Two people, an online business meeting. Before it’s over, one of them will be dead.
On a weekly Zoom call with her most valuable client, Antonia Berry is beyond horrified when she witnesses his murder – four hundred miles away – live on her laptop screen.
DCI Jane Phillips and the Major Crimes Unit begin to investigate and at first it seems the victim is just a regular guy with no obvious enemies or connections to crime. But then, when a woman is killed in a seemingly random hit-and-run, they discover the two victims are closely connected. A coincidence? Or a double murder?
As the team dig deeper into the two attacks, they hardly have time to draw breath before a third victim turns up dead – once more with clear connections to the previous murders.
With the clock ticking, Phillips and her team pull out all the stops, desperate to solve the case before the killer strikes again. The only problem – the person most likely to be the next victim is also the number one suspect.
Can Phillips find the killer before another person dies? Or will her determination to serve and protect at all costs see her become the final victim of the Deadly Caller?
Hailing from Yorkshire, OMJ Ryan worked in radio and entertainment for over twenty years, collaborating with household names and accumulating a host of international writing and radio awards. In 2018 he followed his passion to become a full-time novelist, writing stories for people who devour exciting, fast-paced thrillers by the pool, on their commute – or those rare moments of downtime before bed. Owen’s mission is to entertain from the first page to the last.
Deadly Caller is yet another novel by OMJ Ryan that never fails to get the gears moving. There’s only one thing you should do when seeing this in bookstores – THAT IS INSTANT BUY. It won’t be a shock to find out that Ryan’s skill impressed me from Jane Phillip’s first outing. He instigated my love of police procedurals and has only made that love grow stronger. The author has used the technology of a pandemic world and made it deadlier! A murder was witnessed over a zoom meeting. I’ve come to expect the unexpected from Ryan, but this is another stellar outing for Phillips and her team!
“There is no such thing as coincidences in major crimes!”
Deadly Caller can make us take a long hard look at society. Matthew Rice is dead witnessed over zoom by the supplier, Antonia Berry in Edinburgh. It’s traumatic and vivid and she has a hard time explaining what she saw. Soon thereafter, Rice’s colleague is knocked down in a suspected hit and run. Soon another colleague is killed in a sniper attack. The hunter became the hunted. The team is against the clock to catch the perpetrator.
The CEO is set to become a very rich woman with the company entering the stock market. She is the only survivor is it possible she arranged to have the other directors killed to win big…nearly a billion pounds big. The exploration of how money is a massive motivator hit me in the face. It makes you think about those difficult truths and how society views the significance of money. Ryan manages to put us into the centre of the crime – potential suspects are interviewed and as more information is leaked the more you feel the injustice, the hatred, and the anger.
As always Deadly Caller has the perfect pace. The action is like a bullet ricocheting around a windowless room. The reader is always rooting for the team which just works well together. Phillips, Jones, Entwhistle, and Bov. There’s enough comedy between them to have light relief from the seriousness of the crime and some romantic action for Phillips. It was a refreshing change when the killer is revealed early on which leads to a hugely exciting high-octane chase.
Ryan knows what makes a crime fiction novel tick. His readers get something new each time. Foreboding and tension. Brutal and compelling. I’m hooked and OMJ Ryan is now an automatic buy.
Deadly Caller is a sharp, super readable instalment in the Jane Phillips detective series. It stands out from the crowd for the characterisation and plot that you end up caring about. Crime Fiction of the highest order.
"Coincidences don't exist in the world of Major Crimes."
*** A copy of this book was kindly provided to me by Netgalley and Inkubator Books in exchange for an honest review. Thank you! ***
P.S. Find more of my reviews here.["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>["br"]>
I would like to thank Netgalley and Inkubator Books for an advance copy of Deadly Caller, the sixth novel to feature DCI Jane Phillips of Greater Manchester Police’s Major Crimes Unit.
Matthew Rice is on a Zoom call with one of his suppliers, Antonia Berry, when his doorbell rings. She hears a scream and then the laptop is closed. A day later Matthew’s co-worker is knocked down in a targeted hit and run. Who is killing the directors of Ardent Technologies and why?
I thoroughly enjoyed Deadly Caller, which is an absorbing read with plenty of twists and turns. The novel is mostly told from Phillips’s point of view so the reader can guess along with her as the information becomes available. This novel is slightly different from his predecessors as the killer’s identity and motive are established by about two thirds of the way in, leaving the last third to become a high stakes, high octane chase. And boy, does it deliver on that front. To really nitpick, the final action scenes lack a certain plausibility but the tension and excitement more than make up for it.
