Critics' Opinion:
Readers' rating:
Published Feb 2013
368 pages
Genre: Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Speculative, Alt. History
Publication Information
The girl with no past, and no future, may be the only one who can save their lives.
Nisha was abandoned at the gates of the City of a Thousand Dolls when she was just a little girl. Now sixteen, she lives on the grounds of the isolated estate, where orphan girls apprentice as musicians, healers, courtesans, and, if the rumors are true, assassins. She makes her way as Matron's errand girl, her closest companions the mysterious cats that trail her shadow. Only when she begins a forbidden flirtation with the city's handsome young courier does she let herself imagine a life outside the walls. Until one by one, girls around her start to die.
Before she becomes the next victim, Nisha decides to uncover the secrets that surround the girls' deaths. But by getting involved, Nisha jeopardizes not only her own future in the City of a Thousand Dolls - but also her life.
"Starred Review. Set in a magically isolated Empire, Forster's well-crafted story and confident prose are rich, packed with small details that immerse readers in her sumptuously imagined world." - Publishers Weekly
"A vivid but uneven debut takes place in an Asian-blend fantasy world...Memorable but bumpy." - Kirkus
"A fantastical murder mystery with a creative premise, heart-pounding pacing, and characters with secrets to keep." - Cinda Williams Chima, author of best-selling The Exiled Queen
"With fantastic world building and a wonderful heroine, City of a Thousand Dolls intrigued me from the first page." - Cindy Pon, author of Silver Phoenix
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