Jump to ratings and reviews
Rate this book

Call Game

Rate this book
“An exceptional debut novel full of intrigue, surprising twists, and medical stories portraying the drama found every day in the hospital.” –Gary Gerlacher, Bestselling Author of the AJ Docker Series

Chief orthopedic resident, Dr. Rylan Fraser, knows she’s in for a bad on-call night when she arrives in the trauma bay to find a young father barely holding on after a major motorcycle accident. It’s the eve of Thanksgiving, so staffing is thin, but things slide further downhill when she learns her junior resident is AWOL and the blizzard raging outside has stranded her supervising attending in a roadside ditch. This means she must fly solo, breaking the established chain-of-command to perform a series of emergency operations she is almost-but-not-entirely qualified to do on her own. Just when she thinks things can’t get any worse, they do. In between surgeries, Rylan is summoned to the ward to check on her post-op patients—only to find one after the other dead in their beds.

With stress levels skyrocketing, Rylan teams up with the friendly (and handsome) on-call psychiatrist, Dr. Paul Bennet, to puzzle out what’s happening. Nothing is quite what it seems, though. As the night unfolds, Rylan and Paul are pulled deeper and deeper into a sick cat and mouse game in which their very own lives hang in the balance.

271 pages, Kindle Edition

Published October 23, 2025

60 people are currently reading
1404 people want to read

About the author

Graham Elder

7 books12 followers
Dr. Graham Elder runs a busy surgical practice in Northern Ontario. He is the author of the bestselling medical fiction series A Covid Odyssey. Very outdoorsy, he enjoys Nordic skiing, snowshoeing, kayaking, biking, and hiking with his two massive dogs. Graham has been married thirty-four years and has two wonderful children.

Dr. Laura Cody is a forensic psychiatrist, fiction writer, and lover of books. Her short fiction has appeared in numerous publications. She is happiest hiking and adoring beautiful vistas and gorgeous sunsets. She loves chocolate (addiction-level), spicy food, and cats. Laura lives in New York with her three children, two cats, and one husband.

Laura and Graham met over a cadaver in the anatomy lab their first week of medical school and have been friends ever since. In 2015, they joined forces and twodocswriting.com was born. A forensic psychiatrist writing with an orthopedic surgeon? What devilish harm could come of that?

Ratings & Reviews

What do you think?
Rate this book

Friends & Following

Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!

Community Reviews

5 stars
78 (67%)
4 stars
20 (17%)
3 stars
13 (11%)
2 stars
3 (2%)
1 star
2 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews
Profile Image for Julia Shraybman.
Author 1 book30 followers
September 18, 2025
Call Game grabs hold from the very first chapter and doesn't let go. Told through the alternating perspectives of medical professionals and patients, the novel takes us deep into the high-pressure world of a Northern Michigan hospital over a chaotic holiday weekend. When a mysterious young woman known only as Jane Doe vanishes, the ripple effects touch everyone—from a jaded orthopedic resident to a psychiatrist with a troubled past. What begins as a fast-paced medical drama slowly unravels into something darker and more mysterious, blending psychological suspense with eerie undertones. With sharp dialogue, vivid characters, and a steadily mounting sense of dread, Call Game keeps the tension high all the way to its haunting and explosive conclusion. A gripping, genre-bending read that I highly recommend.
1 review
October 30, 2025
The only thing scarier than an orthopaedic surgery residency is an orthopaedic residency with someone trying to murder you!
This is a quick and fun read that touches on some of the challenges of learning how to be a competent surgeon while overtired, overworked, and underappreciated. It also develops some fascinating characters reminiscent of the variety of interesting and pathological personalities in health care. The story will keep you guessing until the end, with plenty of intrigue, medical scenarios that make you think, and even a little romantic spice! A real gem written by a treasured colleague, highly recommended for anyone with an interest in medical thrillers.
Profile Image for Redbird.
1,268 reviews7 followers
September 13, 2025
4.5 stars. (I rarely give modern-day books 5 stars.)

I received an ARC copy of Call Game, a medical thriller that takes place over the Thanksgiving holiday in a remote hospital during a blizzard. The story starts out with ER drama, and initially, I felt impatient for the first body to fall. There’s a scene where the MC, a fifth year ortho surgeon, does surgery with another resident to try to save a guy, and from there, I was totally hooked. The story builds from there and never stops. At least once, I thought I knew who the killer was, but I was dead wrong. (No spoilers here.) The suspense really builds, and with each chapter, I found the book harder to put down—so I didn’t! I finished it in two days.

Call Game is a great whodunit, set in a hospital during a holiday where no one wants to be a patient (or in the building). The medical lingo is explained, when needed. As someone who has experienced disrespectful doctors, I appreciated the authors (who are both doctors) portraying real doctors: caring, apathetic, uncaring, overworked, selfish, hopeful, exhausted, lonely, rich, broke, etc.

