My first book by Kerry Wilkinson. The Call had potential and I wanted to love it. I did not like this one. I felt it took forever to know what really happened. There was quite a bit of comparison between how things are done in Canada versus the U.K.

This is only my opinion and I always suggest reading for yourself. Thank you Publisher & NetGalley for allowing me to provide an honest review.

While this book had a lot of potential, it didn't end up hitting the mark for me. The premise was compelling and kept me reading to the end, however I had enough issues with it that it only gets a 3/5 stars.

First, what I liked:
- Like I said, the premise was super interesting. My favorite parts of the book were the ones explaining the disappearance, and focused on investigating it.
- There were a number of scenes/plot points that grabbed my interest, and I found myself constantly thinking "oh, maybe this will finally explain something!"

What I didn't like?
- The main characters reaction to her fiancé going missing seemed extremely unrealistic to me. Maybe I'm just too emotional, but if my husband were missing I'd likely be inconsolable for a long time. I wouldn't be able to do anything else but cry, talk about it, and try to find answers. This character was like "oh, I'm so upset and having a hard time sleeping" for like two days. Then she just sort of went flat and was able to do other things with her family (who also seemed particularly unfazed).
- There was a side plot with another woman with a missing husband that honestly just left me scratching my head. I don't understand why she was in the story at all. It felt like there was a second book the author wanted to write but didn't have enough substance for a whole novel so she sort of shoehorned it in this one.
- The pacing was too slow. There was so much extraneous stuff that really had nothing to do with the main mystery. I was like half way through the book and it felt like nothing had happened yet.
- The answer to the central mystery of the missing fiancé felt contrived. I also identified the main players early on and knew what his disappearance was related to ages before the end. Everything in between felt like a distraction.
- The actual end of the main book (before the epilogue) was just so upsetting. It didn't need to end that way and it wasn't how I wanted to feel at the end of this story.
- The epilogue was so confusing. Was the author implying that the little girl in the airport was the little girl she was thinking about at that moment? Or did I just read too much into what happens? I don't know. I don't know if I'm even supposed to know. I finished the last page and just sort of went "huh?"

Overall, the three stars are primarily for the clever premise and the ability to write interesting red herrings. But the book as a whole just wasn't it for me.

This was an interesting read that is definitely a thriller! I read this in one sitting and was immediately invested in the characters and the outcome!
Thank you, NetGalley and the publisher for access to this e-ARC.

I liked this book but did struggle with some parts of it. Wasn’t very realistic if your partner goes missing. However it did make me want to read to the end to see the outcome. Thanks for the read Net Galley

Wow, what a book!

The call had me gripped from the first few pages all the way to the end!

This is the perfect, short suspense novel.

The twist and turns kept me guessing throughout the book. There were many storylines that all mingled into one that kept me very entertained.

The main plot is about what has happened to Melody’s fiancé after he suddenly vanished, however there are many sub plots to follow along the way. Do not be put off by this as the author has done a great job of making them easy to follow and linking them all together.

Highly recommend for anyone who is looking for a good suspense/ thriller novel. Would be great to get anyone out of a book slump!

To say that reading this book became addictive is a huge understatement. I would stupidly pick the book up only intending to read a couple of chapters to fill in the odd half hour but I would become so wrapped up in the story that I would still be sat there well over an hour and several chapters later. My book wasn’t exactly glued to my hand but it might as well have been because it travelled everywhere with me.

Unfortunately, this was a complete flop for me. I am struggling to find the words to describe the issues I had with this book without full on spoilers and I’ll do my best…

Essentially, the story is that Melody Bryant has booked a vacation rental house in Canada for herself, her FIANCÉ, her son, her sister and brother-in-law and her father. Her family had a vacation in the same area when she was a child and based on her memories of the trip, she wants her son to experience the same thing she did, which includes a summer camp. Her FIANCÉ has obligations at home that force him to be on a later flight, rent a separate car and drive to meet them at the rental house. I don’t remember if there are any reasons given in the book as to why this makes more sense than any of the rest of them just picking him up at the airport, but let’s just continue to go with this. Melody is drinking with her sister at the rental house when her FIANCÉ, Evan calls to tell her he’s a short drive away. Then he sees a girl in the road and stops to ask if she needs help. Melody hears a noise and then the line goes dead. Her sober brother-in-law somewhat reluctantly drives her to the road that leads to the house and they find the abandoned rental car and call the police to tell them the curious story about her FIANCÉ. From this point on, the police and pretty much everyone else Melody encounters mistakenly refers to Evan as her husband, which she seems annoyed to have to correct each time. Sometimes she lets the mistake pass without saying anything, but she still corrects the person in her thoughts, which became annoying to me. Then, at one point in the story, the author actually refers to Melody telling someone about her missing husband, which kind of infuriated me. But I digress.

