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Marti MacAlister #1
Dead Time
Eleanor Taylor Bland's legions of fans, as well as new readers, will now be able to read the highly acclaimed novel that launched one of the first-- and one of the best-- mystery series written by an African American writer about an African American female cop. Dead Time will take you on an exhilarating ride through the streets of Chicago with one of the most unforgettable characters in mystery fiction today...
Black, widowed, and mother of two, police detective Marti MacAlister has relocated from Chicago to Lincoln Prairie, Illinois, only to be confronted with small-town attitudes and a partner who's not sure women belong in homicide. But Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik's old-fashioned thinking is far less compelling a problem than a brutal murder at the Cramer Hotel, home to the elderly, poor, and mentally ill.
When Marti and Vik discover that two abandoned children might have seen the killer, the case becomes even more urgent as Marti must use all of her street smarts to find a killer who is desperate to eliminate any possible witnesses to the crime-- even if it's two innocent homeless kids...
Black, widowed, and mother of two, police detective Marti MacAlister has relocated from Chicago to Lincoln Prairie, Illinois, only to be confronted with small-town attitudes and a partner who's not sure women belong in homicide. But Matthew "Vik" Jessenovik's old-fashioned thinking is far less compelling a problem than a brutal murder at the Cramer Hotel, home to the elderly, poor, and mentally ill.
When Marti and Vik discover that two abandoned children might have seen the killer, the case becomes even more urgent as Marti must use all of her street smarts to find a killer who is desperate to eliminate any possible witnesses to the crime-- even if it's two innocent homeless kids...
224 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1992
3 people are currently reading
1788 people want to read
About the author
Eleanor Taylor Bland
21 books67 followersEleanor Taylor Bland was an African American writer of crime fiction. She was the creator of Lincoln Prairie, Illinois (based on Waukegan, Illinois) police detective Marti McAllister.
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Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews
June 2, 2021
"You do your job. You do it right. You don't take shortcuts, you don't go home early, you don't leave anything undone. You build a solid case against them. You bring them in. You don't let them get away with it. And that's all you can do."
A mentally unstable woman has been murdered. Three homeless children saw the man responsible. Can the police find the kids before the killer does?
This first book in the Marti MacAlister series offers good writing, and sets up all the elements needed for a solid crime fiction series - an interesting working partner, wacky coworkers, and a complicated personal life for the main character. Best of all, this series features one of the rarest sightings in crime fiction - a black female detective. I just wish there was something else that made this one stand out in a crowded field of crime novels.
Bland's heroine is likable without being terribly interesting or memorable. All the best lines go to Marti's coworkers, while she's left being the responsible one with seemingly no sense of humor. I'm guessing Bland was still trying to find her footing here, and things will get better. I plan to read the next book in the series to see how things develop.
A mentally unstable woman has been murdered. Three homeless children saw the man responsible. Can the police find the kids before the killer does?
This first book in the Marti MacAlister series offers good writing, and sets up all the elements needed for a solid crime fiction series - an interesting working partner, wacky coworkers, and a complicated personal life for the main character. Best of all, this series features one of the rarest sightings in crime fiction - a black female detective. I just wish there was something else that made this one stand out in a crowded field of crime novels.
Bland's heroine is likable without being terribly interesting or memorable. All the best lines go to Marti's coworkers, while she's left being the responsible one with seemingly no sense of humor. I'm guessing Bland was still trying to find her footing here, and things will get better. I plan to read the next book in the series to see how things develop.
December 7, 2022
3 1/2 stars rounding up to 4
I enjoyed this start to the series and will hopefully continue on to book 2 soon. Yet another series that I took way to long to discover and pick up for myself.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
I enjoyed this start to the series and will hopefully continue on to book 2 soon. Yet another series that I took way to long to discover and pick up for myself.
Where you can find me:
•(♥).•*Monica Is Reading*•.(♥)•
Twitter: @monicaisreading
Instagram: @readermonica
March 6, 2019
3.5 stars, do I rounded up.
My first, but certainly not my last Eleanor Taylor Bland book. I'm always on the lookout for Black female detectives, and Marti McAllister is one of the classic ladies of mystery right up there with Blanche and Lizzie Stewart.
