Deadline
by J. J. Livingston, a pen name for Jennifer Greer, is a fascinating
read. It explores many issues women face including their treatment
in Middle Eastern countries, and the timely issue of stem
cell research. But it is also a book that everyone can relate
with, through the action packed plot and the issues of trying
to cope with PTSD, hold onto a job, being a single parent,
and empty nest syndrome.
The author has experienced many of the issues her characters
have gone through. She commented, “My husband died when
my two girls were nine months and two years old. I have been
a widow for fifteen years now. My husband died instantly in
a car accident. Being a single parent was a tough transition
for me. First you go into shock because you realize at this
moment the finality of death. Yet, you don’t feel it
or process it then. It’s only over time that you come
to accept it. I still remember being notified as if it were
yesterday. The Fresno coroner personally drove to my house
even though it was an hour away. He saw I was with my children
and decided to wait for my two pastors to come over to inform
me.”
As a
former police reporter she is able to use her past experiences
to write a very realistic and believable plot. The main protagonist
is Whit McKenna, a tough and driven journalist who seeks out
the truth. She is a former war correspondent who had to overcome
rape, torture, and her husband being killed in Afghanistan.
Ending up going back to Medford, Oregon to raise her two children,
she eventually finds a job at the local paper. Thinking that
will be a safe environment for her two children, she finds
out otherwise when a string of murders occur. While seeking
out the truth about a certain clinic and attempting to connect
the dots about the different killings, she must also cope
with disturbing flashbacks about her time in Afghanistan.
After writing a number of front-page articles McKenna receives
the ire of the killer who will stop at nothing to silence
her.
Some
of the most potent scenes are the descriptions of McKenna’s
time in Afghanistan. Livingston describes the rape, the beatings
with kicks, punches, and tree branches at the hands of Al
Qaeda insurgents. But most powerful was this quote, “John
(her husband) felt helpless and couldn’t stand watching
me suffer…He shared my pain. I think he may have felt
the same way about Afghanistan.” It brings into focus
the real war on women and how hard it is for rape victims
to cope.
Livingstone
noted, “I was a journalist in Bosnia. We were at the
war zone, five miles from the front lines. Periodically we
were stopped and frisked at gunpoint. While there I covered
a story about women and children refugees. A lot of people
never made it into the camps before they were raped. My whole
point of writing, whether journalism or a novel, is to touch
the hearts and minds of my readers. When I pick up a book
I like learning something new. It is like reading a news article
in a different format. I like to take on social issues and
incorporate them into a fictional story.”
Deadline
is a riveting and informative thriller. In addition to a fast
paced and suspenseful plot it has well developed characters.
Anyone that enjoys a story with a lot of twists and turns
should read this book.
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