Sunday 29 May 2022

P. D. VINER - THE CALL (2022)

 


Synopsis/blurb....

‘Ben, I need you. Help me.’

‘PLEASE HELP ME!’

‘It was an accident…but there’s so much blood…’

In a frantic late-night phone call, Ben learns his wife, Mia, has killed a man. And she needs his help.

When Ben arrives at Mia’s hotel room, the scene is horrific – but over the course of the night it will get much worse.

All their secrets will be uncovered, and they will discover how far they’ll go to protect themselves and each other… will they kill for love? Or will they die for it?

One phone call. Twelve hours to save their marriage. And their lives.

Told in real-time half-hour chapters, this is a read-in-one-sitting thriller that fans of T.M. Logan and Harlan Coben will devour. Sit down and strap yourself in for the rollercoaster read of 2022.

Twisted, tense, gripping and a bit of a page turner.

The Call lays bare the fractures in the marriage of Ben and Mia and over the course of an evening we discover all their secrets, all their resentments and sleights and just how much remains of the love they once had for each other. And we see if forgiveness can overcome fury.

But first there's a dead copy in a hotel room that needs attending to.

I really liked this one. The books unfolds with alternate chapters from both parties in the marriage, so as a reader it's almost like being a marriage guidance councellor, though I did find it hard to remain totally impartial. Is it a man thing to side with the husband? I don't know, I did myself more sympathetic to Ben than Mia, though both of them are far from perfect. As the book unfolds, we meet more people who are a lot worse than the couple who before this night have only hurt themselves and each other.

Exciting and really enjoyable.

4 from 5

P. D. Viner's work has been enjoyed before - The Last Winter of Dani Lancing and The Sad Man

Read - May, 2022
Published - 2022
Page count - 294
Source - review copy from book publicist
Format - Kindle

2 comments:

  1. I have to say, that's a really interesting way to tell a story, Col. And the premise sounds like it's well-structured for a suspenseful story. I like it, too, when the characters are more complex than 'good guy, bad guy.' People aren't that one-dimensional. Glad you enjoyed this one.

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    1. It's a bit like a tennis match Margot. One character gets their point across, the other has a turn and so on. There's a lot more going on as the book unfolds but I've tried to avoid discussing the plot. There's more than one corpse by the end of things.

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