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Cold Call by Colin Llewelyn Chapman
Wealthy entrepreneur Robin Bradford had it all - the house, the cars, the fine dining - and he lost it all. All except Lizzie, his perfect, loving girlfriend.Down on his luck and with no immediate prospects in business, Robin's energies found another outlet. Just a little something spicy to bide his time until his financial world recovered, leading him down a very seedy path onto a very rocky road.Unfortunately for him, time was all he had, and all he was going to Recommended to readers 18yrs+ due to nudity, violence, strong language, drug references and sexual content. Readers discretion advised.
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First published July 11, 2014
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About the author
Colin Llewelyn Chapman
2 books127 followersI started writing only three years ago on a whim...the result has been mind blowing for me. I am traditionally published, by Percy Publishing and am currently writing my second novel.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
November 19, 2014
Cold Call reeled me in from the very beginning, opening up with the discovery of a body within the first few pages, the emergency services being called, and then introducing the reader to the main character, Robin Bradford. In the very first chapter the pace is set for the rest of the book and the writing style is direct, easy to follow but with a dark, gritty and full storyline.
After losing his wealthy lifestyle due to recession and having to downsize his home, lose his cars, etc, Robin now works as a cold call salesman from his own kitchen, meeting clients when necessary. His loving girlfriend, Lizzie, has stayed with him throughout the hard times and keeps a part time job for herself. But with more time on his hands, and his physical relationship with Lizzie not always being quite as he’d like, Robin begins to spice things up a bit for himself, which leads to terrifying consequences for some.
The first victim, Katja, is discovered by her neighbour, Adam, who finds her mutilated body after noticing her front door ajar. He goes in to warn her of the dangers of leaving her door open when he realises a warning is too late. This scene is gritty and gory. The description and dialogue feels very real, making the reader easily imagine that they are there with Adam and experiencing it all firsthand.
The reader is given glimpses into what could have happened but not enough to know the full details. This allows the flexibility for twists and the reader to guess the motive, the culprit and how exactly the murder was carried out. This does become more apparent as the story moves on with the police investigation and forensics.
The story switches easily from the police officers involved, the forensic team and the crime scenes to Robin’s life, making it easy for the reader to keep up with all involved and you really sense that the author has left nothing out. I can understand Cold Call being likened to Martina Cole and Luther (BBC TV series), as it does read like a crime drama for tv.
I particularly loved reading how the investigation grew, from the very first murder scene, right the way through to the very end. The development is gradual, with DNA tests results being waited on, new crime scenes to record and compare notes with and even flaws within the characters that can slow down the investigation. This again makes it very realistic.
As the story continues so does the tension and suspense. Robin’s hunger for more spice, more control and more dominance drives the story even more, making for a more seedier read that becomes increasingly more dangerous. It also becomes clear that there is more to Robin’s actions than meets the eye. The recession and loss of his high class lifestyle has a deep impact on his dignity and pride. His extra ‘marital’ activities are psychologically allowing him to feel powerful and in control once again. But just how far will he go?
Cold Call is written well and clearly, easy to read and follow, at the same time as having a well-planned and detailed storyline with likeable and realistic characters. The pace is perfect, with dialogue and storyline flowing nicely at a rate that allows the reader to take in the information but never allowing the reader to switch off. And, as the story comes to an end, there are unexpected events which will surprise the reader. I would certainly like to read more from Colin Llewelyn Chapman as Cold Call is a fantastic debut.
A copy of Cold Call was provided by Percy Publishing in return for an honest and fair review.
After losing his wealthy lifestyle due to recession and having to downsize his home, lose his cars, etc, Robin now works as a cold call salesman from his own kitchen, meeting clients when necessary. His loving girlfriend, Lizzie, has stayed with him throughout the hard times and keeps a part time job for herself. But with more time on his hands, and his physical relationship with Lizzie not always being quite as he’d like, Robin begins to spice things up a bit for himself, which leads to terrifying consequences for some.
The first victim, Katja, is discovered by her neighbour, Adam, who finds her mutilated body after noticing her front door ajar. He goes in to warn her of the dangers of leaving her door open when he realises a warning is too late. This scene is gritty and gory. The description and dialogue feels very real, making the reader easily imagine that they are there with Adam and experiencing it all firsthand.
The reader is given glimpses into what could have happened but not enough to know the full details. This allows the flexibility for twists and the reader to guess the motive, the culprit and how exactly the murder was carried out. This does become more apparent as the story moves on with the police investigation and forensics.
The story switches easily from the police officers involved, the forensic team and the crime scenes to Robin’s life, making it easy for the reader to keep up with all involved and you really sense that the author has left nothing out. I can understand Cold Call being likened to Martina Cole and Luther (BBC TV series), as it does read like a crime drama for tv.
I particularly loved reading how the investigation grew, from the very first murder scene, right the way through to the very end. The development is gradual, with DNA tests results being waited on, new crime scenes to record and compare notes with and even flaws within the characters that can slow down the investigation. This again makes it very realistic.
