Dying to Call You

Dead-End Job Mystery #3

by Elaine Viets

While making the best of her new telemarketing job, Helen Hawthorne thinks she hears a murder on the other end of the line-and must avoid a close call with a killer.

Genres: Mystery, Cozy Mystery, Fiction, Cozy, Humor, Mystery Thriller, Chick Lit

288 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published October 5, 2004

About the author

As a young girl, Elaine Viets was taught the virtues of South St. Louis: the importance of hard work, housecleaning, and paying cash. She managed to forget almost everything she learned, which is why she turned to mystery writing.

Living in South Florida has not improved her character. But it has given her the bestselling Dead-End Job series. Like her amateur detective, Helen Hawthorne, Elaine actually works those rotten jobs. Perhaps her early training has given her a lifelong fascination with jobs. She and Helen both know working for a living can be murder.

To research her novels, Elaine has been everything from a salesclerk to a survey taker. Her first book in the series is SHOP TILL YOU DROP, a novel of sex, murder and plastic surgery. It's set at a fashionable dress shop that caters to kept women. Book two, MURDER BETWEEN THE COVERS, takes place at a bookstore. Elaine worked at a Barnes & Noble in Hollywood, Florida, for a year.

For the third, DYING TO CALL YOU, Helen works as a telemarketer. Elaine sold septic tank cleaner and did telephone surveys. She actually asked women if they shaved their armpits. In the fourth Dead-End Job mystery, JUST MURDERED, Elaine and Helen explore big-money matrimony for better or worse. Elaine did her research in Zola Keller’s posh bridal salon in Fort Lauderdale.

For the fifth novel, Elaine and Helen go to the dogs. MURDER UNLEASHED is set at a high-end dog boutique, where people spend two hundred dollars for canine cuisine, women sneak illegal pets into condos using high-priced designer purses, and the dogs at the store have bigger wardrobes than the salesclerks. MURDER UNLEASHED is Elaine's first hardcover mystery. Publishers Weekly calls it “wry social commentary.”

Although Elaine lives in Fort Lauderdale, her heart – and her viewpoint – remain in the Midwest. Like Helen Hawthorne, another transplanted St. Louisan, she observes the outrageously rich Florida culture (and lack thereof) with wide-eyed fascination.

Elaine’s second series takes her back to work in St. Louis. It features Josie Marcus, a mystery shopper and single mom. The debut novel, DYING IN STYLE, tied with Stephen King on the bestseller list for the Independent Mystery Booksellers Association.

Elaine won both the Agatha and the Anthony Awards for her short story, "Wedding Knife," in CHESAPEAKE CRIMES.

Some honors don’t come with plaques and award banquets. Elaine was thrilled when her short story, "After the Fall," was featured on the same cover of the Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine as the master, Ed Hoch.

Her short story, "Red Meat," is in BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS, the Mystery Writers of America anthology edited by Lawrence Block. "Blonde Moment" is in the MWA anthology, SHOW BUSINESS IS MURDER, edited by Stuart Kaminsky. "Sex and Bingo" is featured in the HIGH STAKES gambling anthology. And if you've ever wondered about the early life of purple-loving landlady Margery Flax, read "Killer Blonde" in DROP-DEAD BLONDE.

Elaine has served on the national boards of the Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime. She lives in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with her husband, actor Don Crinklaw, where they collect speeding tickets.

Please buy her novels so she can pay her MasterCard.

Series:
* Dead-End Job Mystery
* Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper
* Francesca Vierling Mystery

Reviews

[Luffy Sempai · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm in a daze. This book started promisingly. Then it got boring. Then a surprising twist elevated the story, after which it went back into skull-numbing territory.

The author ruined her book by not finding new points of interest. I was plain bored reading this story. The highlight of the book was about one of the heroine's neighbors finally showing up. But this cannot support the whole premise.

The first two books in the series were gold compared to this pyrite affair. I dread reading more of the same in the dead end job series. But I must try my patience with it. For old time's sake. I can't see a writer committing to a 15 book failure of a career.

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fast paced, but didn't really fit in the cozy genre it's marketed as.

[Chelsea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished the first time Nov. 13, 2015, second time Jan. 7, 2021, and the third time July 10, 2022. Great and fun series!

[Emmalynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

She finally meets the pot smoking neighbor and guess what, I know you’re shocked!! Helen falls in love with him 🙄🙄🙄. Oh and there’s a murder she’s trying g to solve that Phil is also involved in.

[Erin Adwell Teague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Admittedly, this isn't my usual genre. I picked it up because all my books were in boxes and I was looking for a highly engaging but light novel to spend a day vegging out to. This book delivered! The narrative voice is funny and the plot's fast pace held my interest. It's not edgy or pretentious, but it's a good book for a beach read or a lazy lounge day. I'll definitely read more by this author.

However, I am bothered by one detail: the final party is certainly on a Saturday like the others yet Helen goes to work the next day? Oops. Editing should've caught this error -- earlier the book establishes that Sundays aren't telemarketer working days. Oh well.

[✨ Gramy ✨ · Rating 2 out of 5]

This series with Helen Hawthorne moves along to another dead-end job , so that she can't be tracked by her ex-husband due to a major flaw in the legal system. I can identify with the area, her incompetent attorney, and the ridiculous order by the half-wit judge. She had an excellent attitude working as a telemarketer and she would be a big asset in real life. I didn't like the content of the story line at all. I realize this type of behavior may be out in the world, but it doesn't need to exist in my fantasy world.

[Linda · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another good entry in the series. This one had it all - horrible, dead end job, break ins, murder, romance and a great boat chase. I loved that Helen finally got to meet Phil the pothead and will there ever be anyone normal in 2C. Such a fun series.

[Melanie is on Storygraph · Rating 4 out of 5]

Different than classic cozy mysteries - a lot of sex and violence! - but still that same fun cozy quirk. I loved the call center setting, the quirky characters, and the darkness of the murder and mystery - it was a blast to read a cozy with some grit and teeth. Definitely a book of its time (early 2000s) but nothing that was too off putting despite a couple cringey bits about race and money early on.

[Susan Bernhardt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not a cozy mystery, even with the typical cozy cartoon cover.

[Karen Cutchens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Viets' characters are so engaging, her humor adds just the right amount of lightness, and the plot moves at a great pace. Hard to put down.

[Ruby · Rating 1 out of 5]

Clearly this collection of booksis not for me, I don’t really like the main character, the only one I like is her landlord, other than that, there’s some weird racial undertones that I’m not really a big fan of, it’s some thing I noticed in the book series so far, the author relies heavily on stereotyping people and using them as punch lines for what she thinks of humor, it’s uncomfortable to say the least

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the second Elaine Viets' book I've read. I love the quirky characters. I appreciate that the violence and murders aren't graphic. This time Helen, the series' main character, who is running from an ex-husband, hears a murder on the phone when she's working as a telemarketer. Who's the victim, who's the murderer, and where's the body?

[Susan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Awful, awful, awful! I quit after 40 pages. I thought I would get to like it. The abstract sounded good but I didn't like the main character at all and the plot was so contrived I just had to quit. Removing all of the series from my to-read list.

[Vivalafa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was told this series was funny. It's not, but I found the concept interesting and put up with Helen for 2 1/2 books. I'm not even going to try to finish this one. I really don't like cheap tricks like "I forgot my purse! I'll just go back in and oh! I just discovered a prostitution ring!"

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one is my favorite of the Viets' books I've read so far. Loved the introduction of Phil to the cast of characters. Interesting plot, engaging read.

[Gina Jantz · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was pretty horrible, I need to be more selective even when people are offering me free books :)

[Nancy S · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great series. Funny supporting characters.

[Kathy Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This read was not as good as others books I have read by Elaine Viets in this series. But I do love Helen and her Dead in Jobs.

[Kaitlyn Dunnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I probably shouldn't have tagged this as cozy-mystery, as there are some pretty disturbing scenes, but it's still an enjoyable read and an excellent mystery. And, well, Phil.

[Missi Martin (Stockwell) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the Dead-End Job Mystery series by Elaine Viets. Each book in this series is so fun !!


Dying to Call You is the third book in this series and if you are reading them along with me, you are obvious a fan of the main character, Helen and you also feel like you are a resident of the Coronado Tropic Apartments.


Dying to Call You has Helen working as a telemarketer and you really get a good glimpse of how awful it is to be on the other end of the phone.....especially when Helen hears a woman being murdered !! Of course in true Helen style, she cannot let it go, even when the police "investigate" and tell her there was no crime committed. Helen knows what she heard and knows that she cannot just go on making calls.


The path that Helen goes down to solve this case is unlike anything you can imagine....how Viets can imagine and write these stories is amazing to me. Viets will have you turning the pages faster than you can hang up on a telelmarketer and then she will have you wanting to apologize for your actions.....

[Janet Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

Telemarketing and Exclusive Parties
This is the third book in a series. The reader will get the best enjoyment by reading the series in order. In this episode, our main character is working as a telemarketer and it is just as boring as it sounds. I did not like this book as well as the first 2 for a couple of reasons. There are lots of inappropriate political slams and stereotyping. I guess that I have made that a deal breaker in every facet of my life because I am just so tired of it. There is not a lot of it and it did flow both ways. There is also a lot of third-person sex and nudity in the book. Part of the plot calls for it, but this was a bit excessive for me. I am still binge-reading the series, so it could not have been that bad.

[Chris · Rating 2 out of 5]

Helen came home to find her husband in bed with her neighbor, she whacked them and ran. She had the successful high paying job and no way was she going to pay alimony to him!!!

So, the dead end job for this book is telemarketing. Remember, she can only get jobs that pay in cash so there is no trail.

On a computer generated call, she overhears a woman get strangled. The rest of the book is sprinkled with weird characters, the sister of the victim who becomes her partner, a forgiving landlady/friend, a mysterious and handsome neighbor everyone thought was a pothead, and they all contribute to the search for the murderer, the missing victim and to seek justice.

meh

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book. An excellent story entailing one of the industries that all of us have come to hate. Telemarketing. Wen you don't want to pay your dead beat husband half of your income do as our main character did and run away. In order to stay hidden from him she has to take low paying job that will pay cash. With all the abuse she gets on her end of the line she hears a young lady being killed. You have to read to find out if she will be able to forget it or will work to find the killer(s). Excellent character building and a page turner story. Part of a series.

[Maureen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Elaine Viets is from my hometown. Which is how I first heard about her, but long after she had started writing her series. I love the dead end job series because it is lighthearted, although admittedly, people are getting killed all over the place. It's fun to read, easy for vacation reading, and it won't keep me up at night. Definitely not a psychological thriller. Long ago I held a job in a telephone call center, and this book brought back lots of memories!

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Dying to Call You" is another solid entry in the Dead-End Job series by Elaine Viets. This time heroine Helen works at a call center as a telemarketer, and her boss reminded me of the boss from her other series (Josie Marcus, Mystery Shopper). Though the plot was a bit kinkier than usual, the highlight of the story for me was when Helen finally met Phil (the invisible pothead).

[Charlyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helen's job as a telemarketer puts her at the scene of a murder via a telephone call. But police sent to the scene find nothing and Helen seems to be wrong. But Helen knows what she heard and is bent discovering what's going on--especially after she meets the victim's sister. And there's a touch of romance in the book, too!

[Cathy · Rating 2 out of 5]

Content was a bit much on this one, for a cozy mystery. And definitely shades of Stephanie Plum. I do recommend this book (and probably series) for anybody tired of the same old cozy plot. To give an example, the main character in this book works topless at a swingers orgy party to get info. So if you don’t mind that (and more) give this book a try!

[Elaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

The story's heroine is a telemarketer who is convinced she hears someone murdered as she made a call. Unfortunately, no one believes her and so she decides to investigate for herself.
The story drifted a bit at times, but there were some surprises along the way.
I promise, after reading how these telemarketers are so abused, that I will always be polite, even when saying a firm no.

[Andrea Latham · Rating 5 out of 5]

A funny and suspenseful story about Helen Hawthorne still working a dead end job as a telemarketer not to pay her ex-husband spousal support. While Helen is on a call talking about the latest product, she hears a woman being murdered but she can't get anyone to believe her and the more she talks about the more trouble she gets into being chased by a murderer.

[Casey Petersen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though not great, this is a series I am planning to read through. I like the main character and the mysteries are engaging. So far, I've liked each successive book a little better than the ones previous.