The Deadline: A Mystery

by Ron Franscell

Book Overview

Neeley Gilmartin, imprisoned in 1948 for the murder of a little girl, is let out of prison in 1996 because he's dying of tuberculosis. Wracked with pain, he still smolders from the injustice done to him all those years ago, and pleads with the newspaper editor, Jefferson Morgan, to clear his name and find the one who really killed the child.Morgan finds the request abhorrent, and is unable to believe that Gilmartin could be innocent. He refuses to...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1885173733
• ISBN13: 9781885173737
• Release Date: December 1999
• Publisher: Write Way Publishing
• Length: 308 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 5.8" x 8.8"

Customer Reviews

Looking for cookie-cutter mysteries? Skip this deep tale

Once in a while, a book comes along to break the usual mold. The Deadline is one of those books to me. This story is very touching, the characters are three-dimensional and real, the mystery is almost ordinary but the reader invests a lot of emotion in it. I can see why Poisoned Pen gave this book such high honors as one of the best of 1999. It simply tells a good story that made me cry when it ended, and I don't do that much.I have read Ron Franscell's first novel, Angel Fire, too. It is quite different since it is not a mystery, but it conveys some of the same themes: the "deceptive simplicity" of a small town, how sadness is sometimes necessary on the way to happiness, and the beauty of vivid characters. I have no difficulty recommending these books to true readers who want more than formula stories. I eagerly await Mr. Franscell's next book.

THE DEALINE, Truly For the Mystery Lover!

From the very beginning of Ron Franscell's, THE DEADLINE, you are catapulted into a vivid tale of one man's desperate attempt to clear his name, from an unspeakable crime, and another's search for the truth.To do this, Neeley Gilmartin inlists the help of Jefferson Morgan, newspaper owner in a rural town of the Wyoming countryside. Setting in motion the biggest challenge of Morgan's career. Ron Franscell's skillfully crafts an array of colorful characters to carry you along on this fascinating hunt for answers that must come before a crucial deadline.I highly recommend THE DEALINE for the experience it brings to the lover of a well-plotted mystery.

Engrossing, fascinating and intriguing!

Jefferson Morgan thinks that he has seen it all, having been a crime reporter in the Windy City for most of his career. The lure of the countryside calls though, and he returns to his hometown of Winchester, Wyoming, with his wife, to settle down in the relative quiet of rural life in a small town. It's anything BUT quiet, he quickly finds out. He purchases the towns only newspaper, The Bullet, and is quickly and unwittingly submersed in the politicking and squabbles that his once- peaceful town dumps in his lap. But the most disturbing is a 50-year-old murder case that rears its spectral head...bringing nothing but grief and headaches for Morgan and his wife, both of whom are still dealing with the untimely death of their only son. When Morgan is approached by a recently released convict, the man who had confessed to the murder in question 50 years prior, Morgan is suddenly caught up in a tangled web of deceit and deception. Franscell deftly portrays life in a small town, and the quirky nature that life there can take...especially when murder and cover-up are involved. His descriptive narrative and strong characters make the story jump from the page, impressing itself indelibly on the brain. It has been a long time since I have found a page-turner such as this with people so vividly imagined and given life. I heartily recommend this to everyone who likes a good read on a dark night!

Don't Miss This One!

I'm not much of a mystery fan these days, but I decided to read Ron Franscell's "The Deadline" on the strength of my admiration for his beautiful literary novel, "Angel Fire." And I'm sure glad I did! "The Deadline" is a cunning and capable who-done-it, full of intriguing plot-twists and hidden peril for the hero, small town newspaper editor Jefferson Davis. Confronted with a decades-old murder and little more than an dying ex-convict's word that justice has not been served, Davis struggles with his own cynicism and a host of menacing adversaries who would rather leave the past dead and buried. His investigation into the long-forgotten crime stirs the town's passions and Davis soon finds himself under attack from all sides (including a right-wing survivalist cult leader, local bankers and business owners, and even his former school friend, now the town's ambitious sheriff). As he races to uncover the truth the attacks turn personal; soon he is fighting not only for principle but for his livelihood, his family, and his own life.I recommend this page-turner to all mystery fans seeking the thrills and chills of a fast-paced and intricately crafted puzzle. More than that, however, I commend Mr. Franscell's beautiful writing, his delightfully colorful characters, and his rich portrayal of small town life to the attention of all who appreciate the finest literature of any genre.

It made me cy it was soooo good

Neely Gilmartin has little time to clear his name as he suffers from a fast spreading cancer. He wants the new owner-publisher of the weekly paper "The Bullet" to find out who killed Aimee Little Spotted Horse over five decades ago. Although there was little evidence connecting him to the crime, tempers were hot and the Judge was biased against Neely.Instead of frying in the chair, Neely pleaded guilty to a crime he did not commit. He wants to die knowing that his name is clean. Morgan does not believe Neely's story, but does a bit of checking. He soon wonders why some of the townsfolk force the bank to try and foreclose on his paper and why some people are trying to get advertisers to boycott the paper. While Morgan digs deeper, one person's soul cries out for redemption while another screams for the truth to be revealed. When a mystery novel leaves the reader weeping, the tale has to have destroyed genre boundaries and that is the essence behind THE DEADLINE. Ron Franscell reveals a corrupt and ugly underside to the image of idyllic small town living. Justice in the late 1940's operates more on a prejudicial concept than based on a blind legal system. Lives are taken because someone is labeled as undesirable in a culture that loathes diversity. Only the courageous can make reparations and in many cases they must feel like Quixote. Though a fabulous mystery, THE DEADLINE is also a condemnation of those who thrive on the kind of hate that erodes a nation's soul.Harriet Klausner