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Cry for Help

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'Help me' the girl on the phone says. But she is already dead.

Dave Lewis is a man with a history. Haunted by his brother's murder when they were children, and scarred by his parents' grief, he's trying to convince himself the past is the past.

When Detective Sam Currie failed to prevent his son's death it cost him everything - until a new crime takes hold of him. A killer is stalking the city, abducting girls and sending texts and emails to their families before he kills them. When Dave Lewis appears to connect both investigations, it's an opportunity Currie can't resist...

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

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492 people want to read

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Steve Mosby

20 books315 followers

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5 stars
94 (16%)
4 stars
243 (41%)
3 stars
173 (29%)
2 stars
62 (10%)
1 star
13 (2%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews
Profile Image for Alja Katuin.
404 reviews32 followers
January 19, 2018
Na een wat stroef begin liep hij lekker door, op het puntje van mijn stoel doorliep ik hele avontuur van Lewis. Een aanrader als je van smerige spelletjes houd!
Profile Image for Vera.
150 reviews
November 6, 2012
Mais um livro carregado de emoção e ansiedade que nos prende desde o inicio. Com personagens forte e marcantes Um grito de ajuda é sem dúvida uma obra de mestre, como não me canso de chamar Steve Mosby. Pormenores desinteressantes e factos adquiridos são totalmente transformados às suas talentosas mãos. A ansiedade de apanhar o assassino é crescente, uma espiral de sentimentos que culmina com a reviravolta final que nos deixa mais uma vez embasbacados.
Desta feita temos um assassino frio, cruel, doentio. Deixa as suas vítimas amarradas à cama para ali morrerem entrando em contacto com a família como se fosse a pessoa que está a deixar à morte de maneira a que ninguém se aperceba o que está a acontecer. Mais uma temática actual e que nos deixa a pensar! Até que ponto a nossa rede de amigos e a nossa família está próxima de nós o suficiente para saber quando estamos em perigo, para perceber quando não somos nós a responder quando nos contactam. De novo vemos a componente psicológica em grande foco como já vem sendo hábito nos seus livros.
Como vem sendo hábito nas suas obras além do tema central somos da obra somos confrontados com outros em menor plano mas igualmente importantes. Violência contra menores, violência doméstica, corrupção policial e a polaridade de uma das personagens e no seu internamento. Mosby dá-nos vários núcleos disfuncionais que nos prende desde o inicio.
A ação passa-se mais uma vez em dois tempos distintos, de um lado vemos Dave como narrador participante pelo outro temos um narrador-omnisciente quando se trata de Sam Currie o detetive da policia. A vida de ambos cruzam-se mais que uma vez sendo que vamos tirando as nossas ilações e construindo as nossas conclusões que mais uma vez nos mostram que estamos errados e não conseguiriamos chegar nunca à verdade.
Um livro de nos tirar o fôlego que aconselho a todos, não só amantes de policiais mas a todos os amantes da leitura. Um livro forte, realmente marcante!
Profile Image for Cleopatra  Pullen.
1,560 reviews323 followers
June 12, 2018
A woman’s body is found. She hasn’t been stabbed or shot, instead she has been tied up and left to die of dehydration. Somehow seems far more brutal, and what on earth is the motive?

Dave Lewis is a man with plenty of baggage, his brother died as a child and his parents were consumed with grief. He works a magician and denounces those mediums who he feels preys on those like his parents, desperate to have some contact with their loved ones. Dave narrates his part of this story in the first person and we soon learn that tragically one of victims is known to him. He’s consumed with guilt that he didn’t try to find out how she was. How in this day and age where we are connected electronically to each other can people in your life fade so quickly into the background?

The detective is Sam Currie who has his own baggage to deal with. He has to put all of that to one side though and try and work out who the killer is and what they are trying to achieve. When a woman gets in contact pointing the finger at a suspect, he follows the lead, but is it the right one?
With the bulk of the book told from the third person covering the investigation and the other aspects to the case, it is fair to say this is a complex, and dark story. This multi-threaded story has a reoccurring theme of responsibility. Obviously our detective has responsibility for finding the killer, particularly one as twisted as this individual seems to be. But was Dave responsible for the death of his brother? Is it really up to him to stop the charlatans profiting from the grief-stricken, or should he allow those who want to believe so desperately to find solace where they can? On the much broader note, are we as a society less connected to each other than we were before the massive advancement of technology. Perhaps actually seeing your friends with your own eyes is more reliable than receiving a text message and assuming all is well. What happens though if that message isn’t sent by your friend and actually they are far from well? How do we know? This theme is meticulously carried through the book, and I do like books that make me reflect in this type of way.

