Fatal Dead Lines

i read this book shortly after it came out years ago. since then i've been waiting for a sequel. thankfully its been so long since i read the book the first time i've decided to go back and reread it. its almost as good as reading it the first time. it has a wonderfully original concept. mix that in with an underdog theme and you have a great mystery thriller. i've always had problems with novels that take themselves too seriously to the point of not being entertaining and yet also with novels that don't take themselves seriously enough that what would be considered "entertainment" ends up being silly and forced. this novel falls perfectly in the middle. intelligent and yet fun.

I enjoyed this immensely -- mostly 'cause I've long worked in this world, but also because Luciew has a gift for pacing and sympathetic characters. It won't be long, though, before the obit desk is dead. Budget-busting publishers large and small are seeing to this.

After being a reporter for over forty years, Lenny Holcomb is as dead inside as the people whose obituaries he writes. He drinks too much, his wife has left him, he has no friends, and his career has dead-ended in the obits he writes for Pennsylvania?s The Harrisburg Herald. This all changes when, in the midst of writing yet another obituary, Lenny drifts off and suddenly notices that he?s revealing secrets about the deceased that were never disclosed and he should not know. When Lenny discovers that what?s he?s writing is true, he is at a loss at how to use this information until a prominent supporter of the current governor and presidential hopeful dies and Lenny?s fugue obit writing reveals financial fraud and scandal.Now back on page one, Lenny is teamed with the young Jacquelyn ?Jack? Towers, a reporter who is everything Lenny is not. She?s impulsive, ambitious, confident, and decisive. Their investigations seem to be leading towards the taking down of the governor until suddenly Lenny finds his career derailed and he?s back to writing obits. Additional deaths and their revealing obits spur Lenny back into the investigation though, and he and Jack are soon in the midst of political manipulations, sexual scandals, and a threat that endangers their careers and their lives.While the fugue writing ? a result of Lenny?s drinking, his subconscious, or his reporter?s instinct ? is an interesting gimmick, far more intriguing is the behind-the-scenes look at a newspaper and its reporters. Their investigations, how they legitimize information from sources, and the reporters themselves are all fascinating and stem from John Luciew?s experiences as a journalist. Luciew has also created an original character in Lenny Holcomb, a burned out reporter who is neither attractive, overly intelligent, or particularly ambitious. What he does want is to be a representative of the dead and speak for their truths, and this is what makes him such a likeable character. I look forward to seeing where Luciew takes Lenny next, as this appears to be the beginning of an extremely original and engaging series.

When you're writing a thriller, a helpful rule to follow is that the protagonist is generally trying to overcome nigh-unbeatable odds to achieve his/her objective. In the case of FATAL DEAD LINES 's Lenny Holcomb, a burned out sixty-year-old obituary writer burdened by debt and an absentee money-siphoning spouse, the odds are definitely against him from the start.The main conceit of the novel kicks in near the beginning. Lenny's role as speaker-for-the-dead via his obituary column takes on a morbidly literal quality as he finds he can transpose actual thoughts of the deceased while typing. The exact nature and origin of this ability is kept vague and never fully explained, which is fine as it isn't really a necessary component of the story.Luciew paints an interesting and entertaining collage involving Pennsylvania state politics, apathy & corruption in journalism and the potential threat that exists at Three Mile Island. The book is highly entertaining and reads very quickly. I look forward to the next installment of Lenny's adventures and hope he continues on the developmental road as he learns to further utilize his gift for getting at the truth.

Sixty-one years old Harrisburg Herald obit columnist Lenny Bascomb thinks back to his last meaningful assignment reporting the Three Mile Island incident over two decades ago. Though he reflects on his glory days, he knows that now he is a shell of what he was. While working on the obituary of a young girl, Lenny goes into a fugue trance. During this state, he types the hidden truth from the public person though he never met her or her family. The deceased killed herself because she could not cope with her sexual predator father. Though he hands in the glowing obit, Lenny gains revenge for the victim.Everyone praises political powerhouse Herb Butcher for his behind the scenes, emperor making when he suddenly dies from a heart attack. However, Lenny goes into another trance. He soon realizes that the idol who got Governor Lowell elected and turned him into a possible contender for president, stole millions for personal use from the campaign funds of the Keystone State's chief executive. Lenny and reporter Jacqueline Towers start to expose Herb as an embezzler and begin to shred Lowell's ambitions too.FATAL DEAD LINES is an offbeat paranormal investigative journalist political thriller that will remind readers of the Hopper film Witch Hunt. The story line grabs the audience as the tired Lenny suddenly regains his energy with his first satisfying efforts in over twenty years. Besides my bias of having lived in Harrisburg during the late March '79 near meltdown this reviewer found John Luciew's tale fun and gripping in a refreshing way. No obit for Lenny who deserves future truth finder tales.Harriet Klausner