The Dollhouse Murders Paperback – October 15, 2008

The setting of the story starts with the protagonist, 12-year old Amy Treloar who is shopping at the mall with her new friend Ellen who has recently moved to town. They are accompanied by Amy’s sister Louann, who is mentally challenged, and always tends to make a scene in public at one point or another. This time turned out no different. Amy and Ellen find Louann in the center of a puppet show being held for children in the food court. She is trying to grab the puppets during the performance, yelling louder than anyone in the court with all the parent’s eyes gazing at her. Amy is thoroughly embarrassed by her sister’s behavior and tries to get her to leave as quietly and quickly as possible. Before they start to head home she asks Ellen about the hike they have planned for the following day, she reluctantly tells her that she will have to cancel because her uncle and aunt are in town visiting, and completely forgot to tell Amy sooner.Amy was upset and angry when returning home, which resulted in a fight between her and her mother. Her mother told her that she was acting selfish and that taking care of Louann was their family’s responsibility. Overcome with anger, Amy hoped on her bike and headed straight to her aunt Clare’s. Her aunt was visiting, and staying in the house that belonged to her and Amy’s father’s grandparents. Her aunt clearly seeing how upset Amy was offers for her to stay with her for a little while. Thinking that space between her and her sister will help with Amy‘s stress of dealing with her special needs sister. This is a strong subplot within the story. The author conveys the dynamics of this relationship perfectly. Amy is both protective of her sister and embarrassed by her. She feels suffocated by the responsibility of watching Louann, yet she’s conflicted when Louann is given more independence. Throughout most of the story Amy’s tone is bitter towards her sister. She feels that it is unfair that she always has to act as a babysitter to Louann, which interferes with her own life in more ways than one. Though she always retracts from this bitterness explaining that she understands that Louann cannot help the way she is.“I’m sick of baby-sitting and losing my friends and having everybody stare when we go by. I don’t want to protect her anymore. I’m never, never going to take her any place again!”-p.15.While staying with her aunt Amy ventures into the attic and finds the most beautiful, and detailed dollhouse that she comes to find belongs to her aunt Clare. The dollhouse was the exact replica of Grandma and Grandpa Treloar’s house. From the stair tower to the eagle door knocker, everything was just like the real ones in the house. It came with miniature versions of Grandma and Grandpa Treloar, fifteen-year-old Aunt Clare, and five-year-old Paul, Amy’s father. It was a gift given to Aunt Clare by her grandparent’s grandparents. At first Amy is charmed by the dollhouse and all the tiny details that appear to be exact replicas of the real house. But it’s not long before the charm wears off and the horror sets in. Amy discovers that her great grandparents were murdered in the house her and her aunt are currently living. No one in her family seems to want to talk about it, especially her aunt Clare. So Amy ventures to the library to find out exactly what happened, and she is horrified by what she finds.“The story was terse and ugly. The Treloars’ granddaughter Clare had discovered the body pf Margaret Treloar in the parlor when she returned home after attending a motion picture with friends. Police were called, and they found James Treloar, fatally shot, on his bed in the couple’s upstairs bedroom. The Treloars’ little grandson, Paul was at first believed to have been kidnapped, but when the police searched the house, they found him curled up fast asleep in a small wood-storage closet next to the fireplace in the parlor. There were no suspects.”-p.51Soon something strange begins to happen. Each time Amy climbs the stairs to the attic, there’s something amiss. The dolls seem to be moving around on their own. She hears strange scurrying sounds and distant wailing.“She didn’t want to think about the attic anymore today. She didn’t want to talk about the dollhouse. If she did, she’d have to figure out how one of the dolls—Grandma Treloar it was—could be standing in the parlor, when Amy was practically certain they’d left the whole family sitting around the dining room table.”-p.64The clues point in a startling direction: The dolls are re-enacting her great grandparents’ murder. The climax of the story is when he dolls eventually lead Amy and her aunt to the murderer’s true identity, a twist that seems anticlimactic compared to the drama and intrigue building up to it. The killer’s identity turns out to be completely random. It turns out the care taker of Aunt Clare’s grandparents’ home is the one who murdered them. There are no clues given to his identity until he is revealed. The dolls lead Amy and her aunt to a piece of paper that aunt Clare’s grandmother wrote before she was killed, which she secretly stashed in a book on one of the many bookshelves within the house. The care taker had passed away many years prior. This leaves the reader with what feels like only half of the resolution. You never find out the motifs as to why the care taker killed the grandparent’s, and there was no form of justice served.

I loved this book in 3rd grade and re-read it 5times until 5th grade. I gave this to my little sister because she likes creepy things, but she can't always handle what she says she likes. She hasn't gotten back to me on this book, I think I'll read it to her one week

After reading so many reviews by adults saying this was their favorite book in around the 5th grade I became intrigued and had to try it myself. My own children may have read it and I just didn't know but I wanted something short to read this afternoon. Great entertainment and if my girls were younger I would recommend it to them.Amy is just turning 13 and is annoyed with younger sister who is mentally challenged. It seems she is always responsible for her sister and her sister seems to cramp her style. She runs away to her great grandparents' old house to see her Aunt Clare who is there to clean it out and and get it ready to sell. Aunt Clare understands Amy's frustration and suggests that maybe she and Louanne, her sister, need some space from each other. Amy discovers a magnificent dollhouse in the attic that is an exact replica of her great grandparents' house. There are mysterious goings on regarding the dollhouse which frighten Amy but also draw her to it when she believes it might be trying to show her something. A quick read, and even suspenseful and entertaining for a 64 year-old grandmother like me!

I never read this book as a kid. But I enjoyed it as an adult. This is perfect for tweens. It has scary moments with the dollhouse, as well as sympathetic and relatable characters. The lead character, Amy, is going through some tough times with her mother and sister. The author captured Amy’s conflicting emotions perfectly.There are things about the story that seem a bit dated, but it’s still an enjoyable read.. I recommend it.

read this aloud to my class of 5 graders....not really a fan of the story

The story was OK but could have been written alot better.

I remember reading this as a kid and hanging on to it's every word. Reread it as an adult and I'm amazed by how empathetic it is to all characters. The author has an excellent knack for human emotions and struggles that even as a kid I could appreciate.

I have loved this book since I was a child...I did a lot of reading when I was younger...my legal guardians encouraged it and it was basically the only thing they let me do that I wanted to do...or let me get away with doing...As a fellow person with an annoying sibling, this really stood out to me...it helped too because it taught me that not every family was perfect and when it comes down to everything...there's always going to be conflict in families...about one thing or another.One thing that was big in the legal guardians' family was that my siblings and I were not normal...so reading about what the little girl had to do and deal with when it came to her sister and her sisters' disability, it really helped me push through...no one is normal...(read this book in elementary and just now (in my late 20's) bought it through Amazon...brand new and love it!!!!)

Love this book, read it when I was a kid under the title of 'the ghosts in the attic', has stood the test of time and was still a thoroughly enjoyable read as an adult.