Anyway, she ponders whether to ruin her son’s vacation by telling him his father has gone missing and ultimately decides to not ruin his vacation and tell him his dad’s arrival is delayed and still send him to camp. Meanwhile, Melody’s father takes daily walks and plays on his iPad, spending much of his time on his own away from the rest of them and her sister and brother-in-law carry on doing touristy things, leaving her alone to worry about her missing FIANCÉ/one time “husband” all by herself. She meets another woman (a parent of another child at her son’s camp) who coincidentally had her husband go missing years earlier and she forms a fast friendship with this woman based on their shared experience. I won’t say anything more about the story with this woman, because it would be a spoiler, but it didn’t work for me

Another issue I had is that when Evan’s rental car is found, his luggage is missing, but his cell phone is in it. Melody takes the cell phone, but she trusts Evan and doesn’t know his passcode and it doesn’t even occur to her to try to figure it out to search his phone for any minor clues whatsoever until at least a full day or two into his disappearance. There’s another silly/borderline ridiculous storyline with Melody’s dad that I won’t spoil and some silly distractions from the main story (maybe meant to be red herrings), but no concrete clues as to what’s going on until the very end, at which point we are treated to a conclusion that also just didn’t work for me. Again, I can’t say why I didn’t like it without spoilers, but even in a world where I believe the reasoning behind everything, there are other options that would have made much more sense than the one chosen. It felt like the author chose the initial storyline without knowing how it would be explained in the end and then worked towards the most roundabout connection possible. Is there a connection? Yes. But is it the one that makes the most sense for Evan being the victim of this whole thing? Not at all. It just doesn’t seem viable. Then the story comes to a very abrupt ending followed by an epilogue that had me questioning how everything was so (okay?) ?

This story just did not work for me. I’m giving it a three simply because I was able to breeze through it and that makes a big difference in rating to me. Despite much of the story feeling unrealistic, it did flow along quickly and the mystery surrounding what happened to Evan kept me turning pages, if nothing else, just to get to the conclusion. While the story didn’t work for me, the writing itself was good and based on reviews of other books by this author, I would definitely be willing to try another.

With thanks to NetGalley, Bookouture Publishing and Kerry Wilkinson for the copy of this book to read and review.

I always enjoy reading Kerry’s book so I was very excited when I get the ARC of this book.
Melody, her husband Evan and her son Sam decide to go on a family trip to cabin she went to when she was younger. Melody’s sister, sister’s husband, and father join them as well. Melody had good memories from that trip and was excited to go back. Evan doesn’t end up going the same day as all of them. But when he does arrive, he doesn’t make it to the cabin. The cops are useless so Melody takes matters into her own hands. Where is Evan? What happened to him? Who can Melody trust? This was an amazing thriller. So many twists and turns! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. I wasn’t expecting it to end the way it did. Kerry’s books are always great! I’m never disappointed when I read them. Thank you Kerry, NetGalley and Bookouture for the ARC!

Wow! Another brilliant book by Kerry Wilkinson. The story was captivating and mysterious, and I couldn't put it down as I was desperate to find out what would happen! Full of shocking twists and turns. Really loved it!

I was instantly hooked as soon as I started reading this book, the build up of suspense and tension coupled with the twists and turns kept me reading.

This book reminded me of something similar to a Freida Mcfadden book. Very similar styles. A nice thriller and a fast read, love when books aren't too long and straight to the point not dragging.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy of this book.

Melody, her son, dad and sister and brother in law all fly out to Canada. Melody is hoping to recreate the holiday of a lifetime she experienced as a child. Melody’s partner Evan takes a later flight, as he drives towards their holiday home, he is on the phone to Melody. When the call cuts out Evan has disappeared without a trace.

This was a good quick and easy read. I enjoyed the suspense. Melodys frustration was very clear and well written and I felt for her. No support form her sister and little from her father. I’d have liked to have seen those relationships explored further. There were a few red herrings leading up to the finale. Some I figured out but others were deliberately misleading to build up the element of surprise. I enjoy this authors books and writing style. Recommend this one too.

Kerry Wilkinson, The Call, Bookouture, April 2024.

Thank you, NetGalley, for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

I have been an avid follower of Kerry Wilkinson’s work, the stand-alone novels and the absorbing Whitcliffe Bay series. The Call, however, has been a great disappointment. Admittedly, I was intrigued by the premise and the first part of the novel. It begins with a scene between two sisters in a beautiful location. Their father’s walking off his back pain from the flight is his familiar reaction to any health issue. Familiar holiday activities on the lake break the silence. Even as the loneliness and difficulty in getting to the holiday house by the lake on Vancouver Island establishes the gradual fear that will grow as the narrative proceeds, a comfortable atmosphere has been established. With a child fast asleep after the flight from England, one husband in bed using his laptop and two sisters reminiscing and drinking happily together, what can go wrong?

