A Killer Keepsake by Ellery Adams and Parker Riggs features a haunted antique doll whose owner rides on the final journey of the Hindenburg, but that is only part of the story. The doll survives the Hindenburg fire and ends up in modern-day Vermont.
Haunted Dolls
A haunted doll is a handmade or manufactured doll that people claim is cursed or possessed in some way. Antique dolls that have this claim are fascinating. Did the dollโs original owners die from the bubonic plague? Were the dollโs owners passengers to the New World on the Mayflower? Think of any historical event. Was your particular antique doll around?
Have you ever had a doll that moved around on its own or one that would move items around and knock things over? The older your doll is, the more of a story it has.
Writing Prompts:
Dolls bought at yard sales could be dangerous. I mean, you donโt know the history of the doll or what has happened to the people who owned this doll. Your character has just bought a doll at a neighborhood yard sale. In her eyes, this doll is exquisite. But this doll has a past.
A young child picks up a doll she finds in the park. It looks rather ratty, and her mom tries to hide it to throw it out with the trash, but each time she does, the little girl bursts into tears and refuses to be consoled until the doll is returned to her. What happens?
The Hindenburg Disaster
Hearing about the Hindenburg in A Killer Keepsake roused my curiosity about the disaster that happened with this German airship. I honestly didnโt know much about it. I learned that the Hindenburg, a wonder during its time, took off in Germany and crossed the ocean to go to America. After a long wait, it was finally given clearance to land in New Jersey. Then it burst into flames. Not everyone on board was killed though. If I had survived the ball of fire the Hindenburg turned into in a matter of seconds, Iโm pretty sure that horrifying ordeal would live on in my nightmares.
Writing Prompts:
The people who rode on the Hindenburg on it final journey, what were they like? Iโm sure there were grandparents, aunts and uncles, parents, and children. Create characters who are on this last trip of the Hindenburg. Why did they choose to fly on the Hindenburg? Had they been on it before? What were they doing when it became clear they were going down? Did they survive?
Make the Hindenburg come to life. Did it choose to burst into flames on purpose? If so, why? Or was it sabotaged?
Now for a book that features both the Hindenburg and a haunted doll, one whose mission is to protect and comfort its owner: A Killer Keepsake.
A Killer Keepsake – a Short Review
Have I read this book? No, but I listened to the audiobook version of it. It is the sixth book in the Antiques and Collectibles Series by Ellery Adams, now a favorite author of mine, and Parker Riggs.
The story goes back and forth from the 1930s in Germany and then the USA to modern-day Vermont. In the 1930s, a woman that has been beaten up by her husband is gifted a beautiful doll, Emma, by a nurse in the hospital where she is being treated for injuries given to her by her abusive husband. The nurse claims she was told in a dream by her dead sister (who met her death because of an abusive husband) to gift the doll to her. She is told the doll will protect and comfort her. It makes her husband rather uneasy though. Escape plans are made when her husband books them passage out of Germany on the Hindenburg.
In modern-day Vermont, Molly Applebee is a writer for an antiques magazine. But she has a habit of discovering dead bodies, so she has also become an amateur sleuth. I do suggest listening or reading this series starting with book one, A Killer Collection. All of the books are good, but they just keep getting better and better, and this one was awesome!
The person she discovers dead this time is a member of an antiques club. A beautiful yet creepy doll, Emma, is at the center of the mystery.
The narrator, Andi Arndt, isnโt my favorite, but she does a good job. By the time I was finished listening to the first book in the series, I was convinced that no one else could have done a better job, so you do get used to the way she reads. Amazon links to each of the audiobooks in the Antiques & Collectibles Mysteries are below. Each one is available in audiobook, Kindle, or paperback. I highly recommend each of the following books.
Amazon Links:
About the Authors:
Ellery Adams is the New York Times bestselling author of the Books by the Bay Mysteries and the Charmed Pie Shoppe Mysteries. Ellery has held many jobs, including caterer, retail clerk, car salesperson, teacher, tutor, and tech writer, all while penning poems, children’s books, and novels. She now writes full-time from her home in Virginia.
Parker Riggs love of writing began as a teenager growing up in New Jersey penning short stories and poetry. Her dream to be a published author got set aside for a career in Washington, D.C. where, for two decades, she supported politicians and lawyers. Yet the dream never died. Pursuing her passion for mysteries, Parker is the author of the mystery novel Finding Jessica. She is also co-author of A Treacherous Trader, A Devious Lot, and A Killer Keepsake, the fourth, fifth, and sixth books in New York Times bestselling author Ellery Adams Collectible Mystery series. Parker lives in New Hampshire with her husband and an adorable mini dachshund named Clarice.
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