I LOVED this! I now want to read the rest of the #zoestorm books- she is a great lead character and this book, although full of sinister content, was so darkly intriguing that I could not stop and devoured it in 24 hours!

I had the opportunity to listen to an advanced audio copy of The Hanging Dolls by Ruhi Choudhary, thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley. The story follows Detective Zoe Storm as she investigates the disappearance of two girls, unraveling a dark and layered mystery.

The book started off strong and pulled me in early on, but for me, the pacing slowed down as the story progressed. There were moments where I wished for more action or urgency to keep the momentum going. That said, I did enjoy some of the character development, particularly around Zoe, and appreciated the atmosphere the author created.

Overall, it was an okay read—solid in some areas but fell a little flat for me in others. I’d still be interested in seeing where the series goes next.

This is book one of a new series featuring FBI Special Agent Zoe Storm. Zoe is sent on a case to investigate the disappearance of a 7 year old girl in a small town that hasn't seen much crime in over 20 years. Soon after Zoe's arrival the case takes a turn an another girl is taken.

The story has multiple POV, dual timeline (present time and Zoe's private life), and is fast paced for the most part.
The book grabbed my attention from the very beginning and I wanted to keep going. The story has a good plot and is action packed.
I enjoy the psychological part of it (which we get from Zoe's partner, Dr. Aiden Wesley).
This book had a few plot twists I didn't see coming and although the main case was closed, there is more to come on book 2.

I enjoyed the narration for the female characters. The voices for the male characters sometimes blended in a bit, but overall it was good that I went into the grocery store listening to it.
Book available July 30th

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the ALC!

Title: The Hanging Dolls
Series: Zoe Storm Book #1
Author: Rihi Choudhary
Format: 🎧
Narrator: Stephanie Cannon
Publisher: Bookouture Audio
Genre: Mystery Thriller
Pub Date: July 30, 2025
My Rating: 3.5 Stars!
Pages: 378

This story is the first book in a new FBI agent series featuring Agent Zoe Storm. Story starts when Zoe was a child and she comes home from school to find mother dead in the bath tub. This situation made her vow she would do something to protect the innocent.

Now Special Agent Storm and her partner psychologist Dr. Aiden Wesley are called to the small town of Harborwood, Washington to assist in finding missing Lily Baker a young child who disappeared from a playground – unfortunately she is later found dead in the woods nearby.

Kidnapped, children who are injured and killed is never a ‘fun’ story. Additionally I a hard time with the foul mouth unlikeable characters.
I was rooting for Zoe and Alden to solve this case.
I read a lot of thrillers so know to suspect everyone. So, I was sort of correct on who was behind the kidnapping ~~ but didn’t have details, wasn’t positive whodunit!
I was curious about Zoe’s background and the flashbacks kept me curious.

When I read my first Ruhi Choudhary novel it wasn’t the Wow I was expecting – but I was sure I would like her.
am a big fan of thrillers so I hung in there and glad I did as I ended up likening it.
A lot happened in this story ~ I hope to read the next in the Zoe Storm series.

Want to thank NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for granting me this audiobook.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for July 30, 2025.

I listened to the audiobook, which may have impacted my review with this one.

Scenes jumped fairly frequently- sometimes into the past, sometimes in POV, sometimes just in location/time. These changes were not obvious in the audiobook- I often felt lost and confused.

The timeline also didn't make sense. It made it seem like they were there investigating for weeks or even months. That doesn't make sense to me, but I also don't know.

There were some weird inaccuracies- like an FBI agent is never going to walk into a classroom unannounced and talk to a young student. So many things wrong with that- the school would know ahead of time, the kids would be pulled out, and PARENTS would be involved. There were a few crazy things like that.

All of that together made this one not for me.

I received an advance audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

The Hanging Dolls by Ruhi Choudhary absolutely pulled me in from the start and kept me hooked all the way through. The pacing was perfect, the twists were sharp, and the emotional layers ran deeper than I expected. I listened to the audiobook and was completely drawn in; the narration really added to the mood and intensity of the story.

Detective Mackenzie Price is a character you can't help but root for. She's tough, flawed, and haunted by a past she can't quite escape, but she’s also growing, healing, and learning to face her own ghosts, both personally and professionally. The emotional depth in her character arc was one of my favorite parts of the book.

The case at the heart of this story is disturbing and compelling: a woman’s body is found hanging in the woods, eerily dressed in a doll-like fashion, and when a second body turns up the same way, the tension explodes. As Mackenzie digs deeper, she discovers a dark connection to an old children’s home, and eventually, the truth hits far closer to home than she ever expected.

