Deadline

By Steph McGovern

The debut crime thriller from award-winning broadcaster and journalist Steph McGovern.

'Thrilling, captivating and full of heart' - Giovanna Fletcher, author of Billy and Me

'Brilliant I love how it describes all the behind the scenes of TV and I had no idea where it was going. So clever. So good' - Kimberley Walsh

Your child has been kidnapped.

You're live on television.

Going live in 10, 9, 8 . . .
Today is a huge day for TV reporter Rose's career. A live interview with one of the most powerful men in the country, on one of the nation's biggest TV shows.

7, 6, 5 . . .
But, when she hears an unfamiliar voice in her ear, she knows something is very wrong.

4, 3, 2 . . .
Her earpiece has been hacked. She's live on air in the middle of the interview. They tell her they have kidnapped her family.

1
And, in order to protect them, Rose must do exactly what the hijacker says. They are in control now.

* * *

'A pacy, witty, engaging thriller, entertaining and delightfully authentic, but hard-hitting and thought-provoking too. I can't wait for you all to read it' - Ann Cleeves, author of the Shetland and Vera Stanhope series

'Fascinating and authentic peek behind the scenes . . . Steph McGovern lifts the lid and hooks us in with an irresistible set up' - Val McDermid, author of Past Lying

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1035035251
• ISBN13: 9781035035250
• Release Date: April 2026
• Publisher: Pan Publishing
• Length: 400 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.0" x 7.7"
• Age Range: 18 years and up

Customer Reviews

Really Good!

I pretty much read this book in one sitting. It drew me right in with the tenseness of the hijacking while Rose was on live tv with her family being held hostage and kept me hooked to find out why this all went on. The jumps between past and present nicely ramped up the tension until the end when all was revealed in a satisfactory way with justice being served and proving no one is above the law (or supposed to be anyways) and it can be accomplished by the cooperation of decent people. The other thing I really enjoyed about this book was getting a behind the scenes look at what goes into an on the spot tv broadcast, from the talkbacks to how tricky it is to connect with the main broadcast and how it suddenly might cut a couple minutes off your time, or put the reporter on the spot right away. Talk about stressful! But it was interesting to read about and really made the story feel plausible. For a debut author I think this was well done and his expertise in TV himself made it well done. I am glad I got the chance to read this book!