Module 9: Mystery

The Dollhouse Murders by Betty Ren Wright

Summary: The Dollhouse Murders is the story of how Amy solves the mystery of her grandparents murder using the clues given to her through the dolls in her Aunt's childhood dollhouse.  Each night the dolls in the dollhouse, an exact replica of the actual house they are in,  move on their own to the place where their murder occurred.
My Impressions: I thought the book was sufficiently creepy to keep a reader in upper elementary or middle school interested. There was plenty of good suspense, and the author added a second story line about how Amy handles living with a special needs sister and a mom who doesn't seem to understand that she needs her own space. This added another dimension to the story.

Review: These are reviews of an audiotape set.  I have extracted only the part that relates to the Doll House Murders. The only reviews I could find were about audiotapes of this book.

Author: Jeanette Larson   

This collection of unabridged titles offers impeccable technical quality and high-quality listening for middle-grade children.  Reader Stewart uses changes in tone, pitch, and cadence to enhance the characterizations in The Dollhouse Murders. Foreboding music sets the mood at the beginning of each tape.

No Author: Source, Publishers Weekly

Wright's taut, suspenseful novel proves a solid choice to kick off the Live Oak Mysteries audio series. The attic is always a great place to look for nuggets of one's family history, but when 12-year-old Amy explores her great-grandparents' attic, she uncovers clues to a chilling family secret. As Amy and her Aunt Claire sift through clothes, trinkets and other memorabilia, Amy comes across Aunt Claire's long-forgotten dollhouse, a finely crafted replica of the house they are in. Aunt Claire seems unusually distressed about the dollhouse and Amy is determined to find out why. The real fun begins when Amy learns that the dolls in the dollhouse move of their own will--and that they seem to be trying to tell her something. After a little sleuthing at the local library, Amy learns that her great-grandparents were murdered years ago and that Aunt Claire's fiance (who died in a car accident that same night) was the prime suspect in the unsolved case. Before long, Amy unravels the mystery, helping Aunt Claire to res olve her feelings about the past. A subplot about Amy's relationships with her parents, younger sister and best friend adds depth and warmth to this crisply paced tale. Stewart handles the narration with aplomb, using her voice to give listeners a hint of each character's personality. Her portrayal of Aunt Claire, who delivers a few chillingly snappish retorts to Amy, is particularly strong. Ages 8-up. (Mar.)

Library Use: Have students create a diarama of a scene like the dollhouse scene using their own dollhouse figurines,  action figures or "barbie" dolls. Then they write and tell their own mystery story based on their figurines.

Resource List:

Source Citation

Larson, J. (2000, February, 15). Review of the soundrecording of The Dollhouse Murders, by Betty Ren Wright. Booklist 96(12), 1128.Retrieved from the Literature Resource Center. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA59642703&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w

Wright, B. R. (1983). The dollhouse murders. New York, NY: Holiday House. Read by Carol Jordan Stewart. Live Oak Media. 1999. 4hr. 3 cassettes,

Review of the soundrecording of the book The Dollhouse Murders, by Betty Ren Wright.  Publishers Weekly.  246(19) : p34. (1999, May 10). Retrieved from Literature Resource Center. http://go.galegroup.com/ps/i.do?id=GALE%7CA54649713&v=2.1&u=txshracd2679&it=r&p=LitRC&sw=w