This was one of those books that you tell yourself 'just one more chapter' and are not able to out it down. The shocking twists and turns in this book is my favorite part! You will for sure fall in love with the main characters, and want to keep turning the pages to see what happens next!

Melody, her fiancée Evan, and their son Sam have left their home in the UK for a lake vacation in Canada. Joining them are Melody’s father, sister, and brother-in-law. When Melody was nine, her parents took her to this area for summer camp and she remembers the time so fondly, she decides that Sam needs to get the same experience.

Evan had to work and was arriving a day late. As Melody is waiting for him, she gets a call from him - he’s almost to the Air B&B they’ve rented, but he saw a little girl walking down the road alone. Melody can hear him get out of the car and ask the child if she was okay, then the call disconnected. Evan never showed up, so Melody goes to find him. She finds his car right where he said he saw the child, but he is nowhere to be seen. The police are called, and the search begins.

This book started very slowly, with things ramping up about a third of the way through. Unfortunately, the book then got slow again, and stayed that way until the ending, which I thought was completely unbelievable and contrived. I hate giving bad reviews, but I rarely have to because I’m usually good at picking out books I know I’ll enjoy. Let’s just say I was wrong with this one; I really didn’t like the plot, the characters or the ending. From looking at other reviews, I’m glad to see it wasn’t just me! 2.5 stars.

(Thank you to Bookouture, Kerry Wilkinson and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my review. This book is slated to be released on April 16, 2024.)

This is another great read by Kerry Wilkinson. Everyone in this book seemed to have their own secrets so they all seem pre[ty shifty.. I thought it was so strange that with one of their party missing everyone but Melody carried on with their holiday as if nothing had happened.. It's not easy to review this story without spoilers but suffice to say it's one of those books where you won't notice the passing of time, you will be totally absorbed in the story until the.very last page. And if you are hoping for the kind of shocks that this author has become famous for you will not be disappointed. I had no idea the ending was going to be as shocking as it was so I was stunned but delighted at the same house.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC of this book

I really enjoyed this book - it’s the second Kerry Wilkinson book I’ve read and I will definitely be reading more.

Melody had been in Vancouver Island as a child with her sister and their parents. She had such fond memories of her time there that she decided to go again - this time with her sister and brother in law, her dad, her fiancé and her son Sam. Her fiancé Evan was to join them there as he had work commitments.

Melody had a call from Evan to say he was in the hire car and on his way to their rented lake house. Something happened while he was on the phone to Melody and he never arrived - he just disappeared!

Melody is distraught and can’t tell their son Sam that his dad is missing. She tried to keep things as normal as possible for Sam and every day while he is at camp she looks for clues to Evan’s disappearance.

A great story with lots of unexpected turns. I would definitely recommend this book.


Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for an advance copy of this book in exchange for an impartial review.

I’d like to thank Bookouture and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Call’ written by Kerry Wilkinson in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Melody and her family are already at their Airbnb at Shawnigan Lake in Canada when her fiancé Evan calls to say he’s on his way, but midway through their telephone conversation he stops to help a girl in the road, then disappears. When Melody reports his absence Constable Burgess does what he can to find Evan but Melody finds it difficult to enjoy her holiday when her fiancé is missing.

‘The Call’ is a thriller about a family holidaying in Canada when a member of their party disappears during his drive to join them. Kerry Wilkinson is one of those authors whose books can vary and I’m sorry to say I found this one disappointing. Although easy to read it didn’t excite me and grab my imagination as his novels normally do, and despite having an interesting first few chapters it fell flat and even the final twist failed to have a positive impact on me. I’m sorry, Kerry, I’m sure I’ll be in the minority but I’ll still be looking forward to your next one.

Your fiancé calls....‘A little girl needs help’...Then they both disappear...

Something different from Kerry Wilkinson in the wilds of Canada rather than the cold climes of Britain. But honestly, it was not my cup of tea.

We meet Melody who has, along with her sister and brother-in-law and father as well as her son and fiance Evan, booked an AirBnb on a lake in Canada for a vacation for them all. Having spent a summer there as a child, Melody has only good memories of her time there. But as many are quick to point out to her, not everyone's memories were as happy as hers.

After arriving and installing themselves in the lake house, Evan was catching a later flight, renting a car and meeting them there. He calls her from the road. He has just exited the highway and is about fifteen minutes from them...when suddenly he stops. He tells Melody there is a little girl in the road and stops to ask if she's okay. There is a little background noise and then suddenly the line goes dead. Having consumed wine that evening, Melody enlists the help of her sober brother-in-law Thomas to drive her along the road that Evan had taken to see if they could find him. Instead what they find is the abandoned rental car and Evan's phone discarded on the road. The car's boot is empty. Evan's suitcase has gone...and so has Evan.

The police arrive some hours later and with it being dark and surrounded by trees and forests, there is little they can do till morning. But as the days pass Melody feels that the police aren't doing enough to find Evan. In the meantime, she tells their son Sam that his dad has been held up and trying to catch another flight. Sam accepts her explanation and goes on to enjoy camp.

