An okay read.
I enjoyed that some of it was set in Melbourne - where I reside myself, so there was a text to self connection there. I did find that a big part of the book was in limbo. I sometimes wondered if I’d ever get to the point, getting there wasn’t terribly thrilling to say the least.
Considering it’s only 400 pages long I’m not too upset. I did think it was going to be more promising than it was.

In regards to the main twists (that come to fruition in the last 50-100 pages) they were quite intriguing, but the big “wow” moment was quite short lived. I felt we no sooner found out about the twist and the story was finished... would have liked the ending more “beefy”.

Good God this book took forever to pay off. Seriously one of the most frustrating “thrillers” I’ve ever read. And quite frankly, the big reveal was definitely underwhelming. Not worth the time I put into it.

🖤BOOK REVIEW🖤 ⭐️⭐️⭐️
A book that kicks off in shanty of middle of nowhere New Zealand. A wacko, creepy old dude hell bent on keeping his hostage hidden. A young girl named Kate that is forced to go by Evie who can’t recall a single past memory. A repressed past that no one wants to remember. ⁣⁣Sounds like a perfect recipe for a thriller, right? While all the ideal thriller elements were there, the story unfortunately left me with a bit too many questions to truly hit the mark.

🖤Kate/Evie wakes up in an unknown home desperately trying to remember WHY she is there. She’s living with a man that she calls Uncle Jim and Jimbo is keeping her on a tight leash. Living a life of restrictions about who she can speak to, no leaving the house, no internet and constant interrogating about what happened a few weeks prior. But what DID happen? Why isn’t she home? Why is Jim telling her that the police are looking for her? Memories come in snippets but Kate/Evie isn’t sure what’s real and what’s a fabrication. What’s even scarier is that Uncle Jim is becoming unhinged. Where do you turn when everywhere you look leads to fear and the terrifying unknown???

🖤One of my big issues with this book is that I hated all of the characters. The minor characters included. Their behaviors all felt so extreme and their words, actions and reactions hardly made the story plausible. I wanted some more drama and information right off the bat. The first half of the book seemed very monotonous and dreary and I just wanted more. The ending didn’t wow me- I eventually saw it coming. It’s a quick and easy read- so for those of you that are into creepy dudes and weirdo neighbors...this book is for you!
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3.5 - While I was reading this I found it fast paced and mostly a page turner. There was a major twist that I did figure out - go me. Evie was sort of annoying, Jim was sort of annoying, Iso was sort of annoying, the dirty girl in the woods was sort of annoying. I just don’t know if I really developed any interest or connection with most of the characters. The characters kept doing stupid crap and I wanted to yell MOVE THE LADDER! I did like the ending a lot. There were a lot of questions throughout the entire book and for me there were too many left at the end. I would say this was enjoyable overall. ⁣ ⁣
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In this novel of ominous psychological suspense, a seventeen-year-old girl from Melbourne has been spirited away to a remote location in New Zealand. Something bad happened but Evie can not piece together the events of one fateful night. "Uncle" Jim is holding her captive, manipulating her thoughts, controlling her freedom and actions. They are on the run, but why?

The story toggles between the time before the life changing event when Evie was a relatively normal teen, and after as she and Jim live an isolated life in a strange place. Disturbing memories emerge fitfully. Life before is a world filled with teenage angst, competition, and bullying. In this later oppressive environment, readers will root for her to regain her mental stability. The big reveal is indeed satisfying.

This has a classic 'unreliable narrator', the action is a tad predictable yet it is a fine page-turner, and has a great conclusion. Good writer to watch.

Very satisfying thriller. (I’m terrible at predicting plot twists but...) I really didn’t see that ending coming. Call Me Evie will get plenty of buzz and deservingly so.