I’m particularly picky about book endings and this one does not disappoint. Again, no spoilers.


Profile Image for Cam Torrens.
Author 5 books110 followers
October 3, 2025
I love locked-room mysteries. I've read plenty of medical thrillers. But I'm not sure I've ever read a combination of the two--a hospital with a suffocating blizzard on the outside and a killer on the inside. Laura Cody and Graham Elder fill that gap with a rip-roaring, non-stop pace that makes their novel impossible to put down.

"Call Game" is like Lucy Foley (The Guest List) teamed up with Robin Cook (not title needed) to write a bestseller! Chief resident Dr. Rylan Fraser is supposed to be supervised for critical medical procedures. The storm prevents that. Now she has to figure out how to save lives while her patients are dropping like flies. Suspiciously. Fortunately, she has the new on-call psychiatrist to help her make it through her shift.

Hang on for an ending you'll never see coming!
Profile Image for C.j..
2 reviews1 follower
October 31, 2025
A thoroughly engrossing read combining elements of a medical thriller and a murder mystery.

Call Game is brilliantly paced, with hooks at the end of each chapter that practically beg you to keep reading. The various plotlines are interwoven seamlessly, and you can feel protagonist Dr. Rylan Fraser's sense of frantic urgency as she is pulled between desperate attempts to save her patients and catch a murderer.

Set in a hospital cut off from the outside world by a snowstorm, readers can look forward to seeing the events play out through the eyes of an assortment of characters. The authors give each point of view character a unique voice, and on several occasions, seeing things through the eyes of a character changed my perception of them completely. One character in particular I pegged as a prime suspect early on; seeing things through this character's perspective later on made me feel terrible for ever suspecting them.

Seemingly inconsequential details often come back in surprising ways. Minor characters, some of whom only appear in a chapter or two, have enough personality to feel like complete humans. "Dr. English" was a personal favourite. And as a healthcare worker, some of the egos and personalities involved feel all too real - we've all met a Dr. Huang.

The mysteries are intriguing, the excitement is constant, and the ending is satisfying. Highly recommended.
Profile Image for Megan.
187 reviews40 followers
November 23, 2025
When I first read the premise for this book, I was intrigued and excited at the idea of a thriller set in an isolated hospital with a serial killer on the loose and I could not wait to dive into this story. I definitely had high hopes for this book, and it exceeded all of my expectations! It was executed better than I could have imagined, and I’d say this is one of the most gripping, page turning, high tension thrillers I’ve ever read!

The thriller aspect was perfect and written so cleverly, and the killer totally took me off guard. The plot twist was incredible! I also loved the medical aspect of this book. I knew medical talk was inevitable since it is set in a hospital, but I was actually initially unsure if I would enjoy the medical part and thought I’d be confused with all the medical terms. I’m pleased to say I was pleasantly surprised and I loved that aspect of the book, and I also learned a lot of new medical terms throughout! This was an amazing read that’s perfect for this time of year as it’s set during a snow storm, so I’d recommend all thriller fans run and pick this book up!

Thank you to Netgalley and to the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Profile Image for Chelsea.
54 reviews
October 24, 2025
WOW!

This book was a mix of Ward D by Freida McFadden and an episode of Grey's Anatomy. It was so good. I loved the mix of storylines. Hearing from multiple people's points of view instead of just a few characters helped push the story along. There was multiple times that I thought I had the story figured out, only to be wrong. The pacing worked well.

The reveal was surprising, even if you suspected it I think you could still have some uncertainty with it. The final save moment stretched a little bit of believability for me, but it also fit well enough to not cause too much of an issue. The ending left the story open for enough of a second book, but also closed well enough for it to be a standalone.

Overall this book was a great start for my introduction of Graham Elder and I hope to read more by him.

*I was provided an EBook Arc by NetGalley.
Profile Image for Linda.
1,077 reviews43 followers
November 5, 2025
Good Read

Dr. Rylan Fraser was trapped in her hospital with other personnel due to a blizzard. The electricity went off, and the backup generator came and went. When night fell, patients and addendees started dying. Dr. Fraser's patients were targeted. Why? I will tell you: there was a serial killer loose in the hospital who had a grudge against against Dr. Riley. The authors wrote a spooky story set in a spooky place, and they did it very well. There were some prepositions begging for objects, but I never saw a one, nay not a
one, 'between you and I' or a 'where are you at.'
I liked how the authors gave me a hint about whom the killer might be: Everyone! Every living person trapped in that hospital! That hint was broad, but it kept me reading.


