207. The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe

The Calling by Inger Ash Wolfe
Hazel Micallef Mystery, book 1

Pages: 419 pgs.
Ages: 18+
Finished: Nov. 12, 2009
First Published: Mar. 4, 2008
Genre: crime, thriller
Rating: 4/5

First sentence:

He was precisely on time.

Reason for Reading: My sister brought the book to my attention and I saw that Mo Hayder had put a blurb on it so I definitely was intrigued by this new author. Wolfe had a new book, The Taken, coming out this year and when I requested a review copy I asked for the first in the series as well. I received a review copy from Random House Canada.

Do you like to read e-books? Shortcovers is offering The Calling for free dowload until Nov. 17th so hurry on over and download the book right away! The Taken is also available for 40% off. Prices are CDN $ and these are not affiliate links. (ie, I don't make any money from them)

Summary: Inspector Hazel Micallef is the acting chief of police at a small Ontario town. At 61 years of age daily life for Hazel and this police force involves drunks, trespassing, speeding and maybe the occasional domestic dispute. That is until an elderly town citizen dying of cancer is brutally murdered and drained of all her blood. Investigating the murder Hazel and her force stumble upon a similar case in a small town not so far away and believe they have stumbled upon the trail of a serial killer who has been working his way across Canada. Can they find him before he reaches the Atlantic?

Comments: A fabulous new crime writer for me to follow! Inger Ash Wolfe is actually a pseudonym for Russell Smith, an already published Canadian author. While Smith's own books don't hold any appeal for me to read, The Calling is a fantastic addition to the serial killer genre. Very well-written with a creepiness that just oozes from it's pages. The gruesome factor nowhere matches Mo Hayder but it has enough, written with style to satisfy fans looking for hard edge mysteries. It was mostly the plot and the mystery that kept this book alive for me though as I couldn't quite find myself comfortable with the main characters. Hazel is the central figure with a few of her police officers taking secondary character roles. Nobody was particularly likable to me; they all just rubbed me the wrong way. Perhaps this may be unique to this particular reader. Yet I find it hard to 100% enjoy a book when I don't like any of the main characters. There was one guy who I started to like by the end of the book but it is left up in the air as to whether he will be returning. I guess I'll find out in The Taken. I'll certainly be continuing with this series. The plot and the crime are so very unique that I'm eager to find what else Wolfe will come up with and I'm hoping that with another book I'll find a regular character that grows on me. A definite not-to-be-missed book for serial killer crime fans.



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