ARC Review - "Caller Unknown" by Gillian McAllister (includes spoilers!)

-

PUBLICATION DATE: 09. APRIL 2026

Blurb:
Simone's holiday to Texas was meant to be some much needed bonding time with her teenage daughter, Lucy.

On their first night in the desert, Simone wakes to find Lucy missing and a mobile phone in her place. The phone rings: Lucy has been taken and, in order to get her back, Simone must commit a crime.

As Simone prepares to follow the kidnapper's instructions, she feels certain that there is nothing she wouldn't do to save Lucy. But becoming a wanted woman is just the start...


My review:

This book hooked me from the start and I’d say I enjoyed about 92% of it. The premise is gripping: Simone’s daughter Lucy is kidnapped, and the ransom exchange goes terribly wrong. One reckless decision leads to another, and soon mother and daughter are on the run, fearing death row after a shooting that tangled them with the police.

Up until this point, the story had me turning the pages quite quickly. It felt like an adventure with a criminal backdrop rather than a traditional thriller. The marketing calls it a thriller, but I wouldn’t quite agree because it never gave me that shocking twist or intense suspense I was waiting for.

The ending is where it really fell flat for me. Everything unraveled far too easily. The “big reveal”  (a greedy border patrol woman behind the kidnapping) didn’t pack the punch I expected. And Lucy kidnapping the woman’s daughter to force a courtroom confession? It all felt a bit unbelievable and too neat, especially with the daughter conveniently cooperating.

By the last pages, Simone walks free with no charges, and the narrative shifts into a drawn-out reflection about motherhood and letting your child go. After such a strong setup, I was hoping for a darker, more surprising resolution.

✨ Overall: Entertaining for the most part, but the ending didn’t deliver the twist or depth I craved.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Word Play Stories - A Fun New Idea

-
Image
  Hello, you lovely person! I just came up with a creative and challenging idea for my blog to get me writing, and I have to share it already with you, even though I haven't written down one single word....besides all of the words I'm writing down right now.  I will ask each of my family members to give me ONE word, and I'll turn all of them into a short story. There are five people, meaning I will have five words to get my creative brain cells working overtime, making up anything.  That way, I won't feel under pressure, which naturally saves me from the darkness of procrastination city. IYKYK I might turn it into a regular series on my blog.  Maybe I could even inspire you to turn it into a drinking game....if there isn't already one like that, but I wouldn't know, would I? 😁 Of course, I've already pitched my idea to my best supporters here, and the words are fixed. You might wanna know those now and judge my writing later....so here they are:...
Read more

"Whispers of Colour" - a short story by Sara Stobe

-
Image
Whispers of Colour I hold my burning face. She just hit me because I forgot to empty the dishwasher. She says she hates me, that I’m the worst thing that ever happened to her, that she wishes I had never been born, because I’m a disappointment, “just like my father”. Whatever that means, because I barely remember him. I’m not allowed to be in touch with him. She doesn’t want that. She says it’s about loyalty. I sit on my bed, hugging my knees. I ache for love so much it burns in my chest. My heart feels like it’s falling apart, dying inside in slow motion. I can’t remember the last time someone hugged me. My mother has rejected me so many times that I stopped trying. I don’t know how to be a better daughter. All I know is this: I can’t stay here. If I do, I’ll lose my mind. I have to save myself. Some people are aware of the situation between my mother and me. They tell me they’re sorry, but none of them ever tries to help. Her physical abuse is less severe than her mental ...
Read more

Book Review - "You Killed Me First" by John Marrs

-
Image
Blurb: Three women. Three smouldering secrets. Who will make it out alive? It’s 5 November, and a woman awakens to a nightmare. Bound and gagged, she lies trapped in the heart of a towering bonfire. As the smoke thickens, panic sets in – she’s moments away from being engulfed in flames. How did it come to this? Rewind eleven months: Margot, a faded TV star, and her long-suffering friend Anna watch as glamorous Liv and her flawless family move into their street. The three women soon fabricate the perfect pretence of friendship, but each harbours her own deadly secret – and newcomer Liv senses something is terribly wrong beneath the polished exteriors. As cracks widen in the veneer of perfection and lies escalate out of control, tension ignites. Bonfire Night is approaching, and someone is set to burn…But who will it be? My review: This was my second John Marrs book and definitely confirmed him as one of my new favourite authors. "You Killed Me First" kept me glued ...
Read more