The Dollmaker (The Forgotten Files, #2)

Dr. Tessa McGowan had never seen anything quite like it. But the mutilated bodies on her exam table tell a stunningly macabre tale: someone with a twisted mind is kidnapping women and altering their faces to resemble real, life-size dolls. As a forensic pathologist, it’s her job to aid the agent leading the case—even if that agent is her estranged husband.
Twelve years ago an unspeakable tragedy destroyed Dakota Sharp’s world. Haunted by the ghosts of his past, he’s devoted himself to capturing killers. His only regret is that it cost him Tessa. Now, as the Dollmaker case brings them together—and raises his suspicions that he’s crossed paths with this deranged psychopath before—they may just have their second chance. But it seems Dakota’s not the only one who wants to make Tessa his own…
She may be the Dollmaker’s next target, but Tessa has no intention of winding up as another toy on his shelf. Can she and Dakota stop this ghastly killer before his next deadly playdate?

Review:Thank you NetGalley for the ARC of The Dollmaker by Mary Burton.
The Dollmaker, which is the second book of The Forgotten Files Series by Mary Burton, can be read as part of the series or as a stand alone book because I personally did not feel that it has any spoilers or had anything that really dealt with the first book in series except mentioning it briefly a few times in passing as a case they has solved before. I loved this book from the when I started reading the first chapter until I closed the book when I finished it.
Dakota Sharp a Virginia State Police Detective has just caught a new case of a woman who was found dead who was dressed like a doll and her face was tattooed to look like a dolls. To make things interesting his estranged wife, Tessa, a forensic pathologist, has returned from working overseas and has taken a job at the medical officers office and she has made it clear she wants to give their marriage another try. But, things did not work the first time because Dakota shut Tessa out because he was dealing with the guilt of his sisters death that took place when he was in the marines and she disappeared and when she was found it was believed she OD on drugs.
Thing take a turn when the killer known as The Dollmaker is linked to Tessa and Dakota's sister and their group of friends from college and information from a PI who at one time was the police officer investigating Dakota's sister's death tells him that his stepfather had hired him to look into her death and he is no longer sure if her death was an OD or a homicide and that Dakota should look into. By the time Dakota and Tessa figure out what is really going on it just might be too late for Tessa and for them to get things right between them.
The idea of a killer who turns his victims into dolls is creepy to begin with but adding the fact that he is tattooing the makeup on their faces just adds another level of freak to this guy. I loved the fact that Burton kept me guessing who the killer was until almost the end of the book and her twist and turns were exceptional in this book. Some of her best.
I am giving The Dollmaker five out of five stars.