I really liked the style of this book. It's on the hardboiled side, as world weary as Marti herself. She's a good cop who left big city Chicago after the death of her husband, a widow with two children living in Lincoln Prairie, a small town that hadn't figured out crime is everywhere, as are all social ills. Her partner Matthew, is an old-fashioned cop who doesn't think women belong in police work, but he's not an overbearing sexist asshat.
My first, but certainly not my last Eleanor Taylor Bland book. I'm always on the lookout for Black female detectives, and Marti McAllister is one of the classic ladies of mystery right up there with Blanche and Lizzie Stewart.
I really liked the style of this book. It's on the hardboiled side, as world weary as Marti herself. She's a good cop who left big city Chicago after the death of her husband, a widow with two children living in Lincoln Prairie, a small town that hadn't figured out crime is everywhere, as are all social ills. Her partner Matthew, is an old-fashioned cop who doesn't think women belong in police work, but he's not an overbearing sexist asshat.
February 10, 2020
PROTAGONIST: Detec. Marti MacAlister
SETTING: Lincoln Prairie, Illinois
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Homicide detective Marti MacAlister has just transferred from the Chicago police to department to a much smaller force in Lincoln Prairie, Illinois. She’s big and black and very talented at what she does. She’s paired with Vic Jessenovik. Other than the fact that he’s quite sexist, they get along. The Cramer Hotel houses a lot of elderly and mentally challenged individuals. A series of murders is taking place, and Marti and Vic go through a painstaking investigation to find the perpetrator. They know 2 children were witnesses, but they can’t find them. Dead Time is a solid procedural and the first in a series. Marti and Vic are beginning to develop respect for each other, so it is a promising partnership. I particularly liked how Bland handled the fact that Marti was widowed with 2 children. They were a priority with her, and she didn’t neglect them because of her job.
SETTING: Lincoln Prairie, Illinois
SERIES: #1
RATING: 3.5
WHY: Homicide detective Marti MacAlister has just transferred from the Chicago police to department to a much smaller force in Lincoln Prairie, Illinois. She’s big and black and very talented at what she does. She’s paired with Vic Jessenovik. Other than the fact that he’s quite sexist, they get along. The Cramer Hotel houses a lot of elderly and mentally challenged individuals. A series of murders is taking place, and Marti and Vic go through a painstaking investigation to find the perpetrator. They know 2 children were witnesses, but they can’t find them. Dead Time is a solid procedural and the first in a series. Marti and Vic are beginning to develop respect for each other, so it is a promising partnership. I particularly liked how Bland handled the fact that Marti was widowed with 2 children. They were a priority with her, and she didn’t neglect them because of her job.
February 13, 2013
I like how she crafts her mystery... This book seems a little slow at times and a little wordy but in the end I was please..
It was an interesting storyline with all the trappings of a good socially conscious novel, which always keeps me reading. She tackles social ills like mental illness, child abuse and homelessness in a soft gentle way. I always like how she portrays the the interaction between police officers...
Of course this is her first novel that was republished after she became know as a mystery writer. So this particular book probably didn't do as well when it was first published and was re-released because she established a fan base.
This is a new mystery writer for me so I'm looking forward to seeing how her stories unfold over time. It was decent for a first novel... I'm looking forward to reading some of her other books. and I think I'll read them in the order they were published to see her growth over time.
It was an interesting storyline with all the trappings of a good socially conscious novel, which always keeps me reading. She tackles social ills like mental illness, child abuse and homelessness in a soft gentle way. I always like how she portrays the the interaction between police officers...
Of course this is her first novel that was republished after she became know as a mystery writer. So this particular book probably didn't do as well when it was first published and was re-released because she established a fan base.
This is a new mystery writer for me so I'm looking forward to seeing how her stories unfold over time. It was decent for a first novel... I'm looking forward to reading some of her other books. and I think I'll read them in the order they were published to see her growth over time.
November 13, 2023
I'd like to confess up front that this is the first book with an female African American detective story I have read that was written by a woman of color. The early stages of this book are slow going and I couldn't help but be surprised and maybe even let down that the mystery revolved around a mentally ill shut in and several runaways. But halfway through you realize the smallness and everyday nature of this story is the point. Also, more than almost any other mystery I've read, the slow wheels of municipal government, building inspection, garbage pickup and child welfare along with law enforcement, are almost characters in this book and the resolution of the mystery allows those machines to whirl into action in ways few other authors would be decent and thoughtful enough to bother with and left me riveted for the last sixty pages in a way few mysteries ever have.
