Looking for a disturbing and realistic thriller that will have you hooked until the last page? The Caller by Chris Carter is what you’re looking for.
Imagine a video call from your loved one, except it’s not them: it’s someone who’s tied them up. Imagine you hear a low voice asking two questions. Answer correctly, your loved one is set free. But answer wrong, and there are fatal consequences . . . Imagine the questions were as simple as ‘What’s the anniversary for your mother’s death?’ and still you didn’t know the answer. There is a countdown. Five, four, three, two, one, time’s up.
After getting out of the shower, Tanya receives a video call from her best friend Karen, not an usual occurrence except all she sees is Karen tied naked to a chair with a demonic voice asking her to play a game. He tells her to answer two simple questions: ‘How many Facebook friends do you have?’ and ‘What is your best friend’s phone number?’. Unable to answer the second question, Tanya watches her best friend brutally murdered and sees the masked face of the figure who did it. Tanya calls the police but she has to deal with the guilt of not knowing her best friend’s number for the rest of her life.
When Detective Robert Hunter is called to a home homicide in the middle of the night, the last thing he expected was the horrific torture of a young girl. After his partner Carlos Garica finds creepy notes hidden in the apartment, they put it down to a stalker whose obsession became too much, until another body is discovered – a wife also tortured who received the same notes. With only a matter of days in between the video calls, and the killings happening more frequently, time’s running out for Hunter and Garcia. They need to find this killer before his next victim. But little do they know, they have some outside help.
Mr Jay has a secret: he’s not who he says he is. But when his wife video calls him on a trip away and is brutally murdered in front of his eyes, he has to become the person he’s hidden for over 20 years…
For those with a weak stomach, The Caller isn’t for you. Filled with detailed and graphic imagery of each murder, you will be left feeling a little shaken. However, if you love a bit of gore and an addictive plot line, look no further. The narrative is so clever that while you may be looking over your shoulder as you read, you will push all thoughts aside just to find out who the man in the mask is. With a concept that is so terrifying, you will sit there and wonder if this happened to you, could you answer correctly? Questions so simple they should leave no doubt in your mind become death traps, and you feel for each person who watched the victim perish simply for not knowing a date or a number. You feel their guilt and are desperate for Hunter and Garcia to catch the ‘sick bastard’ who did it.
While scary, The Caller will keep you hooked with its down-to-earth characters and clever non-linear plot sequence. Jumping between characters and going back in time, there is never a dull moment and the cliff hangers at the end of every chapter will leave you on the edge of your seat. This is not a thriller where you can guess the killer straight away—you will have to read until the end to uncover the truth. But trust us, it’s worth it.
Chris Carter is a bestselling author in the UK, whose books include An Evil Mind, One By One, The Death Sculptor, The Night Stalker, The Executioner, and The Crucifix Killer. He worked as a criminal psychologist for several years before moving to Los Angeles, where he swapped the suits and briefcases for ripped jeans, bandanas, and an electric guitar. He is now a full-time writer living in London.
Click here to purchase a copy of The Caller.
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