Death Tolls

by John E. Stith

First published by Ace Books.

Ex-investigative reporter Dan Kettering watches the Martian telecast showing the aircraft crash that killed someone close to him: his brother. The police convince Dan to get back in the news business, but not as a reporter. This time around he's got a new face, a new name, and he's a driver. Dan resisted the police at first, but one factor changes his mind. The crash that killed his brother wasn't necessarily an accident. His undercover assignment puts him close to Janet Vincent, one of the reporters on the team that uncannily seems to reach almost every disaster scene before their competition.

Genres: Science Fiction

230 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

PUSHBACK , a mystery-suspense novel, was published in November 2018 and is a finalist for the Daphne du Maurier Award for Excellence in Mystery/Suspense, mainstream category.

PUSHBACK : At his ten-year high-school reunion, an investment counselor finds he doesn't know one person there, and soon realizes he must outwit an unknown antagonist who wants him dead.

"...unsettling Hitchcockian thriller...Judicious use of humor provides some relief from the dark plot line. Fans of Daniel Palmer-esque intelligent suspense will be pleased." -- Publishers Weekly

"Ordinary Hijacked by Extraordinary, With Comedy... what’s most captivating about PUSHBACK is that even with people like Dave Barlow—just an average guy doing average things—life can take a shocking turn for the worse. But the book reminds us that, also like Dave, we have the power to turn it right-side up again, with humor at the center of our inner strength." -- The Big Thrill, magazine of International Thriller Writers

Science-fiction author John E. Stith's works include REDSHIFT RENDEZVOUS (Nebula Award nominee from Ace Books), MANHATTAN TRANSFER (Hugo Award Honorable Mention from Tor Books), REUNION ON NEVEREND, and RECKONING INFINITY (on Science Fiction Chronicle's Best Science Fiction Novels list for its publication year, on the Nebula Award preliminary ballot).

His other novels are SCAPESCOPE, MEMORY BLANK, DEATH TOLLS, and DEEP QUARRY.

He's the author of ALL FOR NAUGHT, which collects "Naught for Hire," and "Naught Again" both first appearing in ANALOG. If you hear about "Naught for Hire" verbally, you might think the title is "Not for Hire" but it's not. Check out the Naught for Hire website for even more info on the upcoming webisode series starring Ben Browder.

Reviews

[Howard Brazee · Rating 3 out of 5]

An earlier Stith book re-released. I grabbed them all being a big fan of his work.

[Natasha Raleigh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not terrible, not great. A little slow, a little predictable, a little cheesy. Some of the news jargon is very confusing. It's a bit difficult to follow the backstory, until you have enough pieces to put it together about 3/4 of the way through the book. A few aspects that seems like potential plot points fizzle out.

Overall, would have been a really good story if things were a little better fleshed out.

SPOILERS BELOW





















SPOILERS
- In this context, "morgue" refers to the news company's historical files storage.
- The motivation behind the murders is kind of bland, and nearly too simple
- I have no idea why the author brought up Janet's background, it doesn't really go anywhere, except maybe context for her personality?

[Foxtower · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually tear a book in half and recycle it after reading, yet even though it is a good story, an older version of a kind of artificial intelligence used by evil people, after my latest reading I found myself offended by the racial stereotypes. If only the bad guy was white and the black guy saved the day!

Perhaps I'm becoming more aware as I get older.....