Yesterday's Fatal [Hardcover]

Jan Brogan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2007

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.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In Brogan's solid third Hallie Ahern mystery (after 2005's A Confidential Source), the Providence, R.I., newspaper reporter homes in on an insurance scam after happening on a late-night auto accident. Hallie tries to rescue the victim from a car about to go up in flames, but the woman is already dead after crashing into a tree—"twice," according to the elderly woman who witnessed the accident. At the funeral for the victim—Lizzette Gorda, a 33-year-old mother of three boys—her husband, Manuel, says that the witness reported another car speeding away from the scene (a fishy change of tune), and Hallie notices mobster Tito Manaforte hulking among the mourners. Hallie smells an insurance scam that her addictive personality compels her to pursue. On the romantic front, a suave attorney distracts Hallie from her upstanding but undemonstrative new boyfriend, prosecutor Matt Cavanaugh. Intelligent but with her fair share of imperfections, Hallie makes a credible heroine. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

The follow-up to A Confidential Source (2005), which introduced readers to Rhode Island reporter Hallie Ahern, should please readers who enjoy mysteries set in the world of newspaper journalism. Hallie's a grab-bag sort of character: she's a gambling addict, a sleeping-pill addict, a compulsive runner, a frustrated investigate reporter. In this fast-paced narrative, she stumbles upon an auto accident that smells like a front-page story--if only she can find out who is responsible for the death of the driver. The story is well plotted and plausible, even if it relies too much on coincidence. Recommend this series to those who look to mysteries for light entertainment delivered in a snappy fashion. David Pitt
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 336 pages
• Publisher: Minotaur Books; 1st edition (May 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312359977
• ISBN-13: 978-0312359973
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.4 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,475,704 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Jan Brogan is a novelist, essayist and journalist who worked for many years as a staff newspaper reporter before going freelance. She is a winner of the Gerald Loeb award for distinguished financial writing, and currently works as a correspondent for the Boston Globe. Her freelance work has appeared in Boston Magazine, The Improper Bostonian, Ladies Home Journal and Forbes Magazine and one of her essays was recently featured in the collection about the insanity of the college admissions process: "I'm Going to College Not You" by Jennifer Delahunty. She and her husband live outside of Boston and get to spend a lot of time on Martha's Vineyard She is currently working on a historical novel partially set in Edgartown.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another great read from Jan Brogan, May 14, 2007

By 

nutmegdj (Boston, MA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yesterday's Fatal (Hardcover)

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.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Love flawed heroines?, May 1, 2007

By 

Armchair Interviews (Minneapolis, MN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Yesterday's Fatal (Hardcover)

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars fabulous investigative mystery, May 19, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Yesterday's Fatal (Hardcover)

In Providence, Rhode Island, Providence Morning Chronicle reporter Hallie Ahern observes an odd tragic car accident in which she tries to rescue the already dead driver. Dominican bookkeeper Lizette Gorda, a mother of three working for attorney Dane Piedmont, apparently hit a tree twice; at least that is what the elderly witness told her. Lizette's husband insists another driver was involved with the mess but left before the police arrived.

Hallie begins to make inquires that lead to mobster Tito Manaforte, who attended the funeral and personal-injury lawyer Joe D'Anzana. As she digs deeper she begins to believe that Lizette's accident is tied to an insurance scam to file false claims with insurance companies, Medicare and Medicaid. However, her efforts alienate her boyfriend, prosecutor Matt Cavanaugh who warns her he will subpoena her if he has to while Dane makes no apology that he wants her; of course so does the bad guys.

Hallie is a fabulous investigative reporter whose inquires make for a superb mystery; however her romances are a different story as they are used to show her flaws, but instead feel as if they intrude on the prime theme, her investigation. Still she makes the story line fun to follow as she cleverly follows the leads while the criminals follow her. Readers will enjoy the escapades of Jan Brogan's intrepid journalist when she is on the case more so than with the men in and out of her life.

Harriet Klausner