A phone call from Melody’s husband who is driving towards them initially continues the somnambulant atmosphere with discussion about his rental car, a missing Garmin (and the sense of home and familiarity around his exercise records), renting bikes and the possibility of having to buy food supplies - until he sees a child in the road, Melody hears the sounds of scraping on the road, a car door slamming, a little of Evan’s conversation, and, then, silence.

Evan cannot be located, and Melody and her family have to contend with a police presence based on the loneliness of the location, a different social environment, the possibility that Evan’s absence is not being taken seriously and the need to maintain a sense of normalcy for Sam, his and Melody’s child. The determination to remain normal, includes Melody’s sister and brother-in-law continuing the holiday activities they had planned and Sam going to summer camp. Sam’s attendance at the camp is based on Melody’s wish to relive her own childhood memories on Vancouver Island. Continuing the background sense of unease, Melody’s positive memories of their previous holiday are not shared by her father and sister,

Despite some of these intriguing features, some twists, and an explanation of Evan’s disappearance that is satisfactory, for me The Call did not meet the standards established by Kerry Wilkinson’s previous work. I look forward to the next Kerry Wilkinson to renew my appreciation.
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I was excited to read this as I enjoyed the authors “night of the sleepover” books. We get thrown straight in at the deep end in chapter one, no slow burn here! We’ve got a family on holiday at a lake house in Canada and the husband Evan of one of the women has disappeared on his way to join the rest of the family. The book picks up momentum and I sped through the first half of the book.

There is a lot of unnecessary repetition about mundane things like picking up rubbish, doing the laundry etc which began to grate on me and slowed my pace and made me just eager to finish as the third quarter of the book felt quite stagnant. However it soon picked back up again and I’m glad I persevered to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, the author and the publisher for the e copy of an arc.

So when Melody books a family holiday back to a remote part of Canada she visited as a child her world is turned upside down when her fiancé goes missing on the way to their cabin. He calls her to say he is ten minutes away and then says there is a girl in the road and the call gets cut off. As her world falls apart she starts to question if her memory of her amazing previous trip was as good as she thought and as the police don’t seem capable to find him she sets off to find him herself. I can’t spoil this one so won’t say anymore but it’s a great read and not to be missed. This book will keep you awake.

Absolutely amazing and a must read is basically all I can say!

This pulls you in from the start and doesn't let go until the very end. The writing style is just so natural and the story flows perfectly. Before I knew it, I'd lost 2 hrs completely engrossed. The characters are so well written and realistic. They have depth and personality. They're not perfect but also not written as complete idiots. The storyline has so much to suspense and tension built throughout and there are some amazing twists thrown in aling the way. I can't speak highly enough of this book

If I could sum up my thoughts and feelings towards this story into one word, it would be “WOW”. “The Call” pulls you in right in the first chapter and holds you hostage. Filled with twists and intrigue at every corner, information is leaked at the perfect time and in the most perfect way. Keeps you thinking and trying to piece things together. While I had mostly figured out some parts before they were revealed, I still enjoyed each revelation. I loved the writing and the story so much, I’m eager to check out some of the other books from this author.
I enjoyed they were in Canada, and more specifically British Columbia. The mentions of areas I know and have been to many times before helped me relate more with the story. The scenery descriptions are so vivid and brought my own memories back of travelling around the Island - especially the references to the chairs she’d see at bus stops. You can fully visualize the imagery, especially thanks to my personal experiences; so excellent work on capturing that.
Kept thinking of how Melody was nearing a breakdown with just so much stress being introduced over and over again. I found the characters enjoyable, but did not like how disconnected it seemed the sisters were - I had expected them to have had at least a couple more scenes together. Melody was such a brave woman, and I truly wonder what I’d do in her situation.
I found myself thinking about the lack of adequate quality police services and care in small places. I enjoyed her contrasting things in England and Canada; even though words sometimes threw me off a bit. Lastly, about 2/3 the way through chapter 36 there is a line about “enjoying himself” that should be “herself”.
Overall, an amazing read that I strongly recommend to anyone!
#TheCall #NetGalley #BookReview #books #read

Wow! I couldn’t put it down and read during every free second I could spare. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This is a fantastic read, I love Kerry’s work and this was another sold thriller. Full of secrets and lies, I really wondered how it was all going to end!! Loved it!

This story kept me guessing. A page turner…a missing fiancé…a mom and her son…a little girl…secrets and red herrings…family and friends…spend an afternoon with these characters…become immersed in this novel that reads like nonfiction…thanks Netgalley…