The themes of childhood trauma, corruption, and buried secrets were handled with care but didn’t shy away from the grim reality behind them. And just when I thought I had it all figured out, boom! That final reveal had my jaw on the floor.

I loved how much Mackenzie evolved over the course of the story. She's still battling her inner demons, but she starts to open up, lean on others a bit more, and allow herself the space to move forward. Her growth felt believable and earned.

This was a solid, chilling thriller with great atmosphere, a strong emotional core, and characters that stayed with me. Highly recommend for fans of dark crime thrillers and twisty mysteries!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC!

Thank you NetGalley and Bookouture audio for the pre publication audio book in return for an honest review.
This is a good keep you guessing book, dealing with the horrible subject of child murder, it wiled away some hours with a good narrator and well written story lines. I did find there were too many characters for me to follow well, this happens more with audio rather than written word I find. The characters are well described but there are only so many personal backstories I guess for writers to use and some are getting a bit over used. The murder mystery itself is good, with a few red herrings, although by the end I’d lost track of where the killer fit into the rest of the plot.

The Hanging Dolls is an utterly gripping start to what promises to be an addictive new crime thriller series. From the haunting opening scene to the nail-biting conclusion, I was hooked. Ruhi Choudhary crafts a chilling and emotional story, following Special Agent Zoe Storm as she races against time to stop a twisted killer targeting vulnerable young girls in the small town of Harborwood.

The case is disturbing and layered, with symbolic nooses, cryptic clues, and a chilling message that more lives are at stake. Zoe’s determination to seek justice for the innocent, especially for young Lily Baker drives the emotional core of the story. The connection between the victims and the psychological games played by the killer kept me on edge, constantly questioning what would happen next. There were several shocking moments that genuinely surprised me, which I loved.

The audiobook narration by Stephanie Cannon was phenomenal. She brought the story to life in such a vivid, cinematic way that it felt like I was watching a crime drama unfold in my mind. Her ability to shift tones and distinguish each character especially in high-tension scenes made the listening experience even more immersive and atmospheric.

I haven’t read a great thriller in a while, and this absolutely scratched that itch. A dark, twisty, and emotionally compelling mystery that left me eager for the next book in the series. Thank you to Ruhi Choudhary and NetGalley for the opportunity to listen and review!

Check out my Booksta to see my post: @libraryofcharis

Thanks to NetGalley for the sneak preview. This kept me engaged to the end. I do feel like there were a few loose ends, which was a bit unsatisfying. I did not predict the twist at the end. If you want a quick, twist story, this is a good one.

One star feels too mean, so I'm giving two, but reluctantly. I really disliked just about everything about this book. The whole trope is so overplayed, there were way too many peripheral characters, and the main character's backstory/flashbacks never even came to fruition. I understand this seems to be book one in a series, but if you're giving me storyline, I want it wrapped up or at least acknowledged by the end of the book.

Ruhi Choudhary has a new crime series featuring Special Agent Zoe Storm and her partner Dr Aiden Wesley. This book begins with a shocking scene which instantly grabbed my attention and had me wanting more! After the book's thrilling and shocking beginning, it slows down a little and switches to Zoe as an adult and a special agent. When a body is found, this book kicks back into gear and I was all in doing my best to figure out whodunit along with Zoe and Aiden!

Lily Baker's young body has been found with three symbolic nooses hanging nearby. Witnesses report seeing Lily speaking to an unknown man prior to her disappearance. Another young girl is taken, and the connection is the young victims come from troubled broken homes. Zoe and Aiden throw themselves into their investigations. When Zoe receives a cryptic note, she knows the killer is taunting her which only makes her more motivated.

This is the first book that I have read by Ruhi Choudhary, and I look forward to reading more of her books. I found this book to be well thought out, thrilling, shocking, and gripping. I enjoyed the investigation and never saw the reveal coming! I enjoyed the tension, the dread, and the building suspense.

Gripping, shocking, well thought out, and thrilling! I had both the book and the audiobook which made for a wonderful reading experience!

Overall a good crime thriller and a really intriguing start to a series. I did find this to be a little messy though? SO many different plot points, which I'm fine with, but I didn't feel like it flowed really well? Multiple POVs and def didn't guess the ending! I def think I'll read book 2 as book 1 ends on a bang!

Rating: 3.5 stars

I didn't love this one. I really wanted to like it but it just didn't keep me interested for some reason. I didn't love the narrator so I had a hard time getting through this.

3.5 stars. I enjoy Ruhi Choudhary, so I was excited to get an advanced listening copy of this one.

Right from the start, we meet Agent Zoe Storm, and it’s clear she’s lived an interesting life, I was invested. However, I didn’t love the narration. The pacing was good, but some of the character voices pulled me out of the story. I did get used to it as it went on.

