"Off the Air" by Christina Estes is a gripping debut that seamlessly blends the fast-paced world of journalism with a compelling murder mystery. From the moment local TV reporter Jolene Garcia steps onto the scene of a radio station death, you know you're in for a wild ride.

Estes skillfully introduces us to Jolene Garcia, a reporter with a knack for digging deep into stories that matter. From monsoon storms to newborn giraffes, Jolene covers it all with equal parts curiosity and tenacity. But when a controversial talk show host turns up dead under suspicious circumstances, Jolene's investigative instincts kick into high gear.

What sets "Off the Air" apart is its authenticity. Estes, herself an Emmy Award-winning reporter, brings firsthand knowledge and insight to the world of journalism, giving readers a behind-the-scenes look at the competitive and often cutthroat nature of the industry.

As Jolene delves deeper into the mystery surrounding Larry Lemmon's death, the stakes couldn't be higher. With her career on the line, she races against the clock to uncover the truth, even as the competition heats up around her.

Equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, "Off the Air" is a must-read for fans of crime fiction and journalism thrillers alike. Estes's Tony Hillerman Prize-winning debut introduces us to a protagonist who is as complex as she is relatable, and leaves us eagerly awaiting more from this talented author.

Jolene is a local TV reporter who just snagged the last interview with controversial Larry Lemmon before he unexpectedly dies. Trying to catapult her initial advantage Jolene starts asking questions to figure out who of Larry's many enemies would want him dead. This was a fun look at the competitive side of journalism and chasing a story. While, I thought the story progressed a bit slow I still enjoyed the unique look at reporting. I would caution people to look at the content warnings because there is one part towards the end that people may find upsetting.

I am not really sure what the author was trying to go for with this book. I noticed that there were so many moments when the protagonist could have proven herself to her boss and especially her peers and yet, she felt short every time it seemed like. Everyone seemed to really be down on her and about to give up on her being able to provide willing sources to corroborate her news story. There were so many characters who were racist and sexist and yet, they never learned anything from Jolene. Larry and other radicals keep spewing their political commentary and I came to read a book to escape, not to feel down about our current existences.

I just could not enjoy this story like I wanted to and am very disappointed in the murder story conclusion. Even the newsroom antics could not keep me entertained, kept falling asleep to this!

Jolene Garcia has her mind set on making it big as a journalist, especially after a premature report sets back her career. She has vowed never to do that again but finds that her reluctance to not push sets her in the back of a field of reporters covering Larry Lemmon’s murder. She just needs a break, even if it puts her in danger in Christina Estes’ Off the Air.

First off, I found Christina Estes’ telling of this story to be fresh although I’m not always sure that I was a fan of how she would give a briefing on the background of each character she introduced. I think most of us are more used to a very subtle description and sometimes this felt like the author providing the character description she’d written up. Was it bad? I don’t know. I appreciated it sometimes as it provided color. Sometimes I could imagine it just added a bit more information than the reader needed. But I will definitely concede that it was different storytelling, perhaps influenced by the author’s report background.

Jolene was an interesting character. I didn’t always identify with her and by that I mean that sometimes I thought she was overly impulsive, unsympathetic and rude. Perhaps the addition of a character (other than Oscar her goldfish) that she actually cared for her would have made her more personable, someone who showed her humanity. That said, I don’t think the reader needs to always like a character for a book to work. In this case, Off the Air worked but would have been better with a slightly more empathetic main character as Jolene’s need to be the star and not just the solver of a mystery took over. Her impulsiveness crossed out her intelligence and put her in a position of needing to be saved.

As far as the story, I did like that Estes drew the reader in many different directions, showing us a lot of people who could have easily committed murder. She did this very well and gave us an exciting almost ending. Yes, the book didn’t end after the mystery was solved. Meh.

While I was reading I knew that this book would not get the stars it probably deserved because of its subject matter that some of a particular political orientation might object to and it hasn’t. I really think Christina Estes did a wonderful job of showing how real journalism matters but that it will never change mindsets if they are made, especially when they have their minds set against the media. I do feel that media behavior is on the audience, though. Many might say that they don’t like the intrusiveness, but they are also the ones clinging to every words when something bad happens.

I am looking forward to another Christina Estes novel. I’d like to see how she evolves from this starting point.

On a side note, I really wish the publisher had not elected to have the trigger warnings at the end. How many really go there to read the warnings? Would I have still read this after seeing the animal cruelty warning (for me a trigger)? Probably, but I might have been prepared.

Many thanks to Minotaur Books for sending me a copy.

Off The Air is the debut novel by Christina Estes. It features a reporter at an Arizona station where things are fairly routine until the murder.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for this ARC!

Dollycas's Thoughts 

Local TV reporter Jolene Garcia covers a wide variety of assignments. Recently she landed an interview with controversial conservative radio talk show host Larry Lemmon. It turns out to be his final interview because he has now died under "suspicious circumstances" during his show. Jolene and her station think she will get the inside scoop because of that interview but another reporter seems always to be one step ahead of her. Jolene's main source refuses to give her anything on the record and her boss is turning up the heat so she decides to make her own scoop by solving the case herself. That works as long as she doesn't become the next victim.

