The Background: to Deadline is a high-octane crime thriller woven into the demanding world of live television news, this novel channels her own decades-long career in media into the fictional realm and that element of the book is fascinating

McGovern’s use of Rose in the first person and all other characters in the 3rd person seems clunky alone with the constant back and forwards in time which is very irritating
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The hijacking scenario delivers suspense but i found it less interesting as the book progresses
The pacing & Structure is uneven and the structure of multiple POVs and timelines is overcomplicated. The drip drip drip of information becomes very irritating along with the use of, repetitive jargon that should have been sorted in the editing phase of the writing.
Ian J Cole (Sinners Review)

I wasn’t sure if I’d like this, the recent boom in books from celebrity authors has definitely produced a mixed bag of results.. but I absolutely loved it!
I thought the set up was very unusual and it really intrigued me.
This is well written, pacy, suspenseful, with surprising twists. For a debut novel it’s honestly brilliant

Rose is a tv reporter and she is preparing for the biggest interview of her career and she needs it to be perfect .
All seems to be going to plan until she hears a stranger’s voice in her ear .
They tell her she must do exactly as they say otherwise her family will be harmed .
This takes place whilst Rose is live on television, who is the stranger in her ear and what do they want ?
The writing is easy to read and the subject matter made for a tense and emotive read .
A solid debut from Steph McGovern, looking forward to reading more from the author .
Thanks to NetGalley and Pan MacMillan.

I was really excited for this one, although there was quite a lot of mixed reviews.

I thought that the plot was a really good catchy one - you are live on air and suddenly a voice comes through your ear, your child has been taken.

However, I just wasn’t a fan of the writing style and felt that you could really tell that this was the authors first book. It was just too many short useless sentences for me. Additionally, I was intrigued with how the authors knowledge in TV would portray in this book but I found it took me out the story too much, being too focused on the setting and make up of tv and at times felt big headed.

When a celebrity turns their hand to crime fiction, there is always the thought that it may be on the strength of their name that they have a publishing contract. However, there is no such concern with Steph McGovern who has long shown herself to be a fan of crime fiction. A television presenter is informed while broadcasting live when she hears through her earpiece that her family has been kidnapped. She must follow instructions to the letter....This is a tense and exciting thriller, and Steph's background enables her to write with conviction and authority.

What a enthralling thriller! I was gripped. It was believable and had relatable characters. The plot was tense and I just really enjoyed this one.

Deadline by Steph McGovern is an addictive, high-stakes thriller that wastes no time plunging you into the action. TV reporter Rose is on the brink of her career’s biggest moment when a stranger’s voice cuts into her earpiece with chilling news – her family has been kidnapped, and their lives depend on her following every instruction. What follows is a tense, twisting race against time, made even more gripping by multiple points of view and shifts in timeline that add depth without ever becoming confusing.

I found myself especially fond of Rose – smart, determined, and relatable in her desperation to protect her loved ones. The cast is diverse, with each character sharply drawn and very different in personality, which kept the story layered and engaging. This is one of those thrillers you can devour in a single sitting, with enough twists to keep you hooked until the very last page.

Read more at The Secret Book Review.

Thank you to NetGalley and Publishers for this ARC.

Deadline by Steph McGovern does have moments of witty moments, However I found the overall book lagging and predictable. Good for a mindless holiday read but if you want a twisty plot driven book this is not the one

Steph McGovern’s first crime novel - I hope it’s not her last

The story of Rose, a breakfast tv reporter who breaks the story of the year whilst being a victim of an on air hijack.

Through different timelines we see the events that led up to Rose being hijacked and then the aftermath.

This is a fascinating insight into the world of breakfast television reporting but at its heart is a tale of family, relationships and people working together to get better outcomes for the people around them.

I loved the accessible writing style, the way the mystery was plotted and the characters.

I felt like there may have been more that could have been explored with some of the story arcs, Zoya and her family, the school and Billy but that’s a very minor criticism.

Thoroughly enjoyed the book and was heartbroken by the events.

A really good read.

I was looking forward to this book the Blurb sounded right up my street, I didnt realise there was so much politics in it as this doesnt really interest me, the book was almost in sections, the first to explain things and the characters, the second was quite quick and short chapters which added suspense and then the next section tied up the rest of the story, IMO the book could have been better if it has been shorter and missed some of the explinations.

This had such a brilliant premise and I was so keen to dive in but im not sure how I feel bout it lol. It wasn't what I expected. There are a lot more themes and subplots than I anticipated but they are very cleverly weaved together. Some parts felt a bit slow and its one if those books with a lot of characters and a lot of things going on so you do need to pay attention and cant be half focused on reading whilst half focusing on anything else. Overall I did really enjoy it, the characters were all well written and brought to life.... there were just so many of them to get your head round at 1st. Such a cleverly written, complex thriller. Its definitely worth a read

Started with a wow of a chill only to fall into a yawn of too much going on with too many characters. I hoped the epilogue might win me back but the thrill had gone for me with the over complication of the plot so I wasn’t convinced.
Overall I would have to say the author had a great germ of an idea for a plot but I wish she had given it a bit more thought or maybe had a tighter editing.