I like Jane Phillips, who is a tenacious investigator, overly dedicated to her job. Once again this novel deviates from the norm and gives Jane an outside interest and no injuries. Hopefully it will give her the better work/life balance her team want for her.
Deadly Caller is a good read that I have no hesitation in recommending.
Thank Netgalley, Inkubator Books, and Author O.M.J. Ryan for this ARC.
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel. Detective/crime novels aren't really my cup of tea but I quite enjoyed this one. It was filled with suspense and I enjoyed solving the crime right along side Jane, who I must add is a passionate detective.
A killer is on the loose that has DCI Jane Phillips and the team frantically trying to catch before they strike again…
OMJ Ryan is an author that really knows how to open a story and has you immediately invested and ready for what is sure to be a wild ride. This is definitely the case with Deadly Caller. It opens with a bang and just keeps getting better and better as the story progresses.
I really enjoyed this case and was happy to be back with the team as I was transported into the pages to help solve it. It hits the ground running from the outset, the tension immediately boiling away in the background that reaches fever pitch in the lead up to its outcome. It has been skilfully plotted and executed and I was surprised at how this one made me feel quite emotional when we learn why these particular victims were targeted.
As always the recurring cast of characters are perfectly created and they are what makes this series such a success in my eyes. They all bounce off each other well and have a real camaraderie. I loved seeing DCI Jane Phillips letting her guard down, showing the reader more of her vulnerable side in this one.
It is no secret that I absolutely love this series and Deadly Caller is once again another fantastic addition to it. It has in no way overstayed its welcome and I hope there will still be many more books to come.
Ardent - a company manufacturing industrial foam. A dispute over who invented it, law suits, stress, death and a family are ruined and heartbroken. The four owners plan to float the company on the stock market, to the tune of half a billion pounds. Not the nicest company to work for, HR are for the bosses, not the workers . One of the four is found stabbed to death whilst on a zoom call to a colleague. Why would anyone kill him? Jane's team are tasked to find the answers. No suspect at the time of the death of the second one of the four. As the story unravels, suspects are highlighted and cleared. Her boss.Harry is a good bloke, but is getting it in the neck every day from Jane's former line manager, Fox, a fame hungry woman, now promoted to Chief Superintendent for GMP, recognised as a sociopath by all who cross her path. She wants results to take credit for them. A few good leads are far and few, and the bodies are mounting up. The team dig deep and finally come across possible reasons for the murders, but their suspect is in a Balinese jail or is he?
In this latest installment of the DCI Jane Phillips series, she and her team are investigating a series of murders targeting the Ardent Technologies board of directors. They manufacture construction materials, so at first it appears an odd choice of corporation to target. But the more they dig into the financial aspects of this company, the more it begins to make sense. The owner is one of the most unpleasant people they have come across - callous and seemingly uninterested in finding the perpetrator. She reminds Jane of her former direct boss, Chief Constable Fox, and she can't help but draw constant comparisons between the two. But the team will need her cooperation to get to the heart of the motive behind these crimes before this obvious suspect becomes the next victim.
There's also a romantic plot theme weaved through the story - Jane has started dating Adam, the doctor she met through her brother. They are happy in each other's company and seem to understand the constraints that their jobs put on their personal lives. He's the first man who really gets how devoted she is to the job because he's the same way. But he makes a critical error in judgement that leaves her second guessing their relationship.
The story and characters kept my interest, though the romantic element became a bit soppy at times. The work/life dilemma is one typically explored in procedurals but I like how it's addressed here since Jane's character seriously needs more of a social life than just her cat! Figuring out the killer's identity may not have been as intriguing as usual, but it's a nice change to focus on the pursuit rather than the uncovering. Overall, another good entry in this series.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Review copy was received from NetGalley. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
I really loved Deadly Silence from the Detective Jane Phillips series which I reviewed on audio. Somehow I lost track of the series and no others, sadly, have been released on audio. There are now 6 books. I caught up on Kindle Unlimited and have the latest here for review.
We see things through Jane Phillips who leads the team and is doing well. She has to spend less time now that her old boss moved up a level and her new boss is awesome. Her long-suffering new boss has to deal with her ranting old boss but he keeps it away from the team so they can do their work. Jane really does great work with her team in tracking down suspects and solving cases.
So there is a serial murder case which is centered around a technology company and its partners. The main partners are not nice people. They are in the middle of a business deal. There have been threatening letters. So there is plenty to investigate here. There is also protecting the potential future targets.
My guess about the killer was accurate. I still enjoyed the action, and the strategy and work of the investigation. I appreciated the views into the personal lives of the team as well.