That’s not to say Cry for Help isn’t a satisfying crime fiction novel in its own right, it is with plenty of action, twists and turns and red-herrings and expert plotting to hold this reader’s attention. I have to admit it did take me a while to settle into the style and work out what on earth is happening. I’m not particularly squeamish normally but I did find the descriptions of the girl’s deaths disturbing to say the least. I’m not always entirely sure where the line is between being inventive and going too far but I’d say this was on that very line!

This is the second book I’ve read by this author, the first being Black Flowers, another disturbing and memorable read and I bought Cry for Help after reading that one back in 2011. So you’ve guessed it, this is also a read for my Mount TBR Challenge 2018 being the 20th book I’ve read since 1 January 2018 from my own bookshelves purchased before 31 December 2017.
Profile Image for Luke Walker.
Author 63 books77 followers
October 14, 2019
Thoroughly excellent thriller with a lot of heart. I've enjoyed a lot of Mosby's work - this is up there with his best.
Profile Image for Esmee Roks.
179 reviews1 follower
February 19, 2023
Heel spannend boek! Je leest het boek vanuit meerdere personen en die afwisseling maakt het spannend. Een hele goeie plottwist aan het einde.
Profile Image for rebellyell666.
123 reviews
March 5, 2011
Inhalt:

Ein Serienmörder treibt sein Unwesen: Er tötet seine Opfer nicht bewusst, sondern lässt sie verdursten. Währenddessen versendet er SMS und E-Mails an dessen Freunde, um diese in Sicherheit zu wiegen. Als sich die Beweise verdichten, kommt nur ein Mensch infrage für die Taten: Dave Lewis, der selber auf der Suche nach seiner Ex-Freundin Tori ist, die eine SMS geschrieben hat, die nicht wie üblich aufhört…

Schreib-/Erzählstil:

Mosby schafft es, auf seine Charaktere einzugehen und ihnen das nötige Flair eines Thrillers zu verpassen. Auch verwendet er ausreichend Zeit auf die Dialoge, die glaubwürdig und real dem Leser präsentiert werden. Er versteht es ebenso, einen Thrill in seine Geschichte hineinzubringen, aber eher am Ende.

Meine Meinung:

Ich war sehr schnell in der Geschichte und konnte mich mit Dave, dem Protagonisten und ICH-Erzähler, sowie Detective Currie, dem hartgesottenen Polizisten, sehr schnell anfreunden. Ich erfreute mich auch an der persönlichen Note in Mosbys Thriller – oft habe ich in letzter Zeit die Beziehungen der Protagonisten untereinander bei vielen Thrillern vermisst. Zwar bietet auch Currie ein Schicksal eines Alleinstehenden, aber in der Hinsicht hat er eine Vergangenheit aufzuweisen, die interessant in die Geschichte eingeflochten worden ist. Ich habe auch gerne Mosbys Zwischentöne über die Welt und Gefühle an sich wahr genommen, die romanhaft ins Bild passten. Ein Thriller aber, ist doch schon etwas härter. Krimi trifft es vielleicht eher – und ist im Endeffekt auch der Milde des Buches zugesprochen.

Fazit:

Ein guter, solider „Thriller“, der zwar das Nervenaufreibende vermissen lässt, aber das Menschliche stark in den Vordergrund stellt. Kann man empfehlen!
Profile Image for Paulo Pires.
246 reviews51 followers
February 13, 2014
« Steve Mosby no seu melhor...
Gostei do puzzle apresentado, da complexidade, da forma como o enredo evoluiu e nos foi apresentado.
Uma história onde a lealdade, o amor e a amizade são colocados à prova. As relações humanas entre as personagens são a espinha dorsal que dá a consistência que um livro destes exige. Sem grandes floreados, a vida como se nos apresenta, um policial autêntico.

Quer se queira quer não "o homem é um ser social", as teias sociais criadas entre o indivíduo e os seus pares são a base da nossa existência, e este é o mote desta história.

Steve Mosby optou por não seguir apenas uma das personagem, mas antes dar-nos uma perspectiva múltipla de toda a história, saltando de personagem em personagem. Esta mecânica é fácil de interiorizar logo nos primeiros capítulos.

Num registo um pouco distinto do seu outro (grande) livro "O Assassino 50/50", mas na minha modesta opinião este livro superou o outro.

A escrita apresenta-se inteligente (...)»

