“Adam Ferranti was a talented American journalist, who moved to England to escape the issues surrounding his fall from glory at the Washington Post; only to be thrust back in it when a mysterious serial killer makes him his confidante.

DS Stephanie Walker is a member of the West Yorkshire Police. Whilst tough and results-driven at work, she hides the abuse she suffers at home. She finds Ferranti annoying but he’s her only chance to stay close to what the killer is planning next.

Ferranti reluctantly complies with the Police, but when the killer reveals himself it suddenly gets personal.”

I have to start this review with an apology. An apology to Emma (@damppebbles). The twist at the end of this book was so surprising that I just blurted out what had happened. For the first time in 13 years of knowing her, I ruined a book that she was quite desperate to read. So sorry again, Emma!

From that apology you can tell you can tell that I enjoyed and was shocked by the end of this book. Geoff Major has created monsters in Deadline.  Almost every character that you meet in this book has a reason for instant suspicion. The plot slowly takes shape with multiple threads coming together in a tight knot around both the doomed and the unsuspecting. I found this book impossible to put down, impossible to second guess and very twisty.

Adam Ferranti is exactly the character that you expect from the blurb. An American journalist who ends up in the UK working for the Yorkshire Post whilst reeking of alcohol. An employee so untrusted the paper send a taxi to collect (or wake!) him every morning. Through his friendship with the taxi driver, Khatri, we get to know Adam as well informed, intellectual and occasionally empathic individual but not one who is delighted to be social.  As we get to hear more about his history we find out the “one that got away” the Pulitzer Prize that never was and Adam’s continual quest to get a big story. That is until the phone rings at his office desk and an anonymous voice tips him off about murder scenes which the police have attended and also have yet to attend. Major grips you as a reader and doesn’t let go as you follow this dramatic story with the clock ticking down to the deadline.

The police characters in this book are an interesting bunch. The lead investigator, the hard nosed DS Walker, takes centre stage to begin with but gradually we meet the team around her. The promotion focussed boss, Hobbs, the surprise new sidekick for Walker and the other investigators from around the country facing their linked murder scenes.  Major does a brilliant job of showing the raw competition between these colleagues who are also desperate to stop the body count, but also get some personal kudos out of the investigation. I loved the hunt and the way in which seemingly unconnected characters seamlessly fitted together into a bigger picture.

At the same time as we follow the police investigation we start to see glimpses of activity in the USA, and then the tenuous links begin to appear…..

I’m not going to say anymore as I don’t want to give away the ending (again! ☹) but this is a book full of twists, turns, intrigue and murder that will satisfy even the most cynical reader. This is an easy five-star read and one that I heartily recommend.

Deadline by Geoff Major was published in the UK by Grosvenor House Books on 1st September 2020 and is available in hardcover, paperback and digital formats (please note, the following links are affiliate links which means I receive a small percentage of the purchase price at no extra cost to you): | amazon.co.uk | Waterstones | Foyles | Book Depository | Goodreads |

A long time ago, Geoff Major had an idea for a story, whilst walking his girls to primary school. Two years ago, he decided he had the time and patience to try to write the story down. His wife was wholly supportive, so he turned from full-time to part-time for four months and now – 23 years after that idea first popped into his head – it has been published.

As a self-employed business consultant for 18 years and a fundraising adventurer for 10 years (including ski-trekking 50 miles, over 6 days and 6 nights, to the geographic North Pole), he now works for a debt charity whilst plotting his next three books.