediately advertise his book to me. No, instead, we chatted over the course of a few months, and then one day he asked if I’d ever be interested in checking out ‘Dollhouse.’

And here we are!

What I liked: Waaaay back in 1997 (not even that long ago, but it feels forever at the same time, doesn’t it?) an Independent Science-Fiction movie came out. Made in Canada (and proudly Canadian made), ‘Cube’ was a modest hit when it was released, it grew to have a cult following and several sequels followed.

Why is this of importance? Much like ‘Cube,’ ‘Dollhouse’ follows a similar premise. A group of strangers wakes up in a house with no idea how they got there. The house is unleavable. The door locked, windows sealed, no way out. Soon, distrust, anger and violence breaks out among the group as they try to figure out how to survive and how to get out.

McManaman does a great job of keeping the tension high and the anxiety growing. We don’t get much description of the house itself, but it works well to keep things claustrophobic.

We learn the backstories of the characters, which allows us to see why they react like they do and as we get something from outside of the house entering the story, we can see the survival instincts kick in.

The ending was good, and interesting, as it had a finality to it while also being slightly ambiguous which I think elevated it from a reveal some may see coming.

What I didn’t like: There wasn’t really a single character I connected with or rooted for as things progress and escalate. Some of their attributes come off slightly stereotypic which made for a few annoying moments between them. Saying that – it also works for the reader so that you dislike them all equally and enjoy when certain folks are killed off.

Why you should buy this: This is a fast-paced read, the chapters are short and snappy, which moves us along really well and for the lack of set pieces, the intrigue of what is happening will pull you along really well.

I had a blast with this one and it’ll be exciting to see what Andrew comes up with next.

4/5