Deadline is the first novel by TV presenter Steph McGovern. The book is well written, it is well plotted and engaging, and it is very clear the author is a fan of crime fiction, I loved the references to other authors. I found it to be a very quick read as I wanted to know what happened - it is a dual timeline novel, and each part ended in a way that made me immediately read on.

I did find the blurb to be slightly misleading, it didn't reference to the whole story at all, indeed the events of the blurb are not actually the main story in my opinion, Corruption, class, poverty, education and racial stereotyping are all examined, and I don't think the blurb effectively showed this.

I will definitely look out for more by the author, I really enjoyed the read.

I pretty much read this book in one sitting. It drew me right in with the tenseness of the hijacking while Rose was on live tv with her family being held hostage and kept me hooked to find out why this all went on. The jumps between past and present nicely ramped up the tension until the end when all was revealed in a satisfactory way with justice being served and proving no one is above the law (or supposed to be anyways) and it can be accomplished by the cooperation of decent people.

The other thing I really enjoyed about this book was getting a behind the scenes look at what goes into an on the spot tv broadcast, from the talkbacks to how tricky it is to connect with the main broadcast and how it suddenly might cut a couple minutes off your time, or put the reporter on the spot right away. Talk about stressful! But it was interesting to read about and really made the story feel plausible. For a debut author I think this was well done and his expertise in TV himself made it well done. I am glad I got the chance to read this book!

Had a lot of fun. Give me more books like this, here's my money
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this ARC, all opinions are mine

Live reporter Rose has landed a real coup, an interview with the Chancellor straight after his budget. However, as she starts her questions she is shocked to hear a voice in her earpiece telling her that her wife and child are being held captive and she must ask the questions that she is told to by them. Olly was a quiet boy from a troubled home but when he meets a charismatic politician he is excited about his future. Zoya is a rising star but she has a terrible secret that could make her lose her job.
The premise of this book is great, I loved the idea of a live interviewer being forced to ask questions to an agenda under threat. There are some great ideas in this book and overall it's really exciting towards the end. However it flounders a bit at times, the Zoya storyline goes nowhere and just seems an add-on. Some of the characters are a little too stereotypical eg the 'super head' or not explored further. However overall I did really enjoy the story and it is promising as a 'celebrity' novel.

The book opens with TV presenter Rose being interrupted during an interview with a senior politician by an unknown person telling her they have her wife and son and she must follow their instructions, “Rose, I am in control now.” We then go back to the previous day and the run up to the interview, before moving back 5 years to learn what led to this terrible situation. Told in multiple POVs and timelines and written in 6 parts, this was a compelling read, although it wasn’t the fast paced thriller I was anticipating, more a slow build political drama.

Briefly, in different timelines we follow 15 year old Oliver a quiet schoolboy who the headteacher has decided to help improve his confidence. Along with a number of other difficult teens he is chosen to visit London. Meanwhile Rose’s producer Zoya is hiding something from her friends and family and it’s weighing heavily on her.

If you didn’t know who had written this book it would soon become clear from all the technical detail that this is someone with a personal knowledge of the industry. I would have been happy with a little less detail and a bit more of the storyline, which was a very good one, told with sensitivity. The epilogue was very long and maybe could have been a bit more concise. All in all this was a good debut, likeable characters - particularly Rose who I really warmed to, a good plot and a satisfying ending. Good read and I wonder if we will see these characters again? I hope so.

A great debut thriller from this well known celebrity. A twisty read which I enjoyed immensely. I do hope Steph writes more like this. My thanks to netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review.

What a book, when a “celebrity” author comes along you never quite know what to expect but this is very obviously Steph McGovern and what a cracking book it is. With her knowledge of tv she written about what she knows and it keeps you hooked all the way through. I will definitely be looking out for any future titles

So... if you think this is just another TV presenter trying their hand at writing a half decent ish book, yadda yadda yawn... I think you need to go and have another think as this book exceeded all my expectations and then some.
We start with TV reporter Rose being interrupted in the middle of a rather prestige live broadcast by a male voice in her ear telling her that he has her wife and son and that they will remain unharmed as long as she does what she's told...
We then go back a day and witness the events that immediately preceded this. Then we go back even further, and it is there where we start to see how we got to where the book started. And then, we follow the aftermath...
Sorry I am being deliberately oblique as, well, it's so much more than the blurb (also quite scant and possibly misleading) suggests. But I have to leave it for you to find out all the, very, ugly details...
And Oh My Gosh... I really didn't think we would end up there. Wow... talk about escalation.
And as well as the tightly plotted and expertly executed story, this book has some really rather cracking characters. I really loved Rose and Jonesy and I thought Zoya and her side story was also well covered. I do wonder if we will revisit this in maybe a later book. I mean, this is the start of a series, please say it is. Cos I am so not ready to say goodbye to Rose and Jonesy and the rest of the crew just yet.
I especially loved the way the author explained the processes for outside broadcasts with enough information to make it all make sense and fit with the plot, but at the same time, not too much to be overwhelming or dry. I actually found it all quite fascinating, and eye opening.
All in all, a cracking debut to what I hope is actually a series opener. Either way, I am definitely going to keep an eye out for her next book. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.