In Deadly Caller, we also see Jane struggle with her personal life and relationships. Some of her team have had marital issues, because of the long hours for their work. Jane has always focused completely on her work. Now it's interesting to see her trying to manage a personal relationship. It's growth made possible as she has a better boss.
3.5 Hearts This is the 6th in the series but I have only read a few of them. In this one Jane Phillips is investigating the murders happening at Ardent Technologies.
The thing about this story and most of the stories by OMJ Ryan is the “who-dun-it” is told about ⅔ to ¾ of the way through the book which is different from most suspense/thrillers that we see today. There is good and bad to this. The good thing is we know who did it so we can enjoy the characters learning the truth when we already know it. The bad is we don’t get to guess along with the characters.
Another good read by OMJ Ryan with a number of twist any fan of the genre will enjoy.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.
A book centered on intellectual property who’s author ‘couldn’t be ‘bovvered’’ to know the difference between copyrights and patents
Seriously - in one sentence the invention is described as being the subject of a patent, so it’s copyrighted. And an editor who doesn’t know what a copyright is, sheesh!
Writing a book where intellectual property is a central theme - without bothering to learn the most basic aspects of intellectual property is so quintessentially amateurish, it’s remarkable…
I must say, this book was just as good as the last one, if not even better. I loved the story line, loved the fact that DCI Phillips is getting a life, and disliked the near victim with a passion. I truly am enjoying the humor that is showing up more and more. It honestly makes this story more life like, and easier to get attached to.I really hole that another installment of this series is going to come out soon. It getting too good not to!
A new Author for me to add to my favourites list. A thoroughly enjoyable series that has you hooked from the first page. I read books 1 to 6 one after the other and they were all equally good. Love the characters whom you can relate to. Jane has a great team supporting her and they all have each other's backs. I look forward to reading more books from this Author.
I have read all of these and they are ok but a bit cheesy - eg calling Entwistle ‘Whistler” just sounds a bit false. The most jarring thing about this book is the overuse of the words “chuckled” and “grinned”- and derivatives thereof. Once you notice it, you can never unnotice it.
Great story, love the characters. Definitely recommend the series. Looking forward to reading the next book. Jane Phillips is a really good character, you find yourself caring about her and her team
DI Phillips is tracking down the killer of a large company executive when a second officer of the firm is killed and the clues are few. The fourth and head of the company is now expected to be a target and a killer is still in the wind. What happens next in this British who done it.
What a wonderful series. Loved this author and how they portrays the characters and their interaction with each other, well done and highly recommended
Phillips and the team get support from the new boss and track down the perpetrator of several murders, but not until being lead astray by a false lead.
Quite a sad ending in the circumstances, how can I feel sorry for the bad guy? And dislike the survivor? Lots of potential suspects but revealed quite early on into the book.
i wish goodreads had half stars too. This would most definitely be 4 1/2 stars. I really enjoy this book series. I find them easy to read and love the plots. Thank you Mr Ryan.
I really enjoyed Deadly Caller by OMJ Ryan. This is another book with Detective Phillips in the Deadly Series. This time Phillips and her team have a case of multiple murders in a Technology Company. They have to run against the time before all the partners are dead.
There are a lot of suspects, but the investigation is fast-paced and I was hooked from the beginning. Alongside the investigation, we follow the private life of Detective Jane Phillips, which I really liked. Towards the end, we can understand the killer's motivations, which was a bonus for me.
This was an exciting read and I highly recommend it.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Deadly Caller has a well-put-together plot, a relentless DCI leading a team to discover which are the lies that are tied to the crimes that are being committed against one company. Deceit, greed, and lack of ethics have led to a number of situations that led to suicide and murder and till the moment all leads are exhausted, and finally, the whole scenery is cut open, many will get hurt and suffer. This story got me hooked from the beginning and it's fast-paced, easy to read, and entertaining!
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
DCI Phillips and her team with a case of murders at a technological plant. Fast paced plot, with a lot of suspect, giving us the motive behind of why it was done. The characters and the police procedure seems authentic Good series. Given ARC by Net Galley and incubator books for my voluntary review and my honest opinion
A thrilling read that keeps you on the edge of your seat. Suspense and intrigue fill the pages and keep you wondering what will happen. The characters are strong, well developed, intriguing and realistic.
I received a free copy of this book via Booksprout and am voluntarily leaving a review.
Wow this author has done it again with another brilliant book, where DCI Jane Philips and her team are trying to track down whoever is threatening the four main people in Ardent Technologies, and then the killings start, I have really enjoyed this series and sincerely hope that there are more to follow.