The Trade Off by Sandie Jones delivers a gripping tale of ambition, deception, and the dangerous world of tabloid journalism. The novel follows Stella, the deputy editor of The Globe, who is relentless in her pursuit of the juiciest stories, regardless of the ethical cost. In stark contrast, Jess, a rookie reporter at the same newspaper, is determined to uphold the truth, even when faced with the dirty tactics of tabloid reporting.

When a celebrity is tragically hounded by The Globe and pays the ultimate price, Jess becomes determined to uncover the full extent of the paper's culpability. As she delves deeper into the tabloid's dark secrets, she realizes the danger she's putting herself in. In a gripping battle between justice and revenge, Jess must navigate treacherous waters and be cautious of an unknown adversary willing to go to extreme lengths to bury the truth.

The Trade Off skillfully explores the moral dilemmas faced by journalists and the lengths to which some will go to get the exclusive scoop. With a riveting plot and well-developed characters, Sandie Jones keeps readers on the edge of their seats, pondering the trade-offs between risk and reward, innocence and guilt.

The Trade Off is a thrilling and thought-provoking read that delves into the cutthroat world of tabloid journalism. Jones' adept storytelling and clever exploration of complex ethical questions make this book an enthralling and engrossing page-turner from start to finish.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in
exchange for an honest review.
Expected publication date: August 15, 2023
How far would you go to break the story first? Would you compromise who you are? Would you be able to sleep at night if you spent your days manipulating, lying and cheating to keep your spot at the top? Stella is the deputy editor of The Globe, U. K’s tabloid-style newspaper, with big dreams of becoming lead editor. To do that, Stella has never been afraid to pull punches, to dig deep, to compromise her standards and her morals to be the first one to tell the story. But then first-time journalist Jess gets hired at The Globe, reporting directly to Stella, and Jess wants to tell the truth and make a difference in the media world. Although both Jess and Stella clash in every way, when a big story breaks they must work together to make sure that the truth gets told, and the real voices get heard.
I am a fan of Sandie Jones, having first being introduced to her through her debut novel, “The Other Woman”. I love her unique style and her addictive plots, and “The Trade Off” completely fits in to this mold. “Trade Off” not only delves deep in the dark and disturbing side of journalism and media reporting but it also touches on the modern and relevant #metoo movement.
Stella has the powerhouse boss vibe that Miranda Priestley carries in “The Devil Wears Prada”, and she is every bit as likable and unlikable as the fashion maven. It isn’t until she finds herself in a vulnerable situation that she completely changes her attitude and begins to team up with Jess in order to help overtake the medial mogul behind their magazine. Jess is charming, albeit naïve and inexperienced, but I immediately bonded with her and wanted to see her succeed and take the journalism world by storm.
As is typical with novels of this genre, there was a twist at the end, but it wasn’t completely unexpected. That being said, the novel ended exactly as I wanted it to, and I was completely satisfied with the outcome. “The Trade Off” is thought-provoking and modern, and its uncompromisingly honest plot will leave an indelible mark. Jones has delivered once again!

The Trade Off was centered on two tabloid reporters: rookie Jess and hardened Stella. Stella will do whatever it takes to get to the top and Jess wants to breathe a little morality into the world of celebrity reporting. Stella is an accomplished editor of The Globe in London. She has a reputation for getting the story at all costs. Jess is a rookie reporter at The Globe and sees things differently. She is troubled when the truth of a story starts to falter and is not interested in spreading lies. Jess is getting concerned that some of The Globe’s big stories are build on lies. When a celebrity is hounded by The Globe and then pays the ultimate price, Jess has to wonder if this story was even true. She has to get to the bottom of this one, and fast. #NETGALLEY #THETRADEOFF

If you ever had doubted the idea of “fake news”, this book will make you question every headline you read.  The manipulation of words, photoshopping, insider payoffs, backstabbing…..there just aren’t enough adjectives to describe the seedy side of journalism depicted here.
   Guaranteed, in the real world there are newspeople who are working daily to get the truth out to the public at great costs but that wasn’t the object of this book.  The real story was to provide thrilling mystery which the author did.
   The naive ingenue with high hopes to become an outstanding journalist under the tutelage of the editor with years of experience quickly becomes caught up in the not so honest side of news coverage. She tries to maintain her principles but it ends with tragic results. From there the story gets more twisted as one expose leads yet to another biased headline. Then the characters you hated finally show some admirable traits.
   It’s a real eye opener……..not that we all didn’t know this scenario happened…..but the reader was right there involved in the big news that sell papers…….. especially those above the fold

As deputy editor of The Globe, Stella is seemingly ruthless when it comes time to get and tell a story. She will stop at nothing to her it, Jess, on the other hand, is a rookie and is committed to telling the truth s best as she can. As Jess comes to a head with Stella’s techniques she finds herself in a situation she simply wasn’t prepared for.
Good read!

