The little boy played with his toy trains in the bedroom, keeping quiet so as not to wake his mother. He stayed silent as he watched his window creaking open and heard the whisper from outside. A minute later, Tommy and the trains were gone.

An unrelenting heatwave sweeps the country and starts a fire that uncovers the charred remains of a young woman. But when DI Eleanor Raven attends the post-mortem, it reveals some disturbing details - the girl was dead long before the fire. Her body had been lovingly preserved before being dressed up, her hair perfectly arranged, and a lime-green scarf knotted around her neck.

With little evidence surviving the fire, Eleanor and her team have no solid leads. But back on duty after six months’ enforced leave, Eleanor is determined to prove herself fit for service, and she won’t accept that this case could prove impossible.

Following a tenuous link to an old missing-persons case, Eleanor discovers the poor woman’s identity: Giselle Baker was a young dancer at a local bar before she disappeared two years ago, leaving behind a worried roommate and, concealed among her things, a curious wooden carving of a snake. Before Eleanor can uncover the significance of the toy, though, another woman goes missing, and then a little boy.... It seems that someone is collecting a family for themselves.

As Eleanor battles her own demons, she pushes herself to the limit to find the killer. But her fight to save his last innocent victim may become a battle to save herself....

A totally gripping, fast-paced mystery thriller that will leave your jaw on the floor.

Perfect Little Dolls was previously published as The Vault.