I had such a fun time reading this book that I ended up in the TV commercial for it. But more on that following the review and synopsis…

REVIEW:

Attention all adrenaline thriller junkies! Here's your next fix.

"Literary popcorn" author J.D. Barker is new to me, but the premise of his latest novel was so compelling I shoved my To Read pile aside and binged this as quickly as possible. A mysterious caller dials in to a controversial SiriusXM shock jock's morning radio show and says he wants to play a game. He offers her a this-or-that choice, and her seemingly benign answer sets in motion a spiral of terror within her studio's skyscraper and the surrounding NYC area.

A Caller's Game is a BIG thriller. Not in pages (445), but in action. If this were a movie, its audio track would be filled with the sounds of whirring helicopters, explosions, and gun shots. Readers more accustomed to domestic suspense books will be rattled to the edge of their seats as the game unfolds, and if they're like me, also left wondering why they've been stuck in quagmire of Gone Girl on a Train in the Window knockoffs for so long.

The synopsis describes this as DIE HARD meets TALK RADIO, and it ain't lyin. Is the book 100% perfect? No. I questioned some of the characters' motivations, worried if plot holes would be filled, and found Barker's depiction of the radio host's 11yo daughter irksome and age-inappropriate. But after awhile, I chucked those concerns aside and just embraced the rush.

4.5 stars rounded up, because I want more!

(The Author's Note at the end is almost worth the price of admission alone. Written 3/25/20, it's a time capsule of the early days of COVID in the U.S. "The What If gene keeps whispering about all the ways it could go. Well, time will tell. In your world, time already has.")

Huge thanks to the author and Hampton Creek Press for the advanced review copy via NetGalley. A Caller's Game is now available and included in the Kindle Unlimited program.

PUBLISHER SYNOPSIS:

"I'm going to offer you a choice."

Controversial satellite radio talk show host, Jordan Briggs, has clawed her way to the top of the broadcast world. She doesn’t hold back, doesn’t spare feelings, and has no trouble sharing what's on her mind. Her rigorous pursuit of success has come at a price, though. Her marriage is in ruins, she hasn’t spoken to her mother in years, and she's distanced herself from all those close to her. If not for her young daughter, Charlotte, her personal life would be in complete shambles.

When a subdued man calls into the show and asks to play a game, she sees it as nothing more than a way to kick-start the morning, breathe life into the beginnings of drive-time for her listeners. Against her producer's advice, she agrees, and unwittingly opens a door to the past.

Live on the air with an audience of millions, what starts out as a game quickly turns deadly—events long thought buried resurface and Jordan Briggs is forced to reconcile with one simple fact—All decisions have consequences. 

DIE HARD meets TALK RADIO in this heart-pounding, relentlessly fast-paced thriller from the New York Times bestselling author of The Fourth Monkey—master of suspense, J.D. Barker.

Now about that commercial. You can watch it and read the story of my participation in the Bookish Bits section here. :)