‘Your child has been kidnapped.
You’re live on television.’
– Dead Line
[ About Dead Line ]
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.
[ My Review ]
Dead Line is the debut crime thriller from award-winning broadcaster and journalist Steph McGovern which publishes July 3rd with Macmillan.
Set in the world of live TV, we meet Rose, a TV reporter, who thrives on most aspects of her job. Early starts and hairy situations are all part and parcel of what she does and she adores the adrenaline rush that accompanies most of her days. With years of experience under her belt she is thrilled to have been chosen to host a political interview that will be the pinnacle of her broadcasting career. Research is everything to Rose and she always ensures that she is ready to deal with any query that may arise. But Rose could never have been prepared for what happens live on-air when her earpiece is hacked and she hears a voice stating that her wife and child have been kidnapped. The message is clear, they will come to no harm as long as she does exactly as she is told. The nation is watching the interview oblivious to what is happening but her team are agog. They have lost communication with her and it is clear to all that Rose is in difficulty.
As the following chapters jump back and forth across different time periods the truth is slowly revealed and we begin to understand how Rose has ended up in this situation. With some shocking themes, the story takes quite a seedy turn but all handled very sensitively by the author.
Without a doubt Steph McGovern knows about the broadcasting industry, which certainly adds a layer of authenticity to the novel, but I did feel that the marketing of it reflects a very different story. Dead Line is very much a story about the background to this on-air hijacking as opposed to a SWAT team type of action thriller. We get insights into hidden secrets and dark behaviour, while simultaneously we are introduced to a whole team of network folk who work behind the scenes of a live TV show, with many drawn from the author’s own experiences in the business. I was a tad underwhelmed with Dead Line. I was ready for a fast-action, against-the-clock type of story but it was more of a background to a scandal, with quite a long epilogue. The expectation and the result were two very different things. There is no doubt that Steph McGovern can write but I just felt that there were mixed messages in the delivery of this one and the whole hijacking events fell a little flat and far-fetched if I’m honest.
[Thank you to Laura Sherlock (Macmillan) for a copy of Dead Line in exchange for my honest review ]
[ Bio ]
Steph McGovern is an award-winning broadcaster who currently presents The Rest Is Money podcast with Robert Peston. Steph has worked in journalism for over twenty years, eight of them as part of the BBC Breakfast family. She went on to present her own BAFTA-nominated live daily show, Steph’s Packed Lunch, on Channel 4 and is a regular Have I Got News for You panellist and host.
Steph is an avid crime reader and has interviewed countless authors including Val McDermid, Ann Cleeves, Hillary Clinton, Harlan Coben, Lee Child and Don Winslow, as well as judging the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award at the Harrogate Crime Festival since 2019. Deadline is her first novel.