____

Christina Estes, an award-winning reporter herself is writing what she knows. News reporting has been changing and her protagonist's station seems to finally getting on board with where people are getting their news. It's all about tweets, clicks, shares, and "sexy" stories and the competition to do it all first, sometimes even when you don't have the facts.

The mystery is not a typical whodunit. Reporter Jolene Garcia is chasing a story, not a killer, at least at first. This made the story drag in places and get bogged down with things that weren't pertinent to the mystery. I have never been to Arizona so some of the information was interesting but I wanted more focus on the matters at hand. There were a few twists but Jolene was really clueless when she came eye-to-eye with the killer setting up an exciting showdown. I will admit the person wasn't on my radar either, but the story was written to keep everyone in the dark until the killer gave his summation. After hearing it I was sympathetic to his reasoning but couldn't defend his actions.

The story touches on several themes/subjects throughout including politics. I am sure the victim had a certain red hat. I was surprised to get to the end of the book to find a "Content Advisory" "This story contains references to" with the following list in alphabetical order.

Ageisms
Animal Cruelty
Child Neglect
Classism
Homelessness
Racism
Sexism
Sexual Coercion
Substance Abuse.

I believe this "Advisory" should have been at the beginning of the book, not at the end.

Off the Air was an entertaining story focusing more on the cutthroat world of journalism than a murder mystery. I understand why the book won the Tony Hillerman Award for a mystery set in the southwestern United States by a first-time author. There are several references to real places in Phoenix and information about the Phoenix Indian School and other local history. I do believe this author has promise and would be open to reading her next effort, maybe in a different genre or more mystery-focused.

Ebook/Cosy Mystery. I want to thank Netgalley for letting me have a ARC of this book. However, with all the hype around it, I found the novel average. As someone who worked in radio and newspaper (not a reporter), I found some of the plot did not make sense. The TV station has three outside cameramen. I can see one for the tip reporter, but most reporters learn the equipment, set up the shots, do a segment, and edit it themselves. Most radio shows do not have an engineer like Frasier. That is a thing of the past. And finally, a reporter would be fired for even thinking of talking to CNN before a formal interview with their own station and their affiliate would be next...not CNN.
The novel tried to give the characters humanity., but I never felt it. I skipped over the fun fact fillers about cyanide and landscape. The killer came out of left field with a big huh.

Looking for a fun quick mystery read with quite a bit of background on the life of a reporter trying to catch a bigger break ? This book could be it.
Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments-anything from a erratic weather to a newborn animals at the zoo-and special projects.
Stories that take more time to research and produce.
Stories that Jolene wants to tell - but only a bigger break will make it possible for her to devote more time to these. When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene and other journalists swarm the scene, intent on reporting the facts first. The body is soon identified as Larry Lemmon, a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene, completely by chance, conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage.
But not for long... she needs to work fast if she wants to stay on top. The competition is fierce and determined.
My favorite part of this book was Jolene Garcia's character and the way the author used her experience as a journalist to give us a glimpse into the occupation and what everyday life is like chasing stories and competing to be the first one to break them. I loved how Jolene maintained her journalistic integrity throughout despite the lengths she goes to and the cutthroat nature of journalism. I also enjoyed the plotting and the whodunnit aspect of the story.
This book describes the modern world of journalism on so many different platforms, how do you get your news? Newspaper? TV? Following local stations on FB or insta ?
I received this eARC through@NetGalley and @stmartinspress any opinion voiced is completely my own, of course.

Off the Air is a standalone mystery (first volume in a series?) featuring a local reporter in the main role by real-life reporter Christina Estes. Released 26th March 2024 by Macmillan on their Minotaur imprint, it's 320 pages and is available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links and references throughout.

The longstanding advice to authors to "write what you know" is certainly applied here. The author is an Emmy award-winning journalist in real life, and the depth of background and verisimilitude are impressive. At some points, there might be a bit too much nuts-and-bolts description of getting the news to viewers, but overall it's interesting and engaging (mostly). There's a *lot* of backstabbing, competition, and elbow jabbing taking place between competing reporters for exclusives and sources which is exhausting to read (and undoubtedly to live as a day job also).

Most of the main character's colleagues are whiny, superficial, catty, and unpleasant. She's not a whole lot better in some ways, and her main police background source was an unpleasant rude boor (and should be punched in the face). The constant mistakes and frustrating coincidences were distracting and largely unnecessary.

The length is surprising for a modern mystery, and immersion isn't overall even throughout. The writing and dialogue are very good, the author can definitely write. Her descriptive prose is spare and smooth; her characterizations are well rounded and believable, and the dialogue is rapid fire and not clunky.