Ler mais em:

Opinião: Um grito de ajuda |Livros e Marcadores
Profile Image for Elien.
128 reviews
August 20, 2013
I'm not sorry I stuck with this author. This is my second book by Steve Mosby and I liked it just as much as The 50/50 Killer. Full of suspense and unexpected twists, just the way I like it. The ending was a bit weird, perhaps, but deliciously so. I've already picked up a copy of another one of his books, my curiosity's stirred!
7 reviews
April 9, 2015
I like the idea of the book but all the different characters were quite confusing at some point. Also, the ending of the book was sometimes a bit confusing. It is not 100% clear what the intensions/motives were from some of the characters.
Profile Image for Leesladder_edwin.
240 reviews7 followers
February 3, 2023
Jonge vrouwen liggen dagenlang vastgebonden op bed, volledig aan hun lot overgelaten. Hun moordenaar geeft zich voor hen uit. Via e-mails en sms'jes stelt hij de vrienden van zijn slachtoffers gerust. Pas als ze overleden zijn, stuurt hij de vrienden een bericht: Je hebt haar dood laten gaan?
Detective Sam Currie moet deze gruwelijke zaak op zich nemen. Als de naam Dave Lewis een paar keer opduikt, gaat Currie achter hem aan. Maar Dave heeft meer zorgen. De dood van zijn broer werpt nog steeds een schaduw over zijn leven. Ook zijn grote verloren liefde Tori laat hem niet los. Dan blijkt Tori het volgende slachtoffer van de moordenaar te zijn.

Ik weet het niet met dit boek… Ik kwam er niet lekker in, het kreeg me niet in zijn greep. Er lopen meerdere verhaallijnen waarvan me niet echt duidelijk werd wat die met elkaar te maken hadden. Uiteindelijk kom je hier later in het boek wel achter, maar het haalde wat van de vaart en spanning weg. Het komt allemaal wat rommelig over. Het uiteindelijke plot vond ik ingewikkeld, maar wel knap gevonden.
Is het boek dan slecht? Dat dan ook weer niet. Ik had er alleen meer van verwacht en dat is niet uitgekomen. Het boek zit voor mij ergens tussen de twee en drie sterren, maar krijgt het voordeel van de twijfel. Drie sterren….
Profile Image for Dan.
355 reviews12 followers
March 28, 2018
It took me three attempts to actually ‘get into’ this book, and whilst I sort of enjoyed it, I think the plot was too convoluted and confusing with all the different names and with very little characterisation behind each person. I thought that this may have been a Sam Currie series but hope it isn’t as the detective seemed bland and boring and his character was not developed in any way.

I didn’t believe the ending and saw it as a bit too far-fetched, and felt that we were ‘cheated’ with some of the information we were given along the way which turns out differently at the end; plus a few loose ends were not explained.

I listened to the audiobook which was narrated well-enough, but just too slow so I listened at 1.25x. When I got to the end it started from the beginning and I re-listened to the prologue only to find out that the guy running wasn’t Dave, but a certain Russel. Who the hell was that and how did this ex-decathlon athlete relate to the story? Any comments would be greatly appreciated.

Would I recommend it? Not really; I feel that I wouldn’t be bothered if had never come across this story.
Profile Image for Kees van Duyn.
1,076 reviews7 followers
July 25, 2018
Na de 50/50 moorden, dat ik een erg goed boek vond, had ik hoge verwachtingen van het volgende boek van Steve Mosby. Voor een schrijver is het natuurlijk moeilijk om zo'n succes te evenaren of zelfs te verbeteren, maar ik was ervan overtuigd dat dat Mosby met Niemand die je hoort wel gelukt was.

Vol optimisme begon ik aan Niemand die je hoort, maar ik kwam er al redelijk snel achter dat Mosby mijn verwachting niet kon waarmaken. Het verhaal, dat op zich goed kan zijn voor een grote dosis spanning, mist deze grotendeels. Helaas, want daardoor is het boek niets meer of minder dan een 'gewoon' boek waar af en toe wat spanning in voorkomt.

Deze spanning wordt gedurende het boek wel wat opgebouwd, het plot heeft een verrassende wending, maar over het geheel genomen is het toch allemaal net niet. Ondanks dit is het wel een prettig geschreven boek dat vlot wegleest. Maar zo'n topper als de 50/50 moorden is het zeker niet. En dat is jammer.
Profile Image for Joy.
541 reviews3 followers
September 9, 2019
Another very readable thriller from Steve Mosby. Told mainly from two perspectives, the detective and the magician, one in first person and one in third person. A series of women have been tied up and left to die from dehydration... and several of them are ex-girlfriends of the magician. Is he guilty or is he being framed?