* I received an advanced reader’s copy of this book from NetGalley and St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books in exchange for my honest review

The Trade Off puts you right in the dramatic world of tabloid journalism in Britain. It is very fascinating world and the story is action packed right away and fast moving. I did feel that the character development could have been better, but overall an excellent book!

Thanks to NetGalley and publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Sandie Jones prior books have been hit or miss for me and I was unsure about The Trade Off given some early reviews, however, I was pleasantly surprised. I loved this take on the harm the media can do and how it ties into the #MeToo movement. I always enjoy a dual perspective book took. I would say this is more of fiction with some light suspense than a thriller - so be sure to temper your expectations accordingly!

Thank you to St. Martins Press for an advanced copy. All opinions are my own.

Sandie Jones' gives readers a glimpse into the tabloid world with The Trade Off. Whether or not this is how tabloids and gossip magazines get their stories and run their papers, Jones creates a high-stakes and fast-paced work place that blurs the lines of ethics.

Jess is green, she's new to the industry and comes to The Globe under the impression she's been hired because of her work and her steady moral compass. Little does she know her boss, Max, likes to talk about of both sides of his mouth. His star journalist, Stella Thorne, has made a name for herself breaking scandal after scandal. And if she has to orchestrate scenarios to get a juicy result, so be it. As she'd say herself "you can lead a horse to water but you can't force it to drink." She's just going to get every piece lined up to create a perfect storm and if a celebrity takes the bait, that's on them.

Until Jess and Stella collide. When they start working in the same department, Jess's rose colored glasses really start to hinder Stella's usual course of action. It all culminates when one of the tabloids subjects ends up dead. Blame is laid right at the journalists' feet and they both have a reckoning to deal with. What comes next is unexpected. The reader is kept guessing up until the end.

A good suspenseful read that was delightfully easy to read and something I burned through quickly!

The Trade Off
Sandie Jones
3.5-4⭐️

Would you tell a story, if you knew it was a lie? Or tell the truth and sleep at night?

If you’re in the mood for a fun, suspenseful read about corrupt London tabloid journalism, The Trade Off is for you! It took a bit to get into it, but everything picked up midway and I was all in. It was entertaining, manipulative, and I loved that I was oblivious to who the actual villain was until the end!

Read if you like;
📸 Magazines & Tabloids
📸 Suspenseful Workplace Mystery/Thriller
📸 Dual POV
📸 Suspect Characters

Pub Date: 8/15/23

Thank you so much to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

While this wasn’t my favorite Sandie Jones book, it was a fascinating read. It will make me question any news stories I read after finding out how these journalists get stories. The story is told from alternating points of views of two female journalists. Stella, the ball busting long term journalist who will do anything for a story, and Jess, the new girl on the scene who is honest and wants to find wholesome happy stories.
This book was a slow burn, which isn’t my favorite, but the second half certainly ramps up quickly. I was second guessing my opinions on every single character. The twists and turns were a wild ride. I would recommend this book for the readers who have the patience to wait for all the suspense and excitement. Thank you to NetGalley for my advanced copy!

Thank you @minotaur_books @netgalley for a copy of this book. If you are interested in shady practice of tabloid journalism then this one is for you. The book's pacing was a little slow for me despite all that was happening as Jess starts her job at The Globe. There's a lot of backstabbing and unethical behavior. The book picks up towards the end.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for an early copy of The Trade Off. What an AWESOME book about how corrupt and ruthless tabloids are. This was sooooooo interesting. The characters were very real, I felt like I was part of the cast. Eye opening regarding what goes on behind the scenes to get a good story. Even though this was a fiction book, I hope journalists read it and really think about how they go about getting a story. I LOVED the ending and how morals won out. Thank you again.

Fabulous awesome book!! I love all this Author's books!! Her writing and the suspense gets better and better!! Add this book to your beach book pile!! You won't regret it!!

this one was tricky for me. I found the pacing to be really off; certain parts were slow, painfully slow, while other parts were so gripping and fast paced and electrifying.

I loved the journalism in tabloid aspect, I thought that felt fresh, but I got lost with all of the characters.