While her sister Nina and hubby Thomas go about their vacation as per normal, of course Melody cannot do so. Her whole world has imploded with Evan's disappearance. Naturally she does some googling for information that she has come garnered by way of other parents or locals in the area which thus leads her to randomly following anyone she thinks may know something about Evan's disappearance.

The story is a fairly quick read even if it is somewhat unrealistic. The mystery behind what happened to Evan is what kept me turning the pages and then when it is revealed I'm left scratching my head. What just happened here? The motive behind the disappearance just doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

I've been a fan of Kerry's thrillers for years. I love his dry wit and humour although this one lacked any of that trademark humour which I missed. And yet while the story as a whole didn't work for me, Kerry's writing is still enough to keep you engaged throughout...even if none of the characters were particularly likeable.

I do have mixed feelings of this one as I know what pageturning thrillers Kerry can deliver. And while I found it easy enough to read, it wasn't the riveting thriller that I have come to know that is of his calibre. I didn't hate it but I didn't enjoy it as much as his others. But having said that, I do look forward to whatever he brings us next!

I would like to thank #KerryWilkinson, #Netgalley and #Bookouture for an ARC of #TheCall in exchange for an honest review.

This review appears on my blog at https://stinathebookaholic.blogspot.com/.

An enjoyable read and quite a shockable ending. thanks Netgalley for letting me read this book. Will look forward to further books.

In Kerry Wilkerson‘s book The Call melody is finally back on Vancouver Island after dreaming of returning since she was nine years old when she visited with her sister Nina andher parents. She even enrolled her son Sam and to the same summer camp her and her sister Nina went to her partner and Sam’s dad Evan was on his way to the B&B and called Melody to tell her he was 10 minutes out but their call got interrupted and she doesn’t know where he is. After calling the police Officer Hutchins doesn’t leave her with much confidence anything will be done in this land of strangers Melody couldn’t feel more alone despite her fiancé being missing it seems her sister and brother-in-law will not let that stand in the way a their good time. Melody feels lost she doesn’t know whether or win to tell Sam his dad is missing and if her missing fiancé were her only issue that would’ve been enough but oh no she has many mini more dragons to slay on this dream holiday that has absolutely turned into a nightmare! I never like putting more than either what I knew about the book or read in the summary and so didn’t know what to put in this review of this awesome book! They say you can never go home again well Melody learned you can never go back to your dream vacation again either. She has nothing but great memories of Vancouver Island but it will be what she forgot that holds the most danger. Although I did find some of the clues that led melody from point a to point B were a tad bit flimsy the drama is still intense and although they had a few eye rolling moments with this book it was the best eye rolling and most entertaining I’ve ever done. This is a great book and one I definitely recommend to thriller fans. The first book I ever read by this author I did not like it but really like her writing style and I am glad I stuck with her because I have read many great books she has written, like this one. I want to thank Bookouchur for my free Ark via NetGalley please forgive any mistakes I am blind and dictate my review.

Melody and Evan travel to Vancouver Island for a holiday, a return to where Melody spent a childhood holiday many years ago. When Evan is on his way to the airbnb, he calls Melody, but then he has to stop the car as he sees a small girl in the middle of the road. As Melody waits, the call goes dead and both Evan and the child disappear.

While Melody searches for Evan, she is forced to face up to her own behaviour, the last time she was there and long forgotten memories are brought to the surface. She also discovers that Evan is keeping a massive secret from her and so when a body is discovered, she almost feels relieved!

The pace did slow in the middle and there was quite a lot of filler, that didn't necessarily relate to the main plot line, but the ending came out of nowhere, very unexpectedly and definitely took me by surprise!

3 ⭐️ Thanks to Netgalley, Kerry Wilkinson and Bookouture, for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A great thriller that had me hooked throughout with some great twists to keep me guessing. Fast paced with short punchy chapters, I found it hard to put down. Thank you to NetGalley, Bookouture and the author for the chance to review.

The Call by Kerry Wilkinson is an easy, enjoyable read, though I must admit that it is not my favourite from this author. The setting of Vancouver Island plays a significant role as events unfold and, for me, this detracted from the mystery at the heart of the story.

Melody and her family have returned to Vancouver Island, a place where she used to spend summer vacations as a child. But when she receives a call from her fiance Evan to say that he is on his way to join them, the perfect getaway becomes the perfect nightmare when Evan's call is cut off after he tells her that he is stopping to help someone in the road, possibly a child. With no further communication, Evan becomes a missing person, and he is far from the first, it transpires, in this small Canadian town.

This was a bit of a slow burn for me despite an enticing hook. I was just not as invested in Evan's fate as I had hoped to be, and I felt that Melody's behaviour did not always correlate with her plight. Overall, however, this is a solid read and I look forward to whatever comes next from this author. 3.5 stars

Many thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for an ARC.

