Friday, May 21, 2021

Book Review - Cold Caller; Jason Starr

 

TITLE/AUTHORCold Caller; Jason Starr

PUBLISHER:  WW Norton

YEAR PUBLISHED: 1998 

GENRE: Fiction / Noir Crime

FORMAT:  eBook LENGTH:  292 pp

SOURCE:  purchased

SETTING(s):  New York City

ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY:  A dark, twisted roller coaster ride and certainly a story you will not easily forget.

BRIEF REVIEW:   Bill Moss was once a VP of an ad agency but, now he works as a telemarketer at ACA, a call center in New York City.  It's a horrible company that engages in racially discriminatory practices by paying larger commissions to white employees and wrongly laying off a higher percentage of black employees to avoid paying out their commissions. Bill hates his job and feels under appreciated and has plans of quitting his job. He has convinced his weak, gullible, girlfriend Julie to move back to Seattle with him where he's convinced he can get a top level management job.  The very next day, after Julie reluctantly resigns from her high level position,  Bill gets promoted to Assistant to the President at ACA.  Of course, his promotion is built on a lie he told because, that's what Bill does but, that lie will come back to bite him. Bill lies a lot, he cheats a lot and he makes his girlfriend believe that she is paranoid and has an explosive temper at times as well.  Bill is a sociopath, Bill is delusional, Bill may be a psychopath and as the story progresses, Bill can add murderer to the list. 

Bill is a character that is easy to detest but, he's like a car wreck that once you start reading about him and all of his antics and just how his warped mind works you won't be able to turn away or stop reading.   

This is the author's first novel and although the writing isn't exceptional, the story is very addictive, shocking and easily readable and, it very much satisfied my warped sense of humor.  The story is dark but you will find it hard to resist chuckling or at least scratching your head in amazement at times and,  I also loved the ending as well.  I got the idea to try this one as it was mentioned in Peter Swanson's book, Eight Perfect Murders, a book that I loved.  Touted as one of the top 10 noir crime novels of all time and an international best seller,  the Kindle version is available for just $1.99, in case I've made you curious.  I'm definitely planning on checking out what else the author has out.

RATING:  4.5/5  

19 comments:

  1. That guy sounds like the kind of train wreck I enjoy reading about sometimes...and what a bargain at $1.99. Thanks for the heads-up on this one.

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    1. I bought it last night, so it's officially in my TBR stack now. Not sure when I'll get to it, but I'm looking forward to it. I find sociopathic behavior as fascinating as it is scary, so this should be interesting.

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    2. It's a deal at that price and I'm pretty sure you will like it - he is a piece of work!

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  2. Sounds like a creepy dude, but a good read.

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  3. I do enjoy leavening my reading with a serving of noir every now and then. This seems like it might be a good candidate to fill that role.

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    1. I just ordered another book by the same author called Nothing Personal. Not sure when I'll get to it but looking forward to it.

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  4. What is it about sociopaths that intrigue us so? I just finished a book about one that still has me thinking about her.
    CEOs and Sociopathy

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    1. I think I just find it so odd and a bit fascinating how they don't see anything wrong with behaviors that most people would find reprehensible!

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  5. You've definitely made me curious! :)

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  6. I think I'm tempted to get this one and a bargain price!

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    1. I know sometimes those Kindle deals are too good to pass up.

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  7. I've never heard of this novel and it sounds like a wild ride!

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    1. OMG, it was awesome, so much so I requested another book by the author from the library for June reading.

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  8. I don't think I like noir that much, but I loved Eight Perfect Murders, so I'll check this out!

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    1. I never really read noir crime either but, this was a wild ride LOL

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  9. I have never even heard of this. How is that possible?

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    1. This was such a wild story and I hadn't heard of it either until reading: Eight Perfect Murders where it was mentioned,

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