Annabelle's Secret — Alice Sharpe

When Maddie Soames, a personal shopper, bustles into an old friend's junk shop on a quest for just the right doll she gets more than she bargained for: Her thrifty purchase, Annabelle, has a secret, but she's giving nothing away -- even to Maddie and her new friend, substitute storekeeper Simon Kellogg.

For some reason, their toy is a very hot commodity, but Simon and Maddie don't understand the source of her infinite charm; she's not old enough to be valuable, not new enough to be trendy -- and she's homely to boot. They decide to hold on to her until they can figure out exactly what her prospective buyers see in her. All they see is a ton of trouble, and when Maddie's apartment is ransacked, they begin to realize that the worst is yet to come. The greedy scoundrels who covet little Annabelle have already killed one woman in their misguided search for the doll, and if Maddie and Simon aren't careful, they could be next!