Friday, June 27, 2014

Friday Feature: Cold Calls by Charles Benoit


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Three high school students—Eric, Shelly, and Fatima-have one thing in common: "I know your secret."

Each one is blackmailed into bullying specifically targeted schoolmates by a mysterious caller who whispers from their cell phones and holds carefully guarded secrets over their heads. But how could anyone have obtained that photo, read those hidden pages, uncovered this buried past? Thrown together, the three teens join forces to find the stranger who threatens them-before time runs out and their shattering secrets are revealed . . .


My thoughts:

The back of this book said it was Pretty Little Liars meets The Breakfast Club, and I was sold with that one line. One of my favorite TV series meets one of my favorite movies? Yeah, I'm reading it. I love suspense. The book begins with Eric getting a threatening call from someone who has been inside his house, judging by the photo the caller sends him. It was a great creepy moment to start the story. The caller knows Eric's secret, knows it and has evidence to send to everyone in Eric's phone contact list. That is unless Eric follows a list of tasks targeted at a kid at Eric's school. Eric is bullied into being a bully and winds up getting caught and thrown into a program for bullies.
At the program, Eric meets others who have gotten the same calls. Together they try to figure out who is harassing them and put an end to the sick game before all their secrets are spilled.

I really loved the cast of characters and the variations of their secrets. Finding out who the caller was also kept me turning the pages. And the ending! It was my kind of ending. Perfect for a suspense like this one. I highly recommend this book.

22 comments:

  1. Sounds like a great thriller! I agree -- opening with someone having taken cell phone photos inside your house is very chilling!

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  2. Great review, Kelly! I love a good thriller every now and again. Funny that the description 'Pretty Little meets Breakfast' doesn't capture my attention, but your review did.

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    1. I love both so it definitely got my attention. I'm glad my review got yours. :)

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  3. Great review Kelly!

    Getting bullied into bullying seems a stretch, but I'd be willing to press on and read it.

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    1. Thanks. It was actually done really well and realistically. I loved how the victims became the bullies. It was like an unending loop.

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  4. Great review! The opening does sound creepy. I like the cover.

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    1. I actually wasn't crazy about the cover and had to look at it again when you commented on it because I forgot what it looked like. The story is really good though.

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  5. Awesome review, Kelly! Your interest in this book provokes my own interest. And I love Pretty Little Liars and The Breakfast Club. I might have to add this to my summer reading list:)

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    1. I think you'll enjoy it. I just gave it away in my Monster Within Monster Giveaway.

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  6. This does sound like a great book! Glad the ending was so well done. The Breakfast Club is one of my favorite movies of all time- so that makes me curious to pick this one up. :)

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  7. It sounds like it will draw you right in! Thanks for pointing it out, Kelly.

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  8. I like the premise of this one! I didn't make it very far into Pretty Little Liars, but I loved The Breakfast Club!

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    1. To be honest, I didn't like Pretty Little Liars at first, but it's gotten good. I love the suspense.

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  9. Ok, you sold me. I like Pretty Little Liars and am heading over to check this book out.

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  10. That is an awesome hook! Sounds like a really fun read :)

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