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Cold Caller cover art

Cold Caller

By: Jason Starr
Narrated by: Christopher Ragland
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Summary

Once a rising VP at a topflight ad agency, Bill Moss now works as a cold caller at a telemarketing firm in the Times Square area. He's got a bad case of the urban blues, and when a pink slip rather than a promotion comes through, Bill snaps....

Now he's got a dead supervisor on his hands and problems no career counselor can help him with.

Jason Starr, author of Cold Caller, Nothing Personal, Fake I.D., Hard Feelings and Tough Luck, was born in Brooklyn in 1966 and still lives in New York City. After completing a degree in economics at Binghampton University, Starr has concentrated on his classic noir crime fiction, which has been compared to the work of James Cain and Jim Thompson.

©1997 Jason Starr (P)2015 Audible, Ltd

Critic reviews

"Jason Starr’s got a hip style and an ear for crackling dialogue...characters so real we feel we know them." (Jeffery Deaver)
“Starr once again shows a real gift for satiric humor and capturing the contemporary New York scene." (Publishers Weekly on The Pack)

What listeners say about Cold Caller

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Behind the smile

What other book might you compare Cold Caller to, and why?

A sentence of life by Julian Gloag. Although very different in approach, both reveal the shifting viewpoints and gradual internal disintegration of the main protagonist

Which scene did you most enjoy?

The ending, as it was unexpected

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yes

Any additional comments?

I bought this book on a whim with no expectations and am so glad that I did. Told from the perspective of the failed and disheartened advertising executive, the story firmly established the main characters before sliding into extremes, carrying the reader/listener along with events plausibly. The text was well written and the dialogue plausible, unstilted.
The narrator, Christopher Ragland, was perfect both capturing the voice of the main protagonist exactly as I would have imagined it, and clearly differentiating those of others in dialogue.
I recommend it if character, rather than constant action, is a main voice criterion.

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7 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

Not sure what to make of this...

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

It held my attention so I guess I would. The maid character is a bit of a “Jerk” to coin the American phrase but for all that he was a prat I found that I wanted to see what he would do next.

Has Cold Caller put you off other books in this genre?

No.

What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?

The Narration was solid enough.

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Possibly.

Any additional comments?

It was kind of a diet version of “American Psycho”. Warning there is some clunky dialogue that had me cringing at times. I did enjoy it but I am still not 100% sure why…. Well it was a special offer so not like I lost much for £1.99

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6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

Waste of time.

Poor characterisation, thin plot. Unsatisfying ending. Wish I hadn't bothered. Perhaps it suffered in comparison to the excellent Harry Bosch novel I listened to immediately before.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    3 out of 5 stars

a very weak, boring story

Would you try another book written by Jason Starr or narrated by Christopher Ragland?

Absolutely not

If you’ve listened to books by Jason Starr before, how does this one compare?

This was my first time

Did Christopher Ragland do a good job differentiating each of the characters? How?

He did better at narrating the other characters

If this book were a film would you go see it?

No

Any additional comments?

I should have sent it back But gritted my teeth and finished it

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A twist in the tail

Would you consider the audio edition of Cold Caller to be better than the print version?

I've not read the print version so I can't comment

Who was your favorite character and why?

The lead character was not likeable but he was complex and intriguing

What does Christopher Ragland bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you had only read the book?

The emotion and depth to the dialogue

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Don't hang up

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Atmospheric if Unsympathetic. Excellent Narrator

Cold caller is not a roller coaster yarn, the story is just interesting enough. I would not describe any of the characters as sympathetic, yet Jason Starr creates a good sense of atmosphere.

The slow build-up and the gentle introduction of new characters creates a rather believable world in which extreme events seem almost ordinary.

Christopher Ragland navigates the dialogue very well. The characters are nicely differentiated and I have have since bought books by other authors based on the skill of this excellent narrator.

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    1 out of 5 stars

School fiction contest

I have no idea why I listened to this all the way through. It’s utterly predictable and cringeworthy.

The main character is an idiot, nobody in this book has any redeeming features, they’re all incredibly tedious and one-dimensional, and not believable as people.

This reads like something the author wrote when he was 13, then dug up again years later, updated it a little, and decided to publish it.

This book has only two things going for it: it’s short, and it’s free.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent like his other books!

Really enjoyed this, I couldn't t stop listening! The narrator was perfect for the book; racey and fast paced, very much in the genre of pulp fiction, as Starr's other books are. We get to know the character very well and he is still quite likeable by the end! I notice the narrator has presented some of his other books so I will be downloading those next.

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great story

Worth the purchase. Nice little twist in the story. The last words in the story are spooky

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    2 out of 5 stars

Lacks credibility

Any additional comments?

Pitiful story line trying to do too much with too little and underdeveloped characters. Well read though.

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1 person found this helpful