Deadline [Paperback]

Randy Alcorn (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

Heart-Pounding Murder Mystery

Involved in a tragic accident under suspicious circumstances, award-winning journalist Jake Woods teams with detective Ollie Chandler to uncover the truth. This alluring repackage of the R andy Alcorn bestseller finds Jake drawing upon all his resources in an ever-intensifying, dangerous murder investigation. Unaware of the imminent threat to his own life, Jake struggles for answers to the mystery at hand and is plunged into a deeper search for the meaning of his own existence.

His Body Hung Suspended Between Two Friends--His Soul Between Two Worlds

Doc’s shoulder jammed into Jake as he swerved the Suburban sharply to the right, cut between a telephone pole and a billboard, then careened into a ten-foot high embankment. Sometime between the sound of Doc’s last cry and the sickening crunch of bent metal from the car’s first roll, Jake lost consciousness. The last sensation he felt was that of being crushed between the two men he had known since childhood…

When tragedy strikes those closest to him, award-winning journalist Jake Woods must draw upon all his resources to uncover the truth about their suspicious accident. Soon he finds himself swept up in a murder investigation that is both complex and dangerous. Unaware of the threat to his own life, Jake is drawn in deeper and deeper as he desperately searches for the answers to the immediate mystery at hand and—ultimately—the deeper meaning of his own existence.

Deadline is a dramatic and vivid novel of substance, filled with hope and perspective for every reader who longs to feel purpose in life.

READER’S GUIDE INCLUDED

Story Behind the Book

Deadline is Randy Alcorn ’s first novel, which stayed on the bestseller’s list for thirty-six months. A thorough researcher, Randy spent time with Portland homicide detectives and columnists at the Oregonian, as well as observing editorial meetings at the Indianapolis Star so he could accurately create the novel’s murder-mystery storyline, setting, and characters. Randy also creatively portrays characters who have died and gone to heaven, where they view events happening on earth.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Randy Alcorn is the founder and director of Eternal Perspective Ministries. His novels include Deadline, Dominion, Edge of Eternity, Lord Foulgrin’s Letters, The Ishbane Conspiracy, and Safely Home. He has written fourteen nonfiction books as well, including Heaven, The Treasure Principle, The Purity Principle, and The Grace and Truth Paradox. Randy and his wife, Nanci, live in Gresham, Oregon. They have two married daughters, Karina and Angela, and three grandchildren.

From AudioFile

Muller reads with skill as he introduces three vacationing friends in their mid-fifties. His rendering separates and enhances the personalities of Jake, the journalist; Finney, the preacher; and Doc. A car crash ensues, with screeching tires and metal against metal, and Muller radiates Jake's shock and incredulity when he learns it wasn't an accident. Muller then switches easily between the parallel stories of Jake setting out to solve the murder of his friends and Finney's experience in heaven. As an angel Muller's voice resonates with love and wisdom as he guides Finney through heaven. G.D.W. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine-- Copyright © AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 448 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Publishers; Repack edition (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590525922
• ISBN-13: 978-1590525920
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 1.2 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (122 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #29,715 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Randy Alcorn is an author and the founder of Eternal Perspective Ministries (EPM), a nonprofit ministry dedicated to teaching principles of God's Word and assisting the church in ministering to the unreached, unfed, unborn, uneducated, unreconciled, and unsupported people around the world. His ministry focus is communicating the strategic importance of using our earthly time, money, possessions and opportunities to invest in need-meeting ministries that count for eternity. He accomplishes this by analyzing, teaching, and applying the biblical truth.

Before starting EPM in 1990, Randy served as a pastor for fourteen years. He holds degrees in theology and biblical studies and has taught on the adjunct faculties of Multnomah University and Western Seminary in Portland, Oregon.

Randy has written more than forty books, including the bestsellers Heaven, The Treasure Principle, and the Gold Medallion winner Safely Home. His books in print exceed five million and have been translated into over thirty languages. Randy has written for many magazines including EPM's quarterly issues-oriented magazine Eternal Perspectives. He is active daily on Facebook and Twitter, has been a guest on more than 700 radio, television and online programs including Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, Revive Our Hearts, The Bible Answer Man, and The Resurgence.

