How far would you go for the truth? What would you do to save your child?

Today should is the biggest interview of Rose's career, interviewing the chancellor live on TV. Not long after the interview starts she hears an unfamiliar voice in her ear.

"We have your wife and son"

Suddenly everything has changed and Rose must do as she is told for the sake of her family.

Told in jumps from past to present we slowly begin to put the story together but there are still plenty of twists you wont see coming. Really enjoyed thia would definitely recommend.

TV presenter Rose Steedman is in the middle of the biggest interview of her life, live on TV, when she hears a strange voice through her earpiece. The voice tells her that they have kidnapped her wife and son and she needs to do exactly as they say if she wants to see them alive again.

Deadline is Steph McGovern's debut novel. An often-used piece of advice to aspiring writers is to write what you know about and Steph McGovern has done just that, to the point that as I was reading I was picturing Steph as the lead character Rose. Rose is a no-nonsense, down-to-earth reporter who viewers delight in seeing on their screens, particularly when she's on location. We quickly learn, however, that the life of a roving reporter is not a glamorous one. The author also shows that life in the public eye can be unpleasant and the widespread use of social media can add danger.

The build-up to the ominous message is quick and gripping as we gain a glimpse into the fascinating world of Rose and her small team of camera operator, broadcast engineer and producer. You can feel the rapport between the team and there is lots of humour. Tension builds as we learn that after the first report from a construction site, the team is to interview the Chancellor at a top-secret location. Security around the location is extremely tight, making you wonder what is being protected.

The pace of the story and the suspense doesn't let up for a second until Rose hears the sinister warning during her interview. At this point, approximately a third of the way through the novel, the story goes back five years and introduces some new characters. While the narrative around these characters is interesting I felt that the momentum built in the first part of the book was lost. It takes quite a while for the story surrounding the new characters to coalesce and figure out how everything fits together. When the two stories merge anticipation begins to climb again and by the conclusion you want to punch the air and shout "YES!".

This is an immensely readable debut novel, filled with engaging characters, a heartbreaking story and plenty of misdirection. I'm sure this is going to be one of those books that every other person on the beach or around the pool will be reading this summer.

Well this was better than I had expected from a new celebrity author and she has definitely written about what she knows and loves! I was excited to read this one and did actually enjoy it especially the further the plot progressed.. Good characterisation combined with an easy to read narrative means this will definitely be on lots of summer reading lists this year and it will be a great beach read. A decent debut novel.

The advice is to write about what you know and love, and Steph McGovern has certainly done that in her debut, Deadline.

Whilst live on air in the interview of her life, TV presenter Rose get a voice in her earpiece, telling her that her wife and son have been held hostage and that she has to do exactly what she is told. Utterly terrified, Rose does as instructed, completely focused on her family’s safety.

This storyline is interwoven with one from five years previously, where schoolboy Ollie develops an unlikely friendship with an up and coming politician. Ollie is from a deprived background where he’s not expected to amount to much, he is a carer for his mum and brothers and life is hard. Suddenly his eyes are opened to a new possibility of a different life, and he throws himself in with innocence and naivety.

I really enjoyed Steph’s writing and sense of tension- she is a keen crime fiction reader and it shows! The story is pacy and kept me hooked from the outset to the very end. I’d definitely read more by Steph McGovern in the future.

This read like a typical thriller. It wasn't unique but it still had the angst and anticipation one has when reading thrillers. As a multiple book reader, this is a book I like to have in my rotation to have fun with.
3⭐️ read

a thought provoking thriller jam packed full of tension surrounding so many relevant themes
i have to admit im usually a little iffy about a book by some what of a celebrity. but Steph uses her relevance in that world to create a really knowledgeable plot. it made it feel even more well researched and believable. and you yourself get bought into that world.
i love how you are given all the titbits you need and then slowly feel clever as you weave it all together. and step manages to bring it all together perfectly.
and it actually felt really special to be able to read this from Steph. im familiar with her work before this and cant imagine the bravery it takes to go into something new, something people dont know you for but are perhaps judging you for even more so because of that. and really this was just a great book written by an author. so brave Steph you are an author! and i hope Steph can feel so immensely proud and sock it to anyone that im sure doubted her journey along the way.

Rose is live on the television conducting the interview of her career with a VIP when the interview is quite literally hijacked by someone who speaks into her earphone telling her that her child has been kidnapped and what she needs to do in order to get the child back.

This story delivers excitement, tension and drama in spades, as well as allowing the reader unexpected insights as to how things are done in the media business. A roller coaster read, this gets 3.5 stars.

This was such a unique book full of drama and twists I liked the multi person pov and different time lines was an easy book to follow and was interesting, I was very fond of Rose. The characters all have deep and were very interesting and so completely different. I loved how this was all wrapped up nicely I Wasn’t left confused or having more questions. Was a good read

Wasn't sure what to expect from this, but I heard the author speak about it at last years Harrogate crime festival and the opening premise intrigued me - a journalist on live TV interviewing a prominent politician when her communications are hijacked by someone demanding she ask his questions ...
I found this well plotted and very enjoyable. The way the different storylines all came together at the end was well done and was a much needed exploration of abuse of power, poverty, the dangers of social media and more.

