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The Fifth Doll
- Narrated by: Angela Dawe
- Length: 8 hrs and 34 mins
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The Fifth Doll
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Summary
The bestselling author of The Paper Magician Series transports listeners to a darkly whimsical new world where strange magic threatens a quiet village that only a desperate woman can save.
Matrona lives in an isolated village, where her life is centered on pleasing her parents. She's diligent in her chores and has agreed to marry a man of their choosing. But a visit to Slava, the local tradesman, threatens to upend her entire life.
Entering his empty house, Matrona discovers a strange collection of painted nesting dolls - one for every villager. Fascinated, she can't resist the urge to open the doll with her father's face. But when her father begins acting strangely, she realizes Slava's dolls are much more than they seem.
When he learns what she's done, Slava seizes the opportunity to give Matrona stewardship over the dolls - whether she wants it or not. Forced to open one of her own dolls every three days, she falls deeper into the grim power of Slava's creations. But nothing can prepare her for the profound secret hiding inside the fifth doll.
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What listeners say about The Fifth Doll
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Vixanne
- 26-09-22
Loved this book!!!
Another brilliant Charlie N Holmberg! Well written entertaining story. Well rounded characters. With great narration….. Excellent
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Heather Trow
- 24-10-21
Russian Inspired Soft Horror
Matrona finds a paintbrush on a path one day and assuming it belongs to a tradesmen nearby she decides to return it. When she arrives at his house there's no answer to her knocks, only some mysterious bangs. Thinking the elderly tradesmen is in trouble she enters his home. No-one is there, but in one room she finds an angry bird tethered to a perch and a table full of nesting dolls who resemble her friends and neighbours. No good deed goes unpunished, as the saying goes. When the tradesmen discovers Matrona's intrusion he attempts to persuade her to join his ominous cause.
Definitely one of the more creative Russian-based tales I've read. It's a concoction of magical elements, soft horror vibes, and a dystopian world; and the author clearly got her inspiration from matryoshka dolls and Russian history.
All in all, another enjoyable story from Charlie N. Holmberg. I didn't love it as much The Will and the Wilds or The Paper Magician series, but still really good. She has a wonderful way with words when describing thoughts and feelings as well as scenery. I'm left feeling a little bit unsettled because the story was so haunting and poignant and didn't really come to a conclusive end. But then again you don't necessarily get happy endings with this author, but rather realistic ones.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
- Kindle Customer
- 11-12-17
The fifth doll
Unexpected twist, story flows well with believable characters. Made me want to know more about the fifth doll world
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
- Krause Stefan
- 06-11-19
It's not bad
I love Charlie N. Holmburg. And the actual story is quiet good, only in places a bit to long dragged out.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance3 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Hannah Groom
- 02-10-17
Not What I Was Expecting
This is very different to Charlie N. Holmbergs Paper Magician series, which I loved. Nothing against this book, but its really not my type of thing. If you like darker magical fiction in a realistic yet slightly historic setting, then this book is for you.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall1 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
- Veronica Marcano
- 31-03-19
can not deal with the reading.
I am not sure if the story was any good as the way it was read distracted me too much. the book was read as a series of short sentences all with the same entonation and cadence as if the narrator was reading through a pile of cards each with one short sentence
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2 people found this helpful
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Sophie
- 14-05-22
A bit bleak
I didn't enjoy this. The tone is bleak throughout. There were some interesting concepts though: dolls representing people, revelations, alternative realities... It was like a crescendo towards the end of the book with more happening. There are some moral overtones to the book about being your true self.
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