The Deadline

This novel of a small-town reporter drawn into a chilling cold case is “an impressive debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat” (San Francisco Chronicle). A dying convict’s last request thrusts small-town newspaperman Jefferson Morgan into a deadly maelstrom as he explores a fifty-year-old case of child murder—a wound his town still isn’t ready to scrape open. Under the heaviest deadline of his life, and amid threats from unexpected foes, Morgan must struggle with his own conscience to tell a story no matter the consequences, dig deep into the town’s past, and unveil a killer who’s managed to remain hidden in plain sight for almost fifty years. Now a bestselling true crime author, Ron Franscell began his crime-writing career with fiction. This was his first mystery featuring newspaperman Jefferson Morgan, followed by its sequel, The Obituary. “As a bonus, [Franscell] packs the novel with plenty of fascinating details about the newspaper business. A nice little sleeper of a mystery that deserves a wide audience.”—Booklist This novel of a small-town reporter drawn into a chilling cold case is “an impressive debut that will keep you on the edge of your seat” ( San Francisco Chronicle ). A dying convict’s last request thrusts small-town newspaperman Jefferson Morgan into a deadly maelstrom as he explores a fifty-year-old case of child murder—a wound his town still isn’t ready to scrape open. Under the heaviest deadline of his life, and amid threats from unexpected foes, Morgan must struggle with his own conscience to tell a story no matter the consequences, dig deep into the town’s past, and unveil a killer who’s managed to remain hidden in plain sight for almost fifty years. Now a bestselling true crime author, Ron Franscell began his crime-writing career with fiction. This was his first mystery featuring newspaperman Jefferson Morgan, followed by its sequel, The Obituary. “As a bonus, [Franscell] packs the novel with plenty of fascinating details about the newspaper business. A nice little sleeper of a mystery that deserves a wide audience.”— Booklist "A dying convict's last request thrusts small-town newspaperman Jefferson Morgan into a deadly maelstrom as he explores a fifty-year-old case of child murder--a wound this town still isn't ready to re-open. Amid threats from unexpected foes and under the most important deadline of his life, Morgan struggles with his own conscience to dig deep into the town's past, tell the truth no matter the consequences, and unveil a killer who managed to remain hidden for almost 50 years. Before CJ Box and Craig Johnson mined mystery from the Wyoming landscape, bestselling author Ron Franscell introduced readers to Jefferson Morgan and the Winchester Bullet in this outstanding work of fiction, which he followed up with a sequel, THE OBITUARY."--Amazon.com