Title: Deadline Man
Author: Jon Talton
Publisher: Poisoned Pen Press
Publication Date: May 1, 2010
Paperback: 250 pages
ISBN: 978-1590587232
Genre: Mystery, Detective, Suspense & Thrillers
From the Publisher:
He’s a man whose life is so intertwined with his job that we know him only as “the columnist.” He writes for a newspaper in Seattle, isn’t afraid to stir up trouble and keeps his life—including his multiple lovers and his past— in safe compartments. But it’s all about to be violently upended when he goes out on what seems like the most mundane of assignments, looking into a staid company that “never makes news.”
The moment one of his sources takes a dive off a downtown skyscraper, the columnist is plunged into a harrowing maze of murder, intrigue and secrets that powerful forces intend to keep hidden at all costs. All he has to go on is a corporate world where nothing is as it seems, increasingly menacing encounters with mysterious federal agents, and the unsettling meme “eleven/eleven.”
Meanwhile, the paper itself is dying. So the columnist joins with an aggressive young reporter to see if one explosive story can save a newspaper—and much more. They’re running to make the deadline of their lives….
My Review:
The Deadline Man by Jon Talton is an exciting thrill ride from the very beginning. Masterfully written with clever and unsuspecting plot twists as well cleverly placed clues the reader may be able to detect while reading the story, Deadline Man by Jon Talton is a thrill ride from page one. The story is narrated by “the columnist”, for his real name is never given throughout the novel. Early in the columnist’s career he was referred to as “the deadline man”, due to his ability to work under pressure. The Columnist writes for The Seattle Free Press, one of his main contacts has just plummeted from his 22nd story balcony leaving the columnist with several unknowns. Things go from bad to worse when the columnist learns the Free Press is looking for a buyer or will close in a few months. Seattle, reputed for being a safe city, is proving to be just the opposite for the columnist. From his deceased ex-informant, a prostitute, and yet another dead body, the term eleven-eleven keeps popping up as does the body count. The further the columnist digs for answers the more dangerous it gets for him and those around him. The columnist is clearly a clever writer with excellent journalistic instincts, however his ego and inability to be faithful prove at times to be quite detrimental. Deadline Man is a brilliantly crafted thriller revolving around the mysterious eleven-eleven, national security, Olympic International and potentially corrupt private military contractors. Deadline Man will keep the reader engaged, thinking, and turning the pages.
Jon Talton is the author of eight novels, including the David Mapstone mysteries: Concrete Desert, Cactus Heart, Camelback Falls, Dry Heat and Arizona Dreams. Dry Heat was named 2005 fiction book of the year by Arizona Highways magazine. His next novel, The Pain Nurse, will be published in April by the Poisoned Pen Press. To learn more about the author or his novels, please visit his official website.
I received a complimentary copy of Deadline Man by Jon Talton from Poisoned Pen Press as part of the tour. Receiving a free copy in no way reflected my review of aforementioned novel.
Recent Comments