As the story continues so does the tension and suspense. Robin’s hunger for more spice, more control and more dominance drives the story even more, making for a more seedier read that becomes increasingly more dangerous. It also becomes clear that there is more to Robin’s actions than meets the eye. The recession and loss of his high class lifestyle has a deep impact on his dignity and pride. His extra ‘marital’ activities are psychologically allowing him to feel powerful and in control once again. But just how far will he go?
Cold Call is written well and clearly, easy to read and follow, at the same time as having a well-planned and detailed storyline with likeable and realistic characters. The pace is perfect, with dialogue and storyline flowing nicely at a rate that allows the reader to take in the information but never allowing the reader to switch off. And, as the story comes to an end, there are unexpected events which will surprise the reader. I would certainly like to read more from Colin Llewelyn Chapman as Cold Call is a fantastic debut.
A copy of Cold Call was provided by Percy Publishing in return for an honest and fair review.
March 11, 2015
I'm not going to tell you about the book, you really should read it for yourself. It's a must read. I got so into this book and couldn't put it down and when I did, I found myself musing as to what happens. From the very start there's drama, thats what hooks you. The fine detailing of each and every character is outstanding and the surroundings are written like you could literally be looking at it. It is so well written and easy to follow and the forensics and criminology are world class . why did it end there? hope there's a sequel....maybe mad so and so, goes on the rampage
March 2, 2015
Riveting read from beginning to end. I found all the characters to be well written. I had thought several times I had it figured out the who done it, there was a slight shift so it kept you guessing. I will admit being American did put me at some disadvantages of language~ but not enough to detour me from the story. I look forward to seeing more reads from Mr. Chapman.
February 15, 2015
Cleaver plot
Case appears to be readily solved at several stages but takes a slight supported redirection and continues Interesting characters enjoyable read
Case appears to be readily solved at several stages but takes a slight supported redirection and continues Interesting characters enjoyable read
March 31, 2015
Fantastic.. :) Drew me in right from the start! Must read.. :) x
August 14, 2017
Started off OK but fell apart. I'm no prude but I think we could have done without the sex - it's as if the author just couldn't wait to get "his throbbing hard c*ck' in while he was banging one out at his typewriter. The whole thing was a bit "Essex", and that's coming from someone who lives in Essex...
July 12, 2016
I had some initial excitement about reading this after some excellent reviews and an intriguing plot line. The British writing was difficult to get used to at first, and I must say that it didn't get much easier as time went on. The early pages were filled with excitement and buildup, so I had high hopes after the first little bit. Then the police and forensics teams showed up, and it all went downhill from there. The story from the point of view of the main character, Robin, was fun and raunchy and made me blush (not really, though, just a figure of speech to get my point across), so that was good. But all of the investigative work felt so faked and unrealistic that I just lost interest in the story as a whole. I get that this is supposed to be a fast paced thriller, but there's something to be said about it going too quickly.
In reference to the investigative parts, I found myself not remembering names, not at all connecting with these nameless characters, and not at all buying the relationships between them. The crime scene investigations went far too quickly with little detail and made them just too easy to skip over to get back to Robin Bradford's steamy habitual point of view. What I found most strange was that the story almost seemed to be written by two different people. Robin's sections were generally well-written an engaging, but the other half seemed forced and rushed. I even went as far as looking back into the copyright pages to see if the book was written by more than one person - I'm not kidding, this happened.. Considering that it was not, I can only conclude that these law enforcement sections were either added in later or were simply rushed through so the book could be finished.
The major plot twist was unexpected, but not enough so that I can rate this higher than a 2 stars. The overuse of exclamation points (quirky, I know, but quite bothersome and distracting), inconsistency in writing style, and the implausible speed of the progression of the story lost me. Overall reviews are very good for this book, so I guess I'm going to be 'that guy'. I'm typically a fan of fast paced thrillers, but this one's a miss for me. Sorry, Colin, nothing personal, but I just didn't find this any good.
In reference to the investigative parts, I found myself not remembering names, not at all connecting with these nameless characters, and not at all buying the relationships between them. The crime scene investigations went far too quickly with little detail and made them just too easy to skip over to get back to Robin Bradford's steamy habitual point of view. What I found most strange was that the story almost seemed to be written by two different people. Robin's sections were generally well-written an engaging, but the other half seemed forced and rushed. I even went as far as looking back into the copyright pages to see if the book was written by more than one person - I'm not kidding, this happened.. Considering that it was not, I can only conclude that these law enforcement sections were either added in later or were simply rushed through so the book could be finished.
The major plot twist was unexpected, but not enough so that I can rate this higher than a 2 stars. The overuse of exclamation points (quirky, I know, but quite bothersome and distracting), inconsistency in writing style, and the implausible speed of the progression of the story lost me. Overall reviews are very good for this book, so I guess I'm going to be 'that guy'. I'm typically a fan of fast paced thrillers, but this one's a miss for me. Sorry, Colin, nothing personal, but I just didn't find this any good.
June 26, 2015
Loved this book...read it over two nights, literally chewed through it! The narrative is fabulous and thrilling...gripping as the story is Chapman made me laugh at some of the main characters antics as well as feel totally shocked at the end...very memorable and worthwhile read! Get writing more Colin!
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews