The Deadline: A Mystery (Hardcover)

I have read Ron Franscell's first novel, Angel Fire, too. It is quite different since it is not a mystery, but it conveys some of the same themes: the "deceptive simplicity" of a small town, how sadness is sometimes necessary on the way to happiness, and the beauty of vivid characters. I have no difficulty recommending these books to true readers who want more than formula stories. I eagerly await Mr. Franscell's next book.

So he takes out a huge loan, and he and his wife pack their bags and head west.

After he assumes control of the paper, there are the usual problems that any fledgling publisher has to face – apathetic young reporters, missed deadlines, a grouchy production manager and picky, controlling advertisers.

On top of that, there’s a cash flow problem. There isn’t much of it, and he has a [six thousand dollar] monthly payment coming due at the local bank.

And then things get really complicated.

An elderly, dying man shows up at The Bullet’s office, and asks Jefferson Morgan to write his story.

Fifty years ago, the man pleaded guilty to the brutal murder of a seven-year-old girl. Now, just released from prison, he claims he didn’t do it. And he wants the new editor/publisher to prove that he didn’t do it.

At first, Morgan is more than a little skeptical. But he feels obligated to check it out. And there isn’t much time because the cancer-ridden old man may only have a few days to live.

What Morgan uncovers creates tremors in the community that threaten the existence of his newspaper.

Does he risk all by digging through a small town’s dark closets and exposing a killer who has been undetected for over 50 years? Or does he keep the information to himself to save his newspaper?

"THE DEADLINE " is what you would expect from the prose of the talented Ron Franscell, who is among the finest fiction writers to evolve from the newsroom of a community newspaper in this decade.

Franscell has switched genres on us, but he’s done it in style, more specifically his unique style of painting-in-words a depth of emotion that morphs with the setting and characters. And no writer has done or does a better job of depicting the aura of working at a hometown newspaper.

But, back to the about-face in genres. Franscell’s first book "Angel Fire," released in 1998, is a rich, marvelous work of literary fiction that was named #74 of the San Francisco Chronicle’s Top 100 Western Fiction Books of the 20th Century. The story of two brothers from a small town in Wyoming who are raised by a widowed newspaper publisher is close to a masterpiece.

"THE DEADLINE" is no "Angel Fire." Franscell decided to follow a different muse.

His premise and structure is typical for a suspense novel – get a man up a tree, throw rocks at him, get him back down. Franscell throws a quarry of rocks at his protagonist, Morgan, as the man struggles with his conscience and convictions. And there are the usual plot twists, turns and surprises that keep the reader flipping pages.

What separates Franscell from the rest of a very large pack of mystery writers is the sheer quality of his writing. There are many mystery writers who get the man up the tree and keep us turning pages to see if he’ll ever get back down.

But when you add writing that flows smooth and runs deep, like a proud old river, you have something different, a mystery novel that transcends and separates itself from all the others.

To do this, Neeley Gilmartin inlists the help of Jefferson Morgan, newspaper owner in a rural town of the Wyoming countryside. Setting in motion the biggest challenge of Morgan's career. Ron Franscell's skillfully crafts an array of colorful characters to carry you along on this fascinating hunt for answers that must come before a crucial deadline.

I highly recommend THE DEALINE for the experience it brings to the lover of a well-plotted mystery.