💻 ☠️ Death by tabloid exploitation … “The Trade Off” by Sandie Jones is a juicy suspense that gives you a glimpse into the ugly side of journalism 💻 ☠️

BOOK REVIEW: 🖤🖤🖤.5/5

Stella is a tough as nails Deputy Editor of The Globe which is a tabloid magazine. She is used to the the everyday grind of catching a story that will expose others, spill their secrets and put their personal lives on display. When it comes to bringing the public WHAT THEY WANT she is willing to blur the lines, stretch the truth .. whatever it takes to publish a fantastic and juicy story! 🧨

Jess on the other hand is the exact opposite. She is new to the game of tabloid journalism and is timid when it comes to putting people on blast for the world to read about. The two women butt heads from the very beginning and hold two very different perspectives on ethics and morality within journalism.

When one of their subjects ends up DEAD after their story is published, it becomes clear that this obsession with publishing the most juicy story can not only destroy lives, but send them over the edge.

Thank you kindly to @macmillanusa @minotaur_books @netgalley @sandiejones_author for my advanced digital copy in exchange for my honest review! This book releases on August 15, 2023!

This was a fast paced, gripping story. A definite page turner.
I loved the juxtaposition of our two main characters. I really couldn't get a real grip on who our villain was until about the 75% mark, which was great, it kept me guessing and curious.
I will say though... Jess is painfully naive, not even as a journalist but as a women in her 20's... some parts were almost painful. But that does play very well in contrast with Stella so... painful, but with a purpose lol

I should have known this was going to be bad as soon as I learned the name of the company the characters work for is Global International. Really, Sandie? What started as an interesting look at the despicable way tabloids get their stories descended into chaos and completely lost me. I’ve never been so inclined to DNF a book at 80%, but I powered through. The characters were all caricatures, and I honestly thought every single one of them was an idiot. I feel bad ripping on this book so hard, but it was just draining to read.

Thank you Minotaur Books and St Martin’s Press for the advance copy!!

The Trade Off is Sandie Jones’ at her best. It is so entertaining! I would say this novel is definitely more of a suspense than a mystery/thriller but the suspense will have you absolutely hooked. These journalists are so manipulative and unethical that it’s disgusting (thank goodness that this is fiction). However, their slimy need to manipulate a story made for one hell of a drama.

Read if you like:
• soapy dramas
• asking yourselves a million times what the heck is going on
• to scream at the narrators not to trust people

Not a deep book, but such a fun one! This story is about two women, Stella and Jess. Stella is a veteran reporter for “The Globe,” a trashy tabloid type paper. Stella will do anything to get the best story for the paper. On the other hand, Jess, new to the industry is not OK with how Stella gets her stories. When a celebrity does something drastic as a result of the paper, Stella and Jess’s world flip upside down.

This is a fun, easy read and I enjoyed the salacious look into tabloid journalism! Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for an honest review!

Summary: Jess has just accepted a job at a British tabloid called The Globe, notorious for breaking the usual celebrity and political scandals of the day. Jess, bless her heart, has wholesome dreams of helping to clean up the scandal sheet and wants to advocate for a more fair-handed way of reporting the stories. However, this dream is quashed when she observes the ruthless tactics that Max, the editor, and Stella, the assistant editor, will employ to get the headlines they need to satisfy their owner, Peter Kingsley. Moreover, they rule the newsroom with an iron fist, and it is risky to oppose their approach. Needless to say, The Globe has made a few enemies in its day, and now one of them is about to be released from prison, claiming that he was set up by The Globe and vowing to get his revenge. Not only Jess’s morals and ethics are in peril; now her life is in danger as well.

Thoughts: I really enjoyed tabloid publishing as the setting and the base for this novel. I haven’t read another thriller based around this subject matter and it made an interesting change. The focus in this novel is on the action rather than on character development, and therefore I found the characters fairly one-dimensional. Jess is a little too wide-eyed and innocent, whereas Stella is basically the Cruella de Vil of news publishing.

As other reviewers have noted, there were quite a few characters introduced in the book. I understand why the author did this, as it helped to demonstrate the tabloid’s typical strategy of using and victimizing the interviewees for its monetary gain. A trade off is Max’s term for the offer he makes to seal the deal with a potential interviewee. It is nothing more than blackmail, consisting of an offer to withhold potentially embarrassing or ruinous information so the individual will cooperate with the paper and provide the interview they want.

The pacing is a little inconsistent, with the first ¾ of the book being somewhat slow and then the remaining quarter hurtling toward the conclusion. I was not dissatisfied with the ending, just a little under-whelmed as it seemed a little tame. It is a good summer thriller, just not an amazing one. Thanks to Minotaur Books for the copy to read.