This was an engaging read, and quite clever

Nevertheless I found it rather too fast moving and confusing at the end, and I wasn't entirely sure I had understood exactly what had happened and why.
Profile Image for Renny Barcelos.
Author 11 books129 followers
March 26, 2017
Black Flowers is one of the best novels I've ever read so I decided to give Mosby another go and I was not disappointed.

This is an intense read, and a seriously thrilling one. The murder's MO and motivation are well thought and greatly woven all through the story. The author lets enough clues one can decipher the who and maybe also the why but not completely. You have to read to get the full picture. The characters all feel real.

I'm only not giving it full 5 stars because I was left with some doubts by the end and I'm not sure if they were answered and it was my failure not to have realized or if they truly weren't.
Profile Image for Tamara Van dishoeck.
1,356 reviews6 followers
December 1, 2020
een spannende thriller waarbij ik moeite had om het boek weg te leggen. er word een vrouw gevonden vastgebonden aan haar bed en verder alleen gelaten. haar vrienden hadden niet eens door dat er wat aan de hand was want hij reageerde gewoon op berichtjes onder haar naam. politieagent Sam word op de zaak gezet want zij was niet de eerste vrouw die zo gevonden was. zijn oog valt al snel op Dave maar Dave zit ook achter de dader aan vooral als er een goede vriendin van hem verdwenen is. er zaten wendingen in die ik niet verwacht had en de dader was niet echt wie ik verwacht had. zeker een aanrader.
Profile Image for Sonia Caillou.
386 reviews10 followers
February 28, 2018
Un roman dont on tourne les pages sans pouvoir le lâcher... c'est dire si l'intrigue est bonne. Prenante, cinématographique, même, car on est au coeur de l'action avec une thématique familière : communiquer avec par SMS avec ses proches, on le fait tout le temps.
Qu'est-ce qui dit qu'on est réellement en communication avec nos proches et pas quelqu'un... de mal intentionné ?
Agité jusqu'à la fin.
247 reviews5 followers
June 6, 2018
Cry For Help

I enjoyed this mystery a lot. The characters are interesting and complex with a substantial back story. The plot is complex and hard to sort out on your own. The police detectives are also interesting and three dimensional. I enjoyed that the protagonist was both a magician and a pseudo-science skeptic with a magazine devoted to revealing new age belief hoaxes. This novel works both as a novel and as a mystery and I look forward to anything Steve Mosby writes.
Profile Image for looneybooks79.
1,585 reviews42 followers
October 16, 2018
I don’t know if I’ll ever be a big Steve Mosby fan, but I will keep reading his books to find out. This one wasn’t bad but in the beginning I wasn’t sure where he was going with the story... it got better in the second part when the pieces fell into place, one by one...
Profile Image for Katrien.
648 reviews4 followers
July 16, 2021
Hoewel de premisse dik ok was, vond ik de uitwerking minder goed en de ontknoping nogal... rommelig.
De wijze waarop de meisjes vermoord werden deed me terugdenken aan de film Se7en....

De dynamiek zat ook niet helemaal goed. Ik kan er de vinger niet opleggen maar het lag me niet.
Profile Image for Barbi.
477 reviews2 followers
December 29, 2021
Very suspenseful. It would have been better had the author labeled each chapter with the name of the character being featured. Without this, the reading was choppy. I can see glimpses of Alex North's writing in Cry for Help.
Profile Image for Shana Thys.
349 reviews
January 22, 2018
Een beetje langdradig en weinig spanning... maar ik wilde toch het einde weten.
Profile Image for Sophie Fransen.
195 reviews1 follower
April 11, 2019
Ik vond het een verwarrend boek. Zoveel mensen en clubjes die niets of alles met elkaar te maken hebben. Zelfs aan het eind viel niet alles op zijn plek.
Profile Image for Robin Price.
1,166 reviews45 followers
April 23, 2020
The fourth novel from the most original voice writing in crime fiction today, Steve Mosby.
This is a powerful, macabre and gripping thriller.
Profile Image for Silvia.
247 reviews9 followers
July 29, 2020
Fino a circa metà direi godibile...poi si è talmente incasinato “ad cazzum” che l’ho finito arrancando.
89 reviews1 follower
November 10, 2023
Goed boek dat je continue in de verkeerde richting laat kijken en dan tegen het einde met een verrassende dader komt. Leest makkelijk weg.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 69 reviews

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