Metsy Hingle, Deadline

Deadline

Metsy Hingle

Mira, Nov 2004, $650, 384 pp.

ISBN: 0778320960

An anonymous phone caller informs DC TV investigative reporter Tess Abbott that her father, Jodie Burns, who officially committed suicide in prison, did not kill himself or her mother twenty-five years ago. Tess thinks her dad's death is justice, but the frightened woman on the other end of the phone leaves her with some doubts that she tries to ignore. However, her producer pal Ronnie Hill knows something is wrong and says so.

Tess heads back to her hometown of Grady, Mississippi, to uncover what happened so many years ago. She meets investigative journalist Spencer Reed who is working on a story that will destroy the gubernatorial candidacy of Everett Caine, the prosecutor who gained the conviction of Jodie. As they compare notes and begin digging up hidden information, Tess' microscopic uncertainty that her father was innocent begins to grow to where she feels the state convicted the wrong man. However, someone wants her and Matt stopped and begins killing witnesses to her mother's death. As the two reporters fall in love, they struggle to stay alive long enough to cherish these feelings and expose a desperate murderer.

Fans of investigative journalist romantic thrillers will take immense delight with DEADLINE, an aptly named title. The storyline moves rather quickly forward from the start and never blinks until the climatic altercation with the killer. Though Tess acts impetuous and amateurish at times, readers can rationalize that the case is personal. Still, she is a steel magnolia while her beloved counterpart is an intrepid soul risking his life so she can learn the truth. The Grady locals add that Southern feeling that provides the backdrop to a tense thriller.

Harriet Klausner