My thanks to NetGalley and BookOuture for a copy of “ The Call “ for an honest review.

As a rule I really enjoy Kerry Wilkinson’s books , and although this was well written it wasn’t my favourite.
I’m usually gripped to his books , but this one just didn’t work for me .I found it dragged a bit and I ended up skim reading it..
Hopefully the next release will be back to his usual high standard

The Call by Kerry Wilkinson

Publisher Bookouture

Time to read less than a day

Stars 4

Review

What can I say. I love Kerry's Jessica Daniels series so was super excited to be offered the chance to read and review one of his stand alone books.

I prefer books based in the UK but I didn't let a little thing like it being based in Vancouver put me off. And boy am I pleased I didn't. I really enjoyed this and couldn't put it down.

I felt I could gel with the main character Melody I loved the narrator and th setting. Thank you for the opportunity to review

The Call by Kerry Wilkinson definitely caught my attention when I started reading it, I wanted to keep reading to find out what happens. The further I got into it, the less I wanted to read. It seemed like there was quite a bit of “filler” pieces that happened that didn’t really bring a purpose to the story. The last bit of the book was really captivating and drew me back in. It just seemed to drag on in the middle & I feel like it would have been more enjoyable if it was a lil bit shorter. Overall the way the story is written does make it an easy read and it does have some good twists!

Thank you so much NetGalley & Bookouture for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Mixed feelings on this one. “The Call” by Kerry Wilkinson was written well and easy to read and follow. I would not call it a “totally gripping thriller that will have you racing through the pages until the final shocking twist”. It was not. I was a tad bored with it. The entire book is from Melody’s POV and I didn’t find that to be a great place to be. The premise of the book is that her fiancé is missing and she just seems very “oh well” about it. There’s no urgency, no real feelings about it at all. There’s a few parts where she may seem slightly worried about him but the entire book focuses on everyone just going on with their lives on vacation with a “Welp, hopefully he shows up one day” attitude. It was bizarre. The sister and husband’s behaviors are bizarre too.. There are things that happen with a friend of Melody’s that basically went no where. The ending of the book is the most “exciting” part but there is something that happens that left me like “oh damn” but again, Melody’s attitude toward it was “Oh well.” It just felt really unrealistic to me. 2.5 stars rounded up. Thank you very much to NetGalley, Bookouture, and the author for an advanced reader’s copy. 💕

This was a decent read with some good twists. It centers on Melody, who travels with her family from England to Vancouver Island, Canada to relive a vacation she had as a kid. The rest of the family arrives before her fiancé Evan, who seems to vanish into thin air on the way there after telling her he saw a child in need of help.

The rest of the book is wrapped up in the mystery of Evan’s disappearance while Melody also discovers that some other things about their family and that happened on that first vacation aren’t exactly as they seemed. It was a little strange to me that the rest of the family just kept doing their thing despite the fact that Evan was nowhere to be found- this didn’t seem like how normal people would act. I also never got a really good understanding into the dynamic between any of these family members. That being said, a couple of the twists were really good and I appreciated that there were many surprises. The end left me with some unanswered questions but otherwise was fine.

Overall, this was a twisty read with some real surprises. I really enjoy this author and this one was no different! Thanks to Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Where's Evan? Melody and her family have rented a cottage for a vacation and Evan, her fiance has disappeared after an odd phone call. His car, his keys, everything but his luggage is still on the road. This leans heavily on family dynamics and the classic secrets and lies plot line. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. It does become a bit implausible and would have benefited from another edit but it still kept me guessing.

This is another fantastic page turner by Kerry Wilkinson. I liked the Canadian setting and found it atmospheric and intriguing. The twists took me by surprise and the ending developed well.
It’s a very good read that I’d recommend.

Melody and her family are off on holiday to an Island town in Canada. Melody spend time there herself when she was younger and wants her son to enjoy this experience too. Her Fiancé is coming a day later and when she receives a call from him from the rental car he is driving to the holiday home she is excited that he will be with her soon. Whilst on the call with him Melody hears him says that he thinks he see a girl in the road, he stops the car and Melody does not hear from him again... the police are called but it seems they are doing little to help. Melody does some digging with the help of a local woman whos husband went missing, but as Melody searches danger is never far away.

I really wanted to love this book. I was expecting an edge-of-your-seat thriller but I found myself wondering where the story was going and when something was going to happen. Parts of this story really bugged me and felt like there was no real explanation- for example, the family's reaction to Evan being missing was baffling to me. How did everyone just continue to go about their holiday like nothing was wrong? I was also so caught up with Melody's insistence on correcting everyone that Evan was her "fiancé" and not her "husband" that I kept waiting for something big to be revealed about it…
There were some interesting things that came to light throughout- no spoilers- but when all was revealed at the end, it felt kind of rushed and I didn't find myself really shocked or surprised by "why" things happened the way that they did. Unfortunately, this book just didn't land for me but I plan to try more by this author!