The unabridged audiobook has a run time of 8 hours 30 minutes and is capably narrated by Marcella Black. She does a good job of delineating the large cast of characters which span a range of ages, both male and female. Sound and production quality are high throughout the read.

Three and a half stars. Worth a look for fans of journo-mysteries.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

Off the Air by Christina Estes

Award winning journalist Christina Estes gives a detailed and frank view inside news organizations, both local and network. She knows her subject matter and shares the good, and the ugly, of this profession. Her protagonist, Jolene Garcia, is hot on a story concerning the death of a right-wing, radical, radio personality. The competition is palpable, and none of the characters are particularly likable. Estes paints a cutthroat business in a polarized world.

Yet the book has bright spots-- I was particularly amused by the protagonists relationship with her goldfish, Oscar.--and the mystery is complicated. There are plenty of misleading clues to keep the reader from figuring it out too soon. If who-dunnits are your jam, you’ll like this one. Estes is a skilled writer. Her style is journalistic, meaning you won’t get much depth with the characters and though the landscape is rich, the setting is minimal.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s for the review copy. The book was published on March 26, 2024.

Thanks Netgalley for a copy of this book. I loved the whole ride. Jolene is a reporter and on the hunt to find out who killed a famous talk show host. He was poisoned. But by who? I love how this book isn’t super serious and still has funny moments. It focuses on her as a journalist instead of just being a book about murder.

I appreciate that this was Christina Estes first book and I loved the behind the scenes look at the news and just how stretched thin reporters are these days. It's less about actual news stories and more about likes and clicks and views, something that we are all becoming more familiar with in this social media driven world. I however couldn't figure out if this was supposed to be a mystery, or just general fiction. It took a little too long to figure out who killed the talk show host and I found myself not really invested in the reveal.

This was not at all what I thought it was going to be.
It is well written and pretty good but I can't say that I enjoyed it.
It was just ok for me. Not the thriller I expected at all.


Thank you NetGalley and publisher for this copy.

3/5 stars

What was promoted as s murder mystery is actually a surprising and in-depth look at modern day investigative journalism. Jolene Garcia, the main character, is tasked with covering the story of Larry Lemon, a right-wing firebrand radio show host who mysteriously ends up poisoned. What follows is a unique insight into the techniques, sources, and frustrations of covering a breaking story whilst fending off other thirsty journalists and protecting coveted information for exclusives in a day and age where news is broadcast 24/7 on the internet both with and without confirmation of facts.

Where I found the journalism descriptions and storyline fascinating, the actual murder mystery for me felt like it took a back seat. There were very little clues and details given to the reader early on to even remotely guess at who the killer ultimately was or motive. The reader is more along for the ride rather than the one tasked with solving the mystery. As far as Jolene goes, I didn't particularly like or dislike her character. She comes across as extremely pushy and borderline cutthroat, but given her profession was not out of line for a woman in her position.

Overall, an enjoyable vacation read for those who like mysteries but are not invested in solving them within the first half of the book.

Thank you to NetGalley. Minotaur Book, and Christina Estes for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

What a fun story! I was completely rooting for Jolene to get the scoop on her story but she just couldn’t seem to catch a break. For a debut novel this book was excellent. The mystery was engaging and the timing was great. I loved the ending so much but I can’t elaborate without spoiling. The characters are fun & the rival, JJ was perfect. I enjoyed the descriptions & the way that current events were incorporated,

Thanks to NetGalley & Minotaur Books for the chance to read this book. I really enjoyed it.

Really well written - you can tell that the author has a background in journalism in the way that the character of Jolene was portrayed. This book is a mystery of trying to unravel the death of a radio show host, but we also learn a lot about journalists and their behind the scenes. There was a lot of political commentary which is normally not my thing (I read to escape the real world)

Jolene Garcia is a reporter in Philadelphia fighting covert real issues in a climate dominated by social media, clicks and political death matches

When a controversial talkshow host dies, Joanne‘s bosses are ecstatic because she conducted his final interview giving them an advantage.

It is national media descend on Arizona Johnson faces extreme competition from reported with bigger audiences and better scoops

With her current steak, Jocelyn pushes hard to break the case—-too hard for a killer determined to silence her

From the heavy to the humourous off the air pulls back the curtain and reveals the stories behind the stories that appear on your screens .

I loved this book, it was a great read, it was light hearted and it was a great read. I highly recommend this cozy read.

Thank you to @Minotaurbooks and @reporterestes is author for the gifted copy

This book was not a bad book for the right person, but it just not my personal taste in books. Thank you netgalley and the publisher for the ar i exchange for a review.

I think this was a good debut. It is well written, I felt the tension and suspense. I liked getting to know what the job of news reporters is like and what I read seemed to me to be very real. I will definitely read the next book and see what happens.

Pros:
Debut
Entertaining crime mystery
Thought provoking
Realistic

Cons:
Too political for me
Annoying characters

I received an advanced electronic copy from publisher Minotaur Books and Netgalley. Thank you for the opportunity to preview this book.