Thank you, Mr. Graham Elder and Ms. Laura Cody, for a good read.
1 review
October 2, 2025
This story written by Graham Elder and Laura Cody is an absolute page turner! Set in a hospital, late at night, during a ragging blizzard, with a lack of staff unable to get there, it follows Dr. Rylan Fraser, chief orthopaedic resident , and the new psychiatrist, Dr Paul Bennett, as they encounter a series of unsettling events.

What I really enjoyed about the book is how it blends medical drama with psychological suspense. The strange events that begin happening to patients are both chilling and mysterious making the plot that’s full of twists and turns.

Overall I highly recommend this novel to anyone who enjoys thrillers. It’s an intense, fast paced read making for a plot that will keep you hooked until the last page.
1 review1 follower
October 20, 2025
Call Game completely pulled me in. It’s got the same psychological tension as The Silent Patient, but set in a hospital, where the stakes somehow feel even higher. The story jumps between multiple perspectives, and every time you think you’ve figured out what’s going on, another twist hits and changes everything.

The medical setting feels real, the long shifts, the pressure, the quiet moments where everything could fall apart and it makes the suspense feel so much more intense. I was totally hooked from the first few chapters and basically couldn’t stop until I finished it.

If you like thrillers with sharp writing, complex characters, and endings that actually surprise you, Call Game is 100% worth picking up.
Profile Image for Leah Miles.
Author 13 books45 followers
August 19, 2025
This medical thriller delivers on every front, from the claustrophobic atmosphere of a snowbound hospital to the realistic medical emergencies. Rylan Fraser makes for a compelling protagonist, balancing her surgical expertise with growing paranoia as patients begin dying around her.
The authors excel at misdirection, making readers question every character's motive while building romantic tension between Rylan and the handsome psychiatrist Dr. Bennett.
I’m the one who figures out the mystery during the opening credits of every movie, and the twist at the end of this one is genuinely shocking. Elder and Cody did the thing here, and now I’ll read all their books.
1 review
October 6, 2025
I read Call Game cover to cover in one day—I couldn’t put it down! Set in a remote hospital in Northern Michigan during a Thanksgiving blizzard, this medical thriller unfolds through the perspectives of different patients and doctors. The shifting viewpoints build tension and suspense, making you suspicious of everyone and their possible motives.

The authors, both doctors, make the hospital setting feel super authentic—the medical details and fast pace pulled me in right away. Having recently spent several days in a hospital with a relative, I found myself thinking about this book often—especially while walking to the vending machine after hours in the dark cafeteria…
1 review1 follower
October 17, 2025
Chief resident Dr. Rylan Fraser faces what should be a typical chaotic long-weekend call shift, but it quickly turns sinister as unexplained deaths begin occurring in the hospital. Elder and Cody expertly blend the frenzy of hospital life with the mounting dread of something far more sinister unfolding. The tension builds with every chapter, keeping you guessing who’s next — and who’s behind it all. Sharp, suspenseful, and genuinely funny in the way only hospital life can be, it had me hooked from start to finish.
1 review
October 22, 2025
I thoroughly enjoyed this read from cover to cover!
Call Game will captivate the reader’s attention and not let go until the final paragraph. The authors creatively combine the fascinating and curious world of healthcare professionals with impressive storytelling that leaves the reader unable to flip through the pages fast enough. This novel presents the perfect balance of intrigue and suspense complimented by twists and surprises leaving the reader glued to its pages. This novel was immensely entertaining and I would absolutely recommend it!
1 review
October 24, 2025
Call game was a great read. If you are a fan of whodunits, this fast paced thriller won't disappoint. The authors medical background is evident in this high tension, suspense driven piece which gives the book a sense of authenticity. Chief orthopedic resident, Dr. Rylan Fraser, is a compelling protagonist that you grow to root for. Each chapter leaves you yearning to know who is behind the chaos, but also wanting more. A solid thriller with many twists and turns that kept me entertained until the final pages. I will be keeping an eye out for more!
Profile Image for Pat Zehr.
Author 2 books
October 25, 2025
Call Game is a medical thriller handily written by a forensic psychiatrist and an orthopedic surgeon. Their expert knowledge in their chosen fields is evident in the medical scenarios they craft. It is a page turning who-done-it until the very end. The conclusion of the book leaves the reader unsettled as it mirrors reality. The book lingers with the reader, and the question....Could this happen here? Well done!


