• The Silent Dolls

  • Detective Ellie Reeves, Book 1
  • By: Rita Herron
  • Narrated by: Tanya Eby
  • Length: 8 hrs and 8 mins
  • 4.3 out of 5 stars (526 ratings)

Prime logo Prime members: New to Audible?
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for $14.95/mo after 30 days. Cancel anytime.
The Silent Dolls  By  cover art

The Silent Dolls

By: Rita Herron
Narrated by: Tanya Eby
Try for $0.00

$14.95/month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy for $19.95

Buy for $19.95

Pay using card ending in
By confirming your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and Amazon's Privacy Notice. Taxes where applicable.

Publisher's summary

Silent tears trickle down her cheeks as she curls inside the tiny cave-like space. She lies on her side, darkness all around her, rubbing her fingers over the little wooden doll he’d carved. He told her to be quiet, not to cry or scream. Not to be a baby. Her throat was raw, her eyes swollen shut. She wanted her mommy and daddy. She wanted to go home.

When Penny Matthews, a seven-year-old girl with blonde curls and a gap-toothed smile, goes missing in the Appalachian mountains, Detective Ellie Reeves is called straight to the scene. According to Penny’s parents, their daughter vanished after a picnic by the creek. All that’s left behind is a pink friendship bracelet etched with “Penny”.

Ellie knows all too well that the mountains’ endless miles of dark forest and winding rivers are the perfect place for a criminal to hide. Racing against the rapidly setting sun and a brutal winter storm on the horizon, she searches desperately for Penny.

Special Agent Derrick Fox is determined to join the hunt. His younger sister, Kim, disappeared in the same area 25 years ago - on the day he was meant to be watching her. He’s certain the cases are linked and that more than a dozen girls have vanished in the last decade. Ellie refuses to believe that their tight-knit mountain community could be home to a deadly criminal, but even she can’t deny the similarities in the cases. And when they discover the remains of a small body buried with a carved wooden doll, it’s clear they’re up against a deadly serial killer preying on innocent little girls.

As the temperature plunges, Penny’s life hangs in the balance. Most people who get lost in the woods never make it out alive. Can Ellie and Derrick defy the odds and find out the truth about all the stolen girls? Or will the mountain, and its twisted killer, claim another victim?

©2020 Rita Herron (P)2020 Bookouture

What listeners say about The Silent Dolls

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    290
  • 4 Stars
    131
  • 3 Stars
    71
  • 2 Stars
    16
  • 1 Stars
    18
Performance
  • 4 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    263
  • 4 Stars
    83
  • 3 Stars
    65
  • 2 Stars
    32
  • 1 Stars
    38
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    277
  • 4 Stars
    117
  • 3 Stars
    57
  • 2 Stars
    12
  • 1 Stars
    15

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Nice start to a new series...

Good procedural with wicked crimes, flawed protagonist and really crazy twist at the end. I will definitely be listening to more in this series.
Tanya Eby does a great job narrating.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
If you found this review helpful please indicate so.
Thank You.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

47 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

You will never guess the ending:)

I 9/10 can figure out the ending of the book. I love a good mystery, suspense, & all around interesting story. This was it. I had no idea of the ending & im looking forward to the next book. Really glad I read this. Kept me entertained the whole time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

ok

I'm neither pleased or displeased with this book. I was NOT a fan of the narrator....at times she sounded very robotic and I just had a hard time listening to her. that being said, there are a few things that did irritate me. first: a fractured femur is NOT a fractured arm bone. not sure who edited this book, but that error was repeated twice. second: I got tired of the constant self blaming the main character did...she took on self blame for everything and everyone.
Thirdly: if this woman gets smacked in the head just one more time, I seriously think she's going to have major brain damage.
I doubt I will read the next book. I find I just don't really care to find out the rest of this story.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A+ New series by Rita Herron!

I loved this book from start to finish! It kept my attention all the way through.
The character development was amazing and fell in love with all of them! I cannot wait for #2!
Tanya Eby did a perfect job bringing everyone to life!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful..

Good book! Lots of twists and turns, never knowing who the killer was until the end but still a couple of strange people.

This was about 12 little girls who went missing and their graves began to show up. Someone murdering them and someone else leaving the bones in graves where they could be found and returned to their loved ones.

I liked Detective Ellie Reeves and FBI Agent Derrick Fox BUT when it comes to a book like this sex doesn't seem to fit. Out in the woods looking for a missing little girl then taking the time for sex. Yeah, I could have done without that part.

So, sex and the F-bomb was used 16 times.

As for the narration: I don't give a crap what others say I think Tanya Eby is a great narrator. She reads with emotions and the MEN sound like MEN. What more can you ask for?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

research needed

The story and characters are good however anyone who understands nature, weather, hiking, backpacking, distance, and wild life will find the inconsistencies and impossibilities hard to reconcile. the time frame and accessibility of areas are so far off they are distracting. There are also gross medical discrepancies, making the main character a super hero. Obviously the only hiking and outdoor activities this author seems to have participated in are from her TV or fiction. Also since this is audible I can't be sure but I'm pretty sure the villans name is miss pronounced another distraction.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Did Not Like the Narrator

I really struggled with the way the book was read, it was almost mechanical. Weird inflections . Otherwise the story was good.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great Thriller looking forward to next sequel.

Every chapter was exciting and kept me riveted to just keep on reading each chapter. The reader was excellant.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Ugh, another strong woman portrayed acting dumb

I can't tolerate a string, smart woman being depicted acting so dumb to get herself beat up over and over again, putting others in danger for it. So wounded she trusts no one. The narrator sounded like siri translating from text. The story line wasn't bad.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Better editing needed

I enjoyed the book, however I was disappointed with two parts of it that described how the one little girl fell off her bike, breaking her arm, which the author referred to as her femur. The femur is actually the largest bone in the leg. The upper arm bone is the humerus. Better editing needed next time.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful