A great thriller and debut novel by Shockey! While this book does do a little bit more of "telling rather than showing", it does make sense due to how the story is told. With the manuscript, I did get a little bit of a non-trustworthy narrator vibe to this, which made me enjoy it even more. You can't really trust what they are saying, which makes it more entertaining to read into more passages.

I would recommend a little editing to the synopsis! It definitely gave aware a big spoiler, in my opinion, and I know the reveal would have shocked me more if I hadn't already read the synopsis.

A remarkable debut novel! The characters are well-developed though not necessarily likeable. None of them are whom they appear to be. If you are looking for a thought-provoking thriller with a complex but believable plot surrounded by lots of action, this book is for you. I couldn’t put it down. This book grabs you from the first page and doesn’t give you a moments rest until the last page.

Thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Shuster Canada who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

Autism, check. Celebrities, check. A monster, check. An indigenous theme, check. An identity theme, check.
How did the book make me feel/think?
I am giving “Call Me Hunter” by Jim Shockey five stars. I have a personal policy of granting every book I read the highest rating because who am I to pass judgment on whether others will enjoy a book or not?
There is one exception to my star-giving rule: books filled with hatred, misogyny, or racism.
The story introduced an autistic character with a unique talent for identifying art at garage sales - and a few unsolved murders. It was overwhelming. The narrative then took another turn, with a monster who paradoxically loved animals but was also a twisted deviant murderer (close to my exception).
As I delved further into the pages of “Call Me Hunter,” my mind began to wander to my worries of the day, and then, Shockey helped me to momentarily escape my worries when “Saskatoon,” graced the pages, the city I grew up in. Yet, my interest in a recognizable location was short-lived.
My mind struggled to keep up.
Suddenly, the autistic man was playing water polo, and movie stars were casually mentioned. They even dined at the first café I visited when I moved to Vancouver, which momentarily captured my attention. But my mind wandered again. An indigenous theme was inserted, leaving me feeling confused.
Nevertheless, I persisted in reading every single word. And then, with only 40 pages remaining, the story took another twist, drawing me in once more.
I read the rest of the book diligently, hoping the mentioned celebrities were faring well in their lives. After this experience, I have decided never to read advanced praise. I found it surprising one of the individuals who provided advanced praise for the book deemed it “astoundingly original” - since “astoundingly” implies surprise.
WRITTEN: 13 September 2023

⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️

This was actually amazing. It’s the first time I dive into the thriller genre, and this did not disappoint. Original concept, thought-provoking, kept me on my toes until the end.