This is the third novel I've read by Fiona Davis, and I'm always in awe and hooked until the last word. I especially love the history and the mystery of each one.

I liked the stories of the women who lived in the hotel. Unfortunately, the main character Rose was a bit flaky.

3.5. What a fun book! Hard to put down.

I continue to enjoy her books

I quite enjoyed this mystery which unraveled slowly through story from the past and the present.

I’m glad I didn’t read this Fiona Davis book first as I’d probably never have read another. This was the fourth and it couldn’t be more different than the other three. I never connected with either character, but Rose and the modern era story was awful. I couldn’t believe the audacity of Rose and simply did not like anything about her. Darby was okay, but the twist and reveal fell flat for me.

I read "The Dollhouse" because in June 1969 I spent a night at the Barbizon. I was mainly interested in the historical details and would have liked more of those.
The plot does not hang together terribly well. I never figured out how Rose jumped to the unwarranted, and wrong, conclusion that Esme assumed Darby's identity. There was nothing in the letter to suggest that, and it seemed quite farfetched since there were plenty of people around who knew both of them.
Also, in 1952 there were no transistor radios. They were not invented until 1954 and became popular in the 1960s. They didn't sound different from other radios. Pink sponge rollers for hair did not appear until 1984. Before that we slept on pin curls or rather uncomfortable wire and horsehair (or plastic) curlers, sometimes with brushes inside them.
A Vietnamese restaurant in California (page 263) seems very unlikely in 1952. The Vietnam War started in 1955 and Vietnamese immigration started in 1975.