I found this book from an article in Esquire on the 50 greatest mysteries of all time and while not everything on that list worked for me this and several other books were real gems
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment...
It's shameful this book is out of print.
I found this book from an article in Esquire on the 50 greatest mysteries of all time and while not everything on that list worked for me this and several other books were real gems
https://www.esquire.com/entertainment...
It's shameful this book is out of print.
October 16, 2015
After checking this book out from the library, I found a copy as well as the next three of the series at another library sale. So I got my mom in on the reading too. Dead Time is very well written. It has the elements of a great mystery and the elements of everyday life.
February 16, 2020
I love Eleanor Taylor Bland’s Marti McAllister mysteries, set in a large town (90,000) called Lincoln Prairie outside of Chicago. She is African-American, a recent widow, and the mother of a teenage girl and (at the time this book starts) a 9 or 10 year old boy, and partner to a grumpy white man who thinks women cops are (or should be) maternal and guided by intuition. I’ve read a couple mysteries in this series previously, but this is the first one—where she is cautiously beginning to date a paramedic named Ben.
I really like this series.
I really like this series.
December 15, 2024
Volume 1 in the Marti MacAlister series. Author Bland's novels were among the first crime novels based around the life of an African American woman police detective (this is copyrighted 1992). She has been honored by the Sisters in Crime naming an award in her memory.
I liked the character of Marti. We see her as both a detective teamed with a sometimes grumpy Polish-American male and as a widowed mother. I actually envisioned her similar to Queen Latifa's character in the TV series, The Equalizer, in some ways (minus the physical action). This book deals with a number of serious issues, especially mental health, homelessness, and children. It's definitely a police procedural because readers follow Marti and Vik as they investigate the death of a woman resident of a shabby hotel. Other deaths occur as the police struggle to find people that actually knew something about her. This leads to some possible cold cases that may or may not have anything to do with the present case.
However, the duo and other members of the force are primarily concerned with finding several children that seem to be witnesses. It appears they may be homeless and may now be in danger from the unknown perpetrator. It's also winter in northern Illinois and nearly Christmas.
A challenging case, police that care, and the ingenuity for survival by the children add interest. I enjoyed that Bland doesn't make this really about the fact that Marti is African-American OR a woman (although her partner does give her some grief about a "woman's intuition", etc). Marti is a person doing a sometimes thankless job with compassion and skill. Bland also doesn't just download descriptions of characters at the beginning; some information is gradually worked in to the story. It's much like how we actually get to know those around us.
A warning to potential readers: although later books in the series can still be found in my state, this first volume in the series had to be requested on interlibrary loan from out of state! As a retired librarian, I find that sad that the first volume of a ground-breaking series hasn't been retained by any librarian in the state. Thank you to the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Public Library for sending it!
I liked the character of Marti. We see her as both a detective teamed with a sometimes grumpy Polish-American male and as a widowed mother. I actually envisioned her similar to Queen Latifa's character in the TV series, The Equalizer, in some ways (minus the physical action). This book deals with a number of serious issues, especially mental health, homelessness, and children. It's definitely a police procedural because readers follow Marti and Vik as they investigate the death of a woman resident of a shabby hotel. Other deaths occur as the police struggle to find people that actually knew something about her. This leads to some possible cold cases that may or may not have anything to do with the present case.
However, the duo and other members of the force are primarily concerned with finding several children that seem to be witnesses. It appears they may be homeless and may now be in danger from the unknown perpetrator. It's also winter in northern Illinois and nearly Christmas.
A challenging case, police that care, and the ingenuity for survival by the children add interest. I enjoyed that Bland doesn't make this really about the fact that Marti is African-American OR a woman (although her partner does give her some grief about a "woman's intuition", etc). Marti is a person doing a sometimes thankless job with compassion and skill. Bland also doesn't just download descriptions of characters at the beginning; some information is gradually worked in to the story. It's much like how we actually get to know those around us.
A warning to potential readers: although later books in the series can still be found in my state, this first volume in the series had to be requested on interlibrary loan from out of state! As a retired librarian, I find that sad that the first volume of a ground-breaking series hasn't been retained by any librarian in the state. Thank you to the Fort Smith (Arkansas) Public Library for sending it!
April 10, 2023
This would be a great book to read in the heat of summer.
In the story it is winter in Lincoln Prairie, Illinois, and snow is everywhere.
The first murder takes place in the run down Cramer Hotel. The murderer is seen by some runaway children who frequent the hotel as the security is lax and there are vulnerable residents from whom they can steal.
Marti MacAlister is a former Chicago cop who is charged with solving the death of a traumatized Lauretta Dorsey. Marti and her partner Vic Jessenovik take their jobs seriously, and do not stop until they have solved the murders and found the children.
I enjoyed this story and will read further into the series.
I own a copy.
In the story it is winter in Lincoln Prairie, Illinois, and snow is everywhere.
The first murder takes place in the run down Cramer Hotel. The murderer is seen by some runaway children who frequent the hotel as the security is lax and there are vulnerable residents from whom they can steal.
Marti MacAlister is a former Chicago cop who is charged with solving the death of a traumatized Lauretta Dorsey. Marti and her partner Vic Jessenovik take their jobs seriously, and do not stop until they have solved the murders and found the children.
I enjoyed this story and will read further into the series.
I own a copy.
November 14, 2020
“You do your job. You do it right. You don't take shortcuts, you don't go home early, you don't leave anything undone. You build a solid case against them. You bring them in. You don't let them get away with it. And that's all you can do.”
~ Eleanor Taylor Bland, Dead Time
Kinda like Eleanor Taylor Bland's writing. Great first book. I'll be reading the next.
~ Eleanor Taylor Bland, Dead Time
Kinda like Eleanor Taylor Bland's writing. Great first book. I'll be reading the next.
July 5, 2021
This is a good mystery that also involves a look at how the poor and mentally ill are thrown away or put out of sight by society. Since this came out in 1992, the times may seem distant to younger readers but us older folk will remember. No cell phones, internet, or gig economy but the same homeless crises, flagging mental health services, and structural racism.
September 19, 2023
So happy to have been able to read the very first book in the Marti McAllister series. It's out of print and I was lucky enough to have access to it via internet archive open Library. I really enjoyed this story and did not figure out who done it until it was revealed. Now the hunt will begin for the second book in the series which is also out of print. I do recommend this series
July 4, 2020
Bland's first Marti McAlister mystery. No wonder she got contracted to do more. A few little glitches here and there, but the warmth, the likeanle characters, the details of police work and sympathy for the downtrodden, but less so for killers, are all there. I do like these.
Want to read
December 2, 20221992. author 1944-2010
[1st published, but Slow Burn was written first -- and rejected by publishers]
Liked only moderately by goodreaders
I would probably enjoy them. Carolyn read two of the series back when first published.
[1st published, but Slow Burn was written first -- and rejected by publishers]
Liked only moderately by goodreaders
I would probably enjoy them. Carolyn read two of the series back when first published.
November 30, 2024
Great introduction to the characters and universe. The supporting characters seem more fleshed out than the main character, which is interesting. Otherwise the plot was solid and interesting. The setting felt real and the depth was perfect for the story.
July 30, 2020
The first 60 pages were really hard to get through. Let's face it, Marti is pretty boring. About halfway through, the story picked up and I couldn't put it down!
January 9, 2022
Loved this and flew through it.
November 9, 2023
Black female cop with the usual challenges in a world of white men on the force. She more than holds her own and has a life outside of being a detective. Pleasant mystery.
November 20, 2023
Action-packed and full of well-developed characters. It's not often a police procedural lives up to Harry Bosch! I can't wait to read the next Marti MacAlister mystery.
November 24, 2023
Good mystery for a first novel. I liked the character and will read more books in the series. Kristi & Abby Tabby
Currently reading
December 10, 2014I like of of these detective mysteries
November 9, 2015
Good story. Have to add this series to my TBR list
February 6, 2017
A solid mystery and decent start for a series. Will likely try to read other books in the series.
Want to read
July 2, 2025Synopsis: black detective Marti MacAlister is confronted by local attitudes and murder at Chicago's Cramer Hotel.
Displaying 1 - 26 of 26 reviews