Yesterday's Fatal

By Jan Brogan

Rhode Island reporter Hallie Ahern needs her next story to land on the front page if she wants to keep her job. The new execs at the Morning Chronicle are cutting back the staff, and Hallie, the newest member of the investigative team, could be one of the first to go. A one-car accident, even one that resulted in the death of a young mother of three, normally wouldn't be front-page material. But because Hallie witnessed it while coming home late on a rainy spring night, she can't get it out of her mind. With a little luck and a lot of digging, Hallie's good instincts put her on the trail of a much bigger story. And to get it, she'll to have to take some risks, but this time the stakes couldn't be any higher or more deadly. A breakneck ride through Providence's crime world and a powerful look at Hallie's daily struggle with gambling addiction, Yesterday's Fatal will have readers holding on tight.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0312359977
• ISBN13: 9780312359973
• Release Date: May 2007
• Publisher: Minotaur Books
• Length: 336 Pages
• Weight: 1.10 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.7" x 1.1" x 5.6"

Customer Reviews

Having lived near Providence, I find this a fascinating series

Actually, I lived in Taunton, Mass., for several years, but watched the local news on Providence TV stations. Jan Brogan certainly captures the feeling of the area in her Hallie Ahern books.This one centers on the staged accident racket in which insurance companies are the targetted victims.And here we have Hallie Ahern once again with the conflicts she carries between doing her job as an investigative journalist and being a sensitive human being. Beyond that, she has her addictions to battle and emotional instability which affects her love life.All this results in one of the most fascinating series of crime novels you'll find.

a real, crowd pleasing page turner

Yesterday's Fatal is the kind of mystery I admire. One that keeps you guessing till the very end. Plus Hallie is a heroine you can root for, her imperfections are believable and her reporter's instincts finely honed. I found myself unable to put this book down.

Another great read from Jan Brogan

This is the third mystery I've read by Jan Brogan, and it may be her best yet. The main character, Hallie, has gained some perspective as she's battled her addictions and pursued her journalism career, but she still trips over herself in ways that make the story compellling. The book is fast-paced and keeps you hooked on the plot and the lives of the characters. You can't help but root for Hallie even though you sometimes want to knock some sense into her as she does whatever it takes to land a front-page story. Brogan gives you a real taste of the newspaper business; it helps explain Hallie's determination to follow every lead, no matter where it might take her. Brogan's storylines and sharp ear for dialogue make her books much better than the typical formulaic mystery.

One Gutsy Reporter On A Wild Ride

Yesterdays Fatal is one of those mysteries that keeps you guessing and holding your breath to the final pages. Set in Providence, Rhode Island, it features fearless newspaper reporter, Hallie Ahern and her endless quest for action - whether in the form of gambling with money, her love life, or her job. Yesterdays Fatal takes Hallie from the scene of a suspicious fatal car wreck into a major auto insurance fraud ring. Soon, she is in over her head and fighting for far more than a featured front-page story. Fasten your seatbelts. Yesterdays Fatal is a heartpounding read!

Love flawed heroines?

Hallie Ahern, the troubled Rhode Island reporter I first met in A Confidential Source by Jan Brogan, makes a return appearance in Yesterday's Fatal. Brogan's first novel is Final Copy. Hallie Ahern is a talented investigative reporter who struggles with her addictions. Each day is living 'one day at a time.' When Ahern happens upon a fatal car accident, it is hardly the story that will make her career, much less the front page of the newspaper. Fatals rarely have that much importance. But this particular fatal accident catches Ahern's attention. It's an itch she can't scratch. Not only was the victim the mother of three children, but the car apparently hit a tree, not once, but twice. And a witness, who originally stated the car aimed for the tree, changed her story after a visit by the victim's husband and his attorney. Ahern finds herself caught up in a story with no possibility of a good outcome. As she carefully follows the clues, she learns that immigrants are tied to an insurance scam, a really bad man seems to be the ring leader, no one wants to go 'on the record' and other people are not whom she thinks they are. It's not bad enough that Ahern might lose her life following the story of a lifetime, but her gambling addiction rears its ugly head, her love life tanks and she may lose her job with the sale of the newspaper she works for. It's enough to make one drink--if they didn't have lives to save and a story to see on the front page. Hallie Ahern is a deliciously flawed heroine. Her life is edgy, with enough compulsions to make her interesting, but not enough to make her an 'over-the-top' character. Brogan's knowledge of the newspaper business gives her novels a 'real life' flavor, her plots are fascinating and her characters colorful and complex. Armchair Interviews says: If you like your mysteries served up with flair and grit, and you enjoy a walk on the darker side of humanity, read Jan Brogan's novels. They're page-turners.