3 ratings | 2 reviews | avg rating:5.00

more photos (1)

C. Toms-Arbel’s Followers (17)

C.’s Bookshelves

to-read (2)
currently-reading (0)
read (3)

C.’s Friends (34)

Kaleigh Cancetty

99 books | 28 friends

Courtney

1,087 books | 364 friends

Jodie

422 books | 15 friends

Nicole

608 books | 33 friends

Michelle Morley

1,097 books | 63 friends

Michaela

169 books | 8 friends

Claire Evans

52 books | 4 friends

Rayven

165 books | 12 friends

More friends…

C. Toms-Arbel

Goodreads Author

Born

in Hemel Hempstead, The United Kingdom

Website

https://www.ctomsarbel.co.uk/

Genre

Crime, Thriller, Horror

Influences

Thomas Harris
Jack Ketchum
Natsuo Kirino
Ryu Murakami
Hiroshi Takashi
Corm ...more

Member Since

March 2015

URL

https://www.goodreads.com/ctomsarbel

edit data

Born with Talipes, a condition that altered the development of his feet in the womb, Christian frequently navigated the corridors of hospitals throughout his childhood. Amidst those challenging and solitary years, he found solace and joy in the pages of books, kindling a lifelong passion for reading.

From A Series of Unfortunate Events to Artemis Fowl, Tintin to His Dark Materials, Christian devoured any literature he could get his hands on. Immersing himself in the unfathomably beautiful world of fiction was the perfect escape from the painful reality he was living in. Without the support of his amazing family and books, Christian would have struggled weathering the storm.

At nine years old, when Christian first showed an interest in storyte Born with Talipes, a condition that altered the development of his feet in the womb, Christian frequently navigated the corridors of hospitals throughout his childhood. Amidst those challenging and solitary years, he found solace and joy in the pages of books, kindling a lifelong passion for reading.

From A Series of Unfortunate Events to Artemis Fowl, Tintin to His Dark Materials, Christian devoured any literature he could get his hands on. Immersing himself in the unfathomably beautiful world of fiction was the perfect escape from the painful reality he was living in. Without the support of his amazing family and books, Christian would have struggled weathering the storm.

At nine years old, when Christian first showed an interest in storytelling, his parents gifted him a typewriter, and that's when his passion for writing truly flourished. He was captivated by crafting tales of vampires, ghosts, and ghouls, drawing inspiration from the chilling adventures in R.L. Stine's Goosebumps series. The excitement and fear that horror writing evoked in him was something Christian deeply cherished.

Christian's journey in creative writing began at Portsmouth University, where he explored a diverse array of genres and writing styles. This experience pushed him out of his comfort zone, allowing him to dabble in everything from poetry and fan fiction to fairy tales, romance, erotica, horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and magical realism. After earning his degree, Christian was fortunate to receive a scholarship for a Creative Writing Master's programme. His thesis project was a novella in the young adult fantasy genre, featuring telekinetic orphaned twins. Despite the positive feedback, Christian realized that this genre wasn't the right fit for me, so he pivoted to a genre where he felt more at home: Crime Fiction.

Writing The Mannequins was a four-year journey where Christian invested his utmost effort and passion. It marks the culmination of over ten years of honing his craft until he found the genre that truly resonated with him. Christian’s aspiration is that readers will derive immense pleasure from this novel, even if it's just a fraction of the joy he experienced in creating it. Presently, Christian is writing the sequel.

Christian currently lives in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, with his wife and son. He works as a Further Education teacher, specializing in English and Creative Writing.
...more

Learn more
Ask the Author

To ask C. Toms-Arbel questions, please sign up.

Combine Editions
C. Toms-Arbel’s books

Average rating: 4.79 · 58 ratings · 48 reviews · 1 distinct work • Similar authors

The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller

4.79 avg rating — 58 ratings — 2 editions

Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

* Note: these are all the books on Goodreads for this author. To add more, click here.

rss
C.’s Recent Updates

C. liked Jo Adams's review of The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller: "Dark, Gripping, and Impossible to Put Down Christian Toms-Arbel’s debut crime thriller is a masterclass in psychological suspense. DS Cora Steele, a talented but inexperienced detective, is thrust into a chilling murder investigation in rural Shropshi" Read more of this review »
Dec 17, 2025 12:19AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
C. liked Reader's review of The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller: "🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 A Haunting, Brilliantly Crafted Masterpiece The Mannequins by C. Toms Arbel is one of those rare novels that reaches out from the page, grabs you by the collar, and refuses to let go. From the very first chapter, Arbel builds an atmosphere so vi" Read more of this review »
Dec 11, 2025 03:45AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
C. is now following Reader and Jo Adams
Dec 11, 2025 03:44AM
C. liked Amy's review of The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller: "4.5⭐️ - I have known about this book for a long time. I knew it was not going to disappoint and it didn’t! Not only do you get a case with a few murders, but you also get little peaks as to how the murderer came to be. It’s gruesome, gross, and heart" Read more of this review »
Dec 01, 2025 10:21AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
C. liked Ella's review of The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller: "This book was incredibly well written and completely immersive. What makes it stand out is the way it switches between two perspectives, you’re inside Detective Cora Steele’s head as she tackles her first big case, but you also get a chilling look in" Read more of this review »
Nov 24, 2025 02:46AM · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
C. rated a book it was amazing The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller by C. Toms-Arbel (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Nov 14, 2025 10:18AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
C. answered Goodreads's question: Can you tell us a two-sentence horror story? He woke up to the sound of an Ice Cream Van. He looked at the clock. It was 3 AM.
Oct 09, 2025 03:23AM · like
C. rated a book it was amazing The Mannequins: A gritty, dark and disturbing psychological crime thriller by C. Toms-Arbel (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
Oct 05, 2025 10:03AM · like · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Mannequins by C. Toms-Arbel <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">
C. rated a book it was amazing The Weight of Fifty-Two Fingers: A Body Horror Novel by Sofi Claythorn (Goodreads Author)	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
What struck me about this novel was the author's writing style. Sofi Claythorn's writing style is refreshingly precise. The author has the ability to create a rich and intricate world without going into excessive detail or providing extraneous inform ...more
Sep 26, 2025 02:05PM · like · see review · preview book See a Problem? We’d love your help. Let us know what’s wrong with this preview of The Weight of Fifty-Two Fingers by Sofi Claythorn. Problem: Details (if other): Thanks for telling us about the problem. Not the book you’re looking for? Preview — The Weight of Fifty-Two Fingers by Sofi Claythorn <iframe sandbox id="wrongBookKindlePreviewScreen">