This had potential. But I felt like the way this jumped between timeliness confused me at first.
It felt like 2 separate stories. It took me a while to figure out the connection.

But by the last 20% I was invested again.

This did take me longer than most books in this genre to complete. I struggled staying intrigued enough until the last 20%

I'll admit, I'm usually hesitant to read books written by celebrities. Too often, it feels like the author's name alone carries the book, rather than the writing or storytelling itself. So I went into Deadline with cautious expectations. Thankfully, Steph McGovern proved me wrong.

From the very first pages, I found it hard to put this book down. McGovern, best known for her broadcasting work, brings an insider's clarity to the media world, painting a vivid picture of behind-the-scenes life without ever sounding condescending or overly technical. Whether you're familiar with newsroom dynamics or not, the book brings you into that world in a way that feels authentic and accessible.

What really stood out was the storytelling. The plot is compelling, and the multiple timelines are woven together with impressive finesse. Just when you think you might be getting lost, McGovern ties the threads together in a satisfying and cohesive way. It’s a testament to her narrative skill — a pleasant surprise from a debut novelist.

Overall, Deadline is a well-paced, intriguing read that exceeded my expectations. While it’s not perfect — a few slower sections or character moments might hold it back from a perfect score — it’s absolutely worth your time. McGovern has clearly got more than just name recognition; she’s got storytelling chops too.

I genuinely hope she writes more books in the future as I would love to read them.

This was a great debut novel from British TVs Steph McGovern.

What I would start out by saying though is that the synopsis is a little bit misleading. The blurb is what initially drew me and how could it not? Britain's best loved TV presenter Rose is due to interview one of the most high profile politicians in the country the day after the budget is passed.

However, rather than hearing her producer in her ear, she hears a voice telling her that her wife and son have been kidnapped and she must do exactly as told.

Like I say, this initially drew me in, however this is only a small part of the actual novel. Although it is thrilling, the story delves more into poverty, class, power, greed against the backdrop of British politics.

I would recommend this book and I think Steph's background and knowledge of TV really comes through but just be prepared for it maybe not to be the book you were expecting.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pan Macmillan for an ARC in exchange for an honest review

I never watch TV news, so I didn't realise Steph McGovern was such a well-known broadcaster and journalist when I requested an ARC of her first novel, Deadline, nor that she lives so close to me in North Tyneside. McGovern uses her news experience to great effect in the opening of this thriller, which follows TV journalist Rose as she prepares to interview Charles Barrow, the controversial chancellor of the exchequer. We know from the start that Rose will be hijacked on air, told that a hacker is now in control of her interview and they have kidnapped her wife and son. It's a somewhat leisurely start to this plot - the hijack doesn't happen until about a third of the way through - but I enjoyed Rose's voice and the behind-the-scenes material, so I didn't mind. But almost as soon as we get the hijack, the book diverts into telling a completely different, political cover-up story - which I also enjoyed, but felt a bit like the book had been advertised as being something it's not. I expected more of a race-against-time thriller like Adrian McKinty's The Chain or Steve Kavanagh's The Defence, but got something more akin to Sarah Vaughan's Anatomy of a Scandal. Also, when the prose moves into sole third-person narration and we lose Rose for a big chunk of the novel, it gets notably more clunky; the storytelling feels rushed, and it's very much tell-not-show. I liked how the threads ultimately came together, but was frustrated by the long awkward explanation of howdunnit at the end of the story, which felt a bit like backfilling plot holes in a pretty implausible way. This is very obviously somebody's first novel, but I did appreciate how fresh it felt compared to many thrillers. 3.5 stars.

I so very much wanted to like this one, especially as it's a debut; however I felt very quickly that an immediate benefit would be the use of third person narrative for the perspective of the lead character, Rose, the television journalist who is told, live on air, that her family has been kidnapped. The suspenseful prologue sets the scenario up, but I waited a long time for the suspense to return and unfortunately it felt, to me, somewhat diluted by the significant amount of media information included as a way of building up the story - fantastic if you're into what goes on behind the scenes in live broadcasting but debatable content in this quantity in a thriller, when I'm looking for an immediate reason to read on. I said a third person narrative would work here because I genuinely feel that would have added some distance between the author and Rose, as it's inevitable that comparisons will be made, and with this change and fewer, shorter jumps between time frames, I do feel this novel could work well. As it stands, I found the pace remains somewhat constant throughout and I'm looking for my reading appetite to be whetted the more pages I turn! At one point a character's sub-plot was wound up so quickly and she never reappeared at all - more could have been made of that as at one point it felt that this was going to be a major part of the story, as opposed to disappear in a couple of paragraphs.

While Deadline isn't for me, it will definitely appeal to readers looking to combine a straightforward mystery with a modern television setting.

Rose is a much loved TV reporter, who is used to asking difficult questions from those in power. However, on this, the biggest day in her career, she is told her loved ones have been kidnapped and unless she does what this mysterious voice in her ear tells her, well, you can imagine the rest. Now Rose is not in control of the broadcast, but what happens? Steph in her debut novel flashes between events leading up to the broadcast, mingled with the present day, for a novel that doesn’t feel like it’s a first one. Coming out of the gates fresh and cleverly, I’m looking forward to reading what Steph next publishes.