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…

Most of us have to happy childhood memories. We think about them with smiles on our faces and we promise ourselves we will go back to that happy place to enjoy it, not only with our family but also with our extended one and what's most important of all, to give our child the chance to have the same wonderful experience we had at that same age.

This is what Melody has planned too, but when talking about her memories with other people who were present at that time, it seemed there are some things she seems to have forgotten. Was is because she was hiding them away because hey were not so nice or was it simply because of her young age and did she not see the gravity of those situations?

And now, whit everything that is going on during that longed for holiday, she starts rethinking everything, whishing she never booked that trip.

Where is her husband to be? Why does it feel like the police does not do very much and she is the only one discovering clues? 

And then we find out the why and it left me flabbergasted. 

A great typical Kerry Wilkinson story which means you are always in for a surprise. A page turner I enjoyed very, very much 5 stars

Thank you

Thanks to NetGalley and Bookouture for this Advanced Reader’s Copy of The Call by Kerry Wilkinson due to be published April 17, 2024.
Melody is revisiting a cabin from her childhood, along with her son, Sam, sister and brother-in-law, and her dad. They are all waiting for Melody’s fiancé, Evan, to get there. Melody gets a call from Evan saying he’s about ten minutes away but sees a little girl in the road, so he stops to help her. Evan never shows up. What happened to Evan and the little girl?
All in all, this book was pretty good – it did seem to drag in places. Also, Melody didn’t seem to be that upset that her fiancé was missing – she did look some, but also took time to go out with a friend and have a nice evening – maybe it’s just me, but I think I would be looking on my own night and day.
It did have some twists in it that were unexpected as was the surprise ending. Not my favorite thriller, but I’d recommend it for a light read.
#NetGalley #KerryWilkinson #Bookouture #TheCall

Holy cow. They always warns people about not stopping when they see kids on the side of the road-tactic from kidnappers etc. So that is what I expected this book to be about. Melody remembers her family going to Vancouver Island as a girl and attending summer camp. She wants her son to experience this same thing. So Melody, Sam, Evan, her father, her sister and her husband all go to Vancouver. Sam does indeed enjoy summer camp like Melody did. however, Melody finds out from old friends that her memories are not quite correct. Evan disappears when he stops his car for a young girl on the road. Melody spends her days trying to find him. The ending was not at all what I saw coming. This is probably my favorite book by Kerry. Shows how little you could know about your family. Also makes you think twice before going on a family vacation!

Another fabulous read from this author.
Melody returns to a place where she holidayed as a child only seeming to remember a wonderful time. Its not long until things take a very dark turn. Nobody seems to want to help including the police and don't get me started with her sister!
The whole place gave me the creeps and i think this is down to the wonderful writing.
I was literally on the edge of my seat as the story progressed and the ending was just a total WOW!
My thanks to netgalley and the publisher for my copy.
Kerry Wilkinson you never let me down.

Melody and her family return to Vancouver Island where they holidayed for three weeks when she was nine years old. All she has is good memories of the place.
Her fiancee Evan is 15 minutes away to join the family, when he disappears.
The police seem less than helpful. She teams up with Lori, whose husband disappeared nine years earlier, and makes some discoveries, and finds out that her memories are false memories.

I was absolutely transfixed from the beginning of this novel. I really enjoy the way Kerry Wilkinson writes. The story is well paced and suspenseful.

Although I noticed something different about the writing. Or did I?
The above type of sentence is recurring. Until it isn't.
Very weird.

But anyway, there is a massive twist that floored me, and this story shows how we retain mostly good memories from our childhood, blocking out the less desireable ones, until we are reminded of them.

Thanks to Netgalley and Bookouture for the opportunity to read this book.