Randy resides in Gresham, Oregon, with his wife, Nanci. They have two married daughters and are the proud grandparents of five grandchildren. Randy enjoys hanging out with his family, biking, tennis, research, and reading.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

74 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A philosophical premise made into a story., May 22, 2003

By 

Michael Erisman (Seattle, WA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Deadline (Ollie Chandler, Book 1) (Paperback)

This book attacks the concept of political correctness and the hypocritical quicksand of "moral relativism" by weaving a tale of suspense and intrigue into the everyday life of a liberal newspaper reporter. The book hooks you from the beginning, with a story about three friends on a typical Sunday afternoon watching football, and tossing a coin to see who will drive to get the pizza at halftime. The coin lands, and stays, on its side! All three pile into the car together and after picking up the pizza and heading back, there is a terrible accident and the story picks up with one of the three, the reporter, awaking in the hospital. Thus begins a journey during which his popular beliefs about life, meaning and morality are challenged in a very personal way. Instead of spoiling the story, I will leave it up to the reader to explore.

The message of the book can be best described by the following passage regarding morality (page 419). "Maybe the greatest danger isn't when the rules get broken, maybe it's when the rules get changed. Once they're changed you can follow the new rules and think you are doing the right thing, while all the time your new truth is just the old lies. You can tell yourself it's OK because the standards have changed, but if the standards mean anything at all they don't change. I want to follow the truth no matter where it leads me. The Truth will set you free."

Overall, this is a well-written story, and provides enough twists and turns to keep the reader interested. Often however, the author seems to try and take on too many issues at once. The depictions of the social agenda's of various special interest groups and how they drove the slant of news stories was frighteningly accurate, considering the book was written in 1994 well before the documented events of liberal bias on behalf of Networks and print media had been exposed in the last few years by numerous sources. The author points out in the notes at the end of the book that "This is a work of fiction. While it contains many factual details which are the product of careful research, it intermingles these events with fictitious settings and persons".

A good story, with a well-needed message.

28 of 28 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Like a Grisham Novel With More Heart and Soul, June 24, 2005

By 

M. golay Erisman "faithgolay" (North America) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Deadline (Ollie Chandler, Book 1) (Paperback)

This book was recommended to me by my husband as something to hold my interest while on the elipical machines. It did just that and left me feeling disappointed when it ended.

Randy Alcorn creatively navigates through several modern issues with interesting characters and a twists-and-turns story. I think it goes without saying that Alcorn is a talented writer. And once you read this book, you'll realize he's also a writer with a mission. That mission, it seems, is to illuminate how the earthly impacts the heavenly (Deadline alternates between Heaven and Earth).

The images and concepts of Heaven are like none I've ever read before. They radically expanded my vision of Heaven, and prompted me to live motivated by an eternal perspective. That's how impactful the imagery is.

Alcorn doesn't shy away from sizzling social and moral issues via Deadline's characters. At times I was surprised at what he was willing to tackle. The main character is a liberal columnist for a major metropolitan newspaper whose moral compass shifts gradually and radically throughout the book. Alcorn steers clear of religiosity, however, by preserving this character's wit, passion and humanity. He remains a critical thinker but from the side he had always scoffed. In the end, he returns to his true love, his teenage daughter, and seems to have found deep peace.

Whether you believe in Heaven and live with an eternal perspective or not, this book is a great read. It could make you angry if you disagree, applaud if you do agree, and simply think differently if you're somewhere in between.

Four stars only because the book is packed...so packed it could have easily been spread into two books. Regardless, thanks to Deadline, I'm looking forward to reading another Alcorn book.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars To Change A Life, May 18, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Deadline (Ollie Chandler, Book 1) (Paperback)

As a new Christian, I was hungry for any kind of information which would provoke thought and give me something to increase my faith. I began to read the Bible, but enjoyed novels very much. I had heard about "Deadline" from several people, but the size of the novel was a little intimida- ting. A friend had loaned it to me when I was ill, since I had so much time on my hands. I finally picked it up and began to read. In about two or three pages, I was hooked. Randy's description of heaven brought me to tears. It gave me great hope and encouragement. I could hardly put it down, because I wanted to remain at that place: the place to which his novel carried me. One of serenity and peace. I had also been teetering on the fence of my views on abortion. However, when I read Randy's descrip- tion of conception, my heart was changed forever. This truly is a life-changing book, and I intend to give it as a gift, to all those in my family who are not saved. I feel like handing it out to people on street corners! We need men like Randy Alcorn, who has a vision of where everyone should strive to be: heaven, worshipping the God who wants us there.