reviewed by dr pat zehr - best selling author of The Beatles, Babies and Broken Bodies, my memoir navigating Canada's Healthcare System Also, the novel Peggy was Right.
'
Profile Image for Graham Elder.
Author 7 books12 followers
September 8, 2025
This is my first traditionally published collaboration with longtime friend and coauthor, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Laura Cody. If you are in a medical field, like whodunnits, love a deep dive into psychological thrillers, or simply enjoy a fast-paced, can’t-put-it-down, don’t-read-before-bedtime novel, then I think you’ll enjoy this book. Tell your friends. Leave a rating. Thanks for reading. Cheers 😀📖
Profile Image for Gary Gerlacher.
Author 17 books368 followers
October 6, 2025
Rylan is in the final year of her orthopedic training and covering the hospital on Thanksgiving, when her patients start mysteriously dying. Isolated by a winter storm, she must work with a psychiatrist to stop the killer before she becomes the next victim. This is an exceptional debut novel full of intrigue, surprising twists, and medical stories portraying the drama found every day in the hospital!
1 review
October 14, 2025
This book gave you a somewhat sense of what can go on behind those curtains in the ER with the upheaval you dont see as a patient. An episode of "Greys Anatomy" is what first came to me the first few chapters. Then, the unexpected turn of events certainly suprise you. The plot twists and turns keeps you
captivated. I didn't want to put it down! Great read. Highly recommend this one!
Lori-Lee Suurna.
1 review
October 18, 2025
An edge of your seat medical thriller that keeps you guessing from start to finish. I don’t have a medical background but that did not deter me in the least from thoroughly enjoying this read. The medical aspects were not patronizingly dumbed down by the authors. In fact, they were clearly explained and deftly integrated into the story. A solid five star recommendation and looking forward to further works from this writing duo.
1 review
November 6, 2025
The hospital setting combined with the psychological thriller elements creates a gripping, high-stakes atmosphere that sets this book apart from others in the genre. The layered storylines and unexpected twists keep your mind racing and your heart pounding all the way to the final page. It’s the kind of book that lingers with you long after you’ve finished—making it all the more disappointing that there’s no sequel!
1 review
November 8, 2025
Call game was a great read. Fast paced, fun, exciting and suspenseful. The writing reflected the real conflicts and stresses that can happen in a hospital, turned into a suspense. The characters were all possible threats and the reveal was kept to the end. I have known many people like the characters in the book and my favourite was Dr English, the anesthesiologist! If you want a fast page turner get call game!
80 reviews2 followers
October 9, 2025
Nobody can leave but nobody wants to stay. Super fast paced thriller, loved the multiple povs. I thought i had this figured out many times but I was wrong! Intense and Suspenseful and will keep you guessing. Throughly enjoyed this book and raced through it. Just found myself a new author to read from.
1 review
October 15, 2025
Call Game is a suspense-filled medical thriller set in a hospital cut off during a blizzard. I could not put this book down, nor could I figure out who dunnit! The setting is unique, and the authors have done a great job building suspense with a final twist. I can’t wait to read more from these authors. I hope there is a sequel!
1 review
October 16, 2025
Call Game is awesome. It kept me hooked from start to finish and felt real and very intense. The story is full of suspense, heart, and surprising twists, with just the right mix of medical drama and human emotion. I stayed up late reading it because I just had to know what happens next. It was so fun to read!
1 review
October 18, 2025
I work in the healthcare field, and this book definitely kept my interest! A must read that entices you in with its intelligence, suspense and intrigue. I enjoy medical thrillers, and this is one of the best I have read. You won’t be able to put this book down until you find out who the killer is, and you will be shocked by the ending!
Profile Image for Charity King.
226 reviews1 follower
October 19, 2025
I’m going to keep this short for fear of coming across nit-picky. 😂

I clearly did not like this book. I thought it was distasteful, boring throughout the majority, and disjointed.

Language: 4/5
Spice: 3/5
Violence: 5/5

‼️Check trigger warnings!

*side note, I really would love for authors to disclose spice content, especially if it’s in genres that do not typically have romance/spice. 🥲
1 review1 follower
October 28, 2025
This was an absolutely captivating thriller that kept me guessing until the very end. The plot was packed with unexpected twists and turns, and just when I thought I had it figured out, another surprise came along. Every chapter left me wanting more, making it a true page-turner from start to finish. If you enjoy thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat, this one is a must-read.
1 review
October 29, 2025
Call Game delivers a gripping mix of medical detail and psychological suspense. The author expertly creates tension in the hospital setting, with twists that genuinely keep you guessing. The female lead is compelling, navigating ethical dilemmas while uncovering a mysterious threat to her patients. A subtle touch of romance adds depth without overshadowing the suspense.
1 review
November 4, 2025
Gritty, suspenseful, and impossible to put down.

I received an ARC and this book did not disappoint. A tense, fast-paced medical thriller that drops readers into a nightmare call shift gone deadly. Part medical drama, part psychological thriller, this is a pulse-pounding read that will keep you guessing until the final page.

Loved it!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 60 reviews

Can't find what you're looking for?

Get help and learn more about the design.