Dead River

John Maynard and Abby Sinclair #1

by Bill Lightle

Dead River is the first novel in the John Maynard and Abby Sinclair series about two young newspaper reporters in South Georgia, in the 1980s, who risk their lives seeking the truth. This is a timely environmental thriller about the destruction of the Flint River and Lake Blackshear in Georgia, and the secrets behind it. Sinclair and Maynard are assigned to the story by their editor, Mickey Burke, a man committed to using the free press for a force of good. This is the first time the two reporters work together, and they could never have imagined the dangers that would confront them. They are caught between people fighting to preserve the river's natural beauty and powerful forces out to destroy it. Readers love Maynard and Sinclair. You will too.

Read as a series or standalone novels.

192 pages, Kindle Edition

First published September 29, 2015

About the author

I was born in Marion, Indiana, in 1957 but moved to Albany, Georgia, in 1966. I've spent most of my life in the Southeast where I wrote for newspapers and taught history and government. I few years ago, I began a thriller series - Maynard & Sinclair - set in Albany. The series is based on my experiences as a newspaper reporter for the Albany Herald in the early 1980s.

The most recent book (2019) in the series is Aucilla Bones.

Today I live and write in Fayetteville, Georgia, just south of Atlanta. My wife Phyllis is a published poet. You can find her work on Amazon as well as mine.

Thank you for considering my work.

Reviews

[Tom Walsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is Bill Lightle’s first work of fiction after a number of non- fiction books. It is the first of a series of suspense works following the adventures of two intrepid reporters drawn from his experiences as a reporter for a Georgia newspaper.

He does a good job evoking the look and feel of the South Georgia landscape and the characters likely to be encountered there. His style is reportorial: just the facts, ma’am! This makes for a fast read but it does make his attempts at descriptive passages a little clunky.

His characters do come alive in dialogue and the story builds to a climax, keeping this reader’s interest to the end. All in all, not a bad first effort and hopefully the start of a successful series.

[Julie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like the first book of the series. It started slow, but took off.

It started slow but picked up speed. I like the characters and their depiction. Thank you for the entertaining read.

[Jill Browning · Rating 4 out of 5]

Still think a better job needs to be done with editing. Words left out, here instead of hear,, and in one book the preacher drove 2 different cars during a scene, a Cadillac and a Lincoln.

[Micah Lewter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Took me back

The novel really took me back to my newspaper days. The south Georgia heat sizzles through the pages. I think you will enjoy it.

[Lynn Bolton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lake Blackshear investigation. Interesting.