The plot kept my interest, and I found myself guessing the killer more than once… only to be wrong. In the end, it felt a bit anticlimactic.

That said, Zoe’s backstory has me curious, and I’ll definitely continue the series. A solid thriller I think plenty of readers will enjoy.

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture Audio for the chance to listen early.

Phenomenal start to a new series! Loved the main character. Narration was spot on. I will be looking for the next book in this new series.

WOW! What a strong start to a series!

3.5 stars rounded up

Thank you to NetGalley and Bookouture for the advanced listener copy.

This was a gripping story and for sure had me on the edge of my seat! There were quite a few different plots going on and at times they were hard to follow, but they all came together in the end.

The narration was good. The narrator did a great job portraying different characters although her “man” voice wasn’t my favorite ever.

I would for sure recommend this book to people looking for a gripping mystery.

I love getting the opportunity to read a literary series right from the very start and so I was very excited to read The Hanging Dolls and what a title!

The main character is FBI agent Zoe Storm and I like her very much. The prologue begins sometime ago with Zoe as a child and the main story picks up in the present time with Zoe and her role with the FBI, when she is called to investigate the murder of a little girl. The plot itself was relatively straightforward with a lot of the book introducing us to the characters who are likely to be recurring in the series and starting to reveal their back stories. I hope we get to find out more about Zoe‘s childhood as it is clear that this has shaped who she is today and why she does the job that she does. I’m also fascinated to find out what happened to her mother.

I listened to the audiobook,, which was narrated by Stephanie Cannon. I always enjoy Stephanie‘s narration; she has a great skill in voicing many different characters in a story effectively.

4 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Ruhi Choudhary and Bookouture, for an ARC of this book.

3.25⭐️
I think I am going to be an outlier here so I rounded my rating up. However, I am reviewing the Audiobook and I did not enjoy it which then impacted my investment in the story. As in I had to speed it up as fast as I could while still understanding it just so I didn't get hyper-focused on the narration.

I realize that this is a "me" issue which is why I didn't want to negatively impact the overall rating for the book but I still want to be forthright with my opinions.

The book was narrated by Stephanie Cannon and she did speak at a decent pace for the 1X speed. Her regular vocals for the female characters was fine and pleasant to listen to. It seemed to fit the main character, Zoe Storm, well enough. However, her male characters were insufferable. Like, it made me angry to listen to as it bordered on offensive. It was at times such a caricature of the different male voices and at others it sounded like she was in pain. I am sorry to be so harsh but it was that bad.

As far as the story itself, it was a pretty straight forward police procedural. Admittedly, I am no longer in my police procedural era but the description of this one intrigued me enough to give it a go. What I didn't enjoy is that it felt like the author was talking down to the reader. While I found it fairly simple to figure out the twits and culprit well before they were revealed, it was as though she put in twists for twist sake without much support beneath it. As it it tried to be clever but didn't fully execute.

However, it had an enjoyable feeling to it. Narration aside, the prose itself did keep me engaged and interested enough that I want to check out other works by the author.

I am thankful to have gotten a complimentary audio ALC from Bookouture Audio through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

My general rating system is below. Since I primarily read ARC books I rate according to how I think like minded readers will receive the book. I will round up or down depending on many factors and try not to let my personal wants affect a books ratings.

⭐️ Hated It but pushed through as so don’t DNF ARCs I have received.
⭐️⭐️ Had a lot of trouble, prose issues, content issues, poorly edited.
⭐️⭐️⭐️ Meh, it was an ok read but it had something that stopped me from rounding up. Usually the book may have much more potential than what was given. I recommend it but with reservations.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ I Really enjoyed it or think others will. These are solid reads that I definitely would recommend for a variety of reasons.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Outstanding! These are books that remain rent free in my head for well after unfinished the book. It can be for a variety of reasons from being very well written or just the vibes that captured my mind. These books are also ones I would probably read again.

The Hanging Dolls is a grizzly start to a new FBI agent series, we are introduced to agent Zoe when she is a child, then we fast forward to the now, a killer who has murdered one little girl, and is preparing for the next 2. Zoe needs to stop him.

The killer is in the story all along, and the plot was interesting and well thought out. The author does a great distraction job, I had the killer pinned down several times and I was wrong until a point. I would normally really enjoy this, but it felt too obvious, in a look over there type manner. I knew I was being distracted and I didn’t love it.

Maybe this was wrong book wrong time for me. I’m clearly in the minority with my review, but I just did t enjoy it as I expected to, and I didn’t feel invested enough to continue with the series.

Stephanie Cannons narration was enjoyable as usual.

Huge thanks to Bookouture Audio and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this ALC 🎧