I received this book for free from the Publisher in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Dollface by Lindy Ryan Published by Minotaur Books on February 24 2026
Genres: Adult, Horror
Pages: 304
Format: ARC
Source: Publisher
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The nitty-gritty: Lindy Ryan’s latest horror-humor mash-up successfully mixes the grittiness of a slasher with the heartfelt emotions of friendship.
“Barb, sliced apart in the parking lot. Mom, cut open on the closet floor. And now me, with my dead mother’s face in my new master bedroom.”
Lindy Ryan won my heart with her Bless Your Heart series, so I was very curious to see what she’d do with the slasher genre. And I have to say Dollface was a lot of fun! The “Barbie meets Scream” tagline is pretty spot on, and in addition to the murder mystery plot, the author layers her story with interesting characters and an emotional sibling relationship. While it wasn’t as tightly written as her last series, I still recommend it, especially to fans of the author and readers who enjoy black humor infused horror.
Jill is a horror writer who is trying to come up with an idea for her next book. She and her husband Rob and son Tanner have just relocated to New Jersey, and Jill is frantically trying to unpack before the new school year starts. Her new neighbor Darla surprises her with an unexpected visit, bearing a welcome basket complete with cosmetic samples from the company she represents, Dollface. She also wants Jill to join the Brunswick PTA, since the board currently has an opening they need to fill. Jill has no desire to do any such thing, but she wants to be polite and make new friends, so she agrees to join Darla and the other board members at the local coffee shop.
Jill receives a cold welcome from the other women, and the barista who waits on them is extremely rude as well. It isn’t a good start to her new life, but worse things are yet to come. The next day, the very same barista who waited on them is found dead, her throat slashed with a dull blade. And when one of the PTA moms is attacked only days later, Jill begins to think she’s living in one of her own stories. Suddenly, no one in the Brunswick Elementary PTA is safe—including Jill.
Ryan starts out with a bang in the first chapter, a flashback to when Jill and her little sister Kitty were kids and they witnessed their mother commit suicide. This harrowing experience has followed them into adulthood, with Jill making a solemn promise to Kitty that she will always take care of her. Make-up plays a big part in this scene, which is why Jill is traumatized by Darla’s desire to do makeovers on all her friends. Later when the murderer starts terrorizing the PTA, the “doll” element comes into play yet again. I do love the way Ryan tied in this theme throughout, from the title and cover of the book, to Darla’s MLM Dollface, to the ways make-up affects many of the characters, and even Kitty’s make-up focused social media channels. The story takes place around Halloween, so costumes are also incorporated into the whole idea of “dolls.”
It was also fun to see some behind the scenes publishing elements. Jill has several conversations with her editor Charlene regarding the book she’s supposed to be working on, and there are some funny scenes as they throw pitches back and forth. Jill embraces her horror writer persona and wears horror-themed t-shirts all the time, and you can imagine how that goes over with the other conservative PTA moms. As Jill is trying to work out ideas for her book, she’s caught up in the murders and decides to do her own behind the scenes investigation. Does she decide to create her own murder board? Why yes, she does!
The story is full of humor, lots of it black humor (my favorite!). Having spent many years as a parent volunteer during my own kids’ school days, and having been PTA president on several occasions, I totally related to Jill’s experiences (although most of the moms I interacted with were wonderful and became close friends). As a counterpart to the humor, the slasher parts of the story were very well done, and fans of the subgenre will appreciate Ryan’s attention to detail and creativity.
The story is told from Jill’s first person POV, with a few chapters inserted here and there from the killer’s perspective. I liked Jill as a character, and considering her horrible past and everything that’s happening in the present, she holds everything together pretty well. Darla is a fun character too. She’s a little pushy, but you can tell her heart is in the right place. As for the killer, Ryan drops quite a few hints about their identity, and I have to say I guessed early on who it was. However, there is a fun twist at the end that I didn’t see coming, and that made up for it.
I do have one negative, though. Some of Jill’s language really bugged me. She uses some repetitive phrases over and over and over, and I got quite tired of them. For example, every time she refers to Rob, she calls him “my darling husband,” and every time she refers to her new house, she calls it her “creaky-not-creepy house.” Every. Time. Maybe this was just her personality, but for me it was a little too much.
But this small issue aside, Dollface was a lot of good, slasher fun. The last few chapters were drenched in blood and full of surprises, just the way I like it.
Big thanks to the publisher and Kaye Publicity for providing a review copy.
I can definitely see how the using us repetitive phrases bugs you. It would also bother me, knowing myself. But other than that I’m loving the sound of this book. The MLM aspect, the black humor, the slasher parts of the story. I think I would like it!
It was a lot of great elements in one story, very well done!
I’m glad we both really enjoyed this one. Can’t see what Ryan comes out with next. Is there another Bless Your Heart book planned? I was thinking there was but now I’m wondering if I didn’t just try to manifest it. And I have to admit, Lugosi is an awesome dog name!
I sure hope there’s a third book coming out, I love that series! And I just realized I didn’t mention Lugosi, but he was an awesome dog:-)
I’m not usually a slasher fan… but this does sound like it would be awesome to read! The house description would bug me… but the plot sounds terrific!
It was a lot of fun, and the whole PTA storyline was really well done:-)
Im glad you enjoyed this one, especially as I think you mentioned seeing mixed reviews of it (I could be wrong). It sounds like an interesting concept with some emotional depth. I love that you get a few chapters from the killers POV too as that always fascinates me. Although as I’m still apprehensive of slashers I shall definitely be trying the authors Bless Your Heart series first.
My favorite books of hers are Bless Your Heart and Another Fine Mess, and I’m hoping she continues the series.
Fun and slasher don’t usually go together, but this book does sound like a very fun read. I’m putting it on my summer reading list. I’m always looking for fun books like this to read in the summer. 😀
It would be a great summer read:-)
Glad to have both your and Barb’s reviews on this one.
Barb and I had very similar feelings about it:-)
I’m not much of a slasher girl, truly, but your review was amusing as usual, and I have to admit the quote you included made me super curious…
Thanks Roberta!
Oh, this sounds fun!
It was a lot of fun:-)
This sounds awesome overall, even if her repetitive phrases were a little annoying. I’m glad you enjoyed it! I like the cover too.
I love the cover, and it goes perfectly with the story:-)
Ooooh I love dark humor! This is an excellent review but I don’t think this is my genre even with dark humor 😉
Thanks Sophie! It’s definitely a slasher, so not for everyone.
Sounds like another book well suited to being made into a movie. 🙂
Yes definitely! Especially with the humor, I think it would be a fun movie:-)
I am in the mood for some slasher/humour type stories so it’s a shame I don’t have a copy of this one. Great review.
Lynn 😀
Thanks Lynn, it was fun.
Sounds good! I can see why the repetitive phrases could get annoying though. Great review!
https://lisalovesliterature.bookblog.io/2026/02/19/arc-review-a-girl-like-her-ravenswood-1-by-talia-hibbert/
I have a copy of this one coming my way, so I hope I can check it out soon. All of Lindy Ryan’s stories I’ve read so far have been so unique.