Loved this book had great info about Arizona. The story line was well written and worth the read. Look forward to seeing more from this author

Sadly, I didn't finish this book. I felt that maybe it had some potential, but it was so detail heavy on the background of news reporting that I realized I didn't want to finish it when I found myself skipping large chunks of pages at a time.

Actual rating 2.5

It's pretty rare that I find a book where just about every character is unlikeable, but this one hit that target with ease. This should have been a quick read, but I found myself dragging when it came time to read for awhile, knowing I wasn't rooting for anyone. This is labelled as a mystery, but it felt more like an exploration of the life of a journalist, and I really wasn't interested in learning about that field. It's certainly changed a lot with the rise of social media, and I feel for journalists having to learn on the fly, but almost none of that discussion was germane to the story, and felt more disruptive than anything. The heavy-handedness with the politics was also a huge turn-off. I've seen that this is potentially the start of a series; unfortunately it isn't one I'm interested in pursuing.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, the author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

Jolene Garcia is a TV reporter in Phoenix. Her latest exclusive interview is with controversial radio talk show host, Larry Lemmon. When Larry drops dead while on the air, it’s big news. Was it natural causes or was he murdered. While Jolene has information she’s sitting on, she keeps getting scooped by rival news agencies. Pressured to get the exclusive, she starts stepping over boundaries that she normally wouldn’t step over, but she’s determined to get the career making story, even if she puts herself and others in danger. Estes debut novel has its interesting moments, there are some trigger warnings, as well as political talk, a good book, but not overly exciting. Will certainly look for Estes next book as there is definite potential for more! Thank you to Minotaur Books and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Off the Air
By Christina Estes
Minotaur
April 2024

Review by Cynthia Chow

While Phoenix’s Channel 4 Eyewitness News reporter Jolene Garcia’s passion is to pursue investigative stories that not only make a difference but also could win her an Emmy, she also must spend half of her time following her general manager’s (or his wife’s) orders to pursue click-baiting assignments. But the call that has her dropping her chance at a meal is one that could do both, as the right-wing radio show host Larry Lemmon has been found dead at his station, possibly poisoned by delivered cookies. As her fellow reporters rush the scene and attempt to interview the staff Jolene attempts to network her police source, one who neither fully trusts her despite his owing her a favor. Soon Jolene is led down a trail of suspects that include two ex-wives, an obsessed fan, and a contentious environmentalist. A creepy neighbor asking her out on dates is only slightly less alarming than the anonymous notes left on her desk, but Jolene is not about to let that or her fear of dogs scare her away from a story that could finally have her beating out her annoyingly camera-friendly nemesis. While J.J. is not above flirting with witnesses or perhaps engaging in checkbook journalism, Jolene struggles to protect her sources even as she alienates cameramen and crashes a memorial. A former foster child always needing to prove herself, Jolene is relentless in her need to be the first to report the story, even if that means feigning sympathy to get on-camera statements.

This exceptional novel depicts a dying profession that is struggling to maintain its relevancy when competing against social media and Fake News. Reporters compete against one another not just to break news, but to create the headlines most likely to gain clicks and followers. That explains why Jolene can be ruthless in her pursuit for stories, sometimes at the expense of coworkers and friends. It’s also why she is shocked to realize that her closest friends don’t consider her to be theirs, as Jolene has so prioritized her career that everything else becomes collateral damage. That doesn’t mean that Jolene still isn’t likable though, as readers will be drawn to her by the insecurities she covers with dry wit and cynicism. Readers may be reminded of the works by Edna Buchanan, especially since this author also writes from her vast experience as a reporter. This is an intriguing start to a new series that explores the cutthroat nature of journalism and the ethical struggles it faces when advocating for truth while also being a profitable business. Well-written with its depiction of a fascinating profession and a complex heroine, this is a suspenseful mystery deserving another installment following Jolene’s compelling acts of journalism.

When a controversial news reporter dies on air, the race to get to the truth of what happened begins. An interesting who done it that has you guessing and rooting for the reporter trying to get the exclusive.
The plot and writing itself are well
done with characters that are varied and interesting.

DNF not interested after 30 minutes

As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It’s an investigation that could make or break her career—if it doesn't break her first.

DNF 15%

Thank you @netgalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.

I requested this ARC after receiving an email from the publisher. Excited to read a mystery comedy murder.

From the get go I was extremely uninvested in the characters, and there was minimal character development after. I found all the journalism jargon and lingo -without subsequent definition - distracting and ultimately a turn off.

Off the Air is a fun cozy mystery. Jolene (named after the song) is a reporter in Phoenix, whose latest interview subject has died under mysterious circumstances. Jolene is surrounded by an eclectic and fun cast of characters including her co-workers, neighbors and sources. She is more interested in getting the lead on the story and being her rival at another station, but she of course also solves the mystery herself. It's a fun and entertaining book. Despite being pretty light, it also has a lot of really interesting history about Phoenix and the area.

I really enjoyed this book. It was different than anything else I've read recently. I couldn't put it down! I will keep an eye out for this author's future work!

This was a mildly entertaining book, but it cluttered the plot with unnecessary logistics of how to get a story and what it takes to get "something new" every 8 hours. It ALSO was unabashedly pontificating on every. single. social justice issue the author could conceivably shove into the book, and was equally condescendingly instructional about journalism ethics - difference between libel and defamation. Would have been more enjoyable without all the extras.

This book was an interesting mix. On one hand, it's a mystery - who killed the controversial radio talk-show host? On the other hand, it's a peek behind the curtain of local TV news, from a new author who knows all about the subject - she is herself an award-winning television reporter who has spent more than 20 years covering a wide variety of stories in Phoenix, where her book is set. I enjoyed the mystery of the story - there was no shortage of potential perpetrators, and I didn't guess who "dunnit" until it was revealed. Equally interesting was to learn just how much journalism has changed in recent years, not only for print journalism (which is mightily struggling in this digital age, as documented in a couple of my recent reads), but also for broadcast journalism. This explores radio and television, and how social media has (for better or worse) changed the focus of modern local radio and TV news. It also didn't hurt that I lived in Phoenix for a year or so many, many years ago, so the geography was familiar to me, as was the mention of the late, great Metrocenter Mall. Both aspects kept me listening and engaged, as did the narration by Marcella Black. If Estes continues to write (she did seem to leave things wide open for a sequel) I'd certainly be ready to jump into her next book.
Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for providing a digital copy for an unbiased review.

Did Not Finish @20%
Ebook - 1 Star

This was just not for me.

I disliked the MC almost immediately [she gives off HUGE mean girl vibes and is fine being critical [at a couple points, extremely critical/judgemental] of others], but calls foul when the critisism is directed at her and she whines about her job a LOT all while being willing to do whatever she needed to to win an Emmy, which got annoying fast. The introduction of divisive politics right at the beginning [I DO NOT want to read a book where "let's go Brandon" is part of any text] totally put me off as did the minutiae of detail that was just so boring I almost fell asleep [I didn't need to ever know all that I now know about the whole journalism world and its inner workings]; all of this happened before I hit my quitting point of 20%, which just made me realize that I couldn't finish.

I am sure there will be others that love this book and to be honest, I wish I could be one of them. I have had a bad run of books as of late and this one being such a disappointment as well is discouraging.

Audiobook narrator: 4 Stars
The BEST part of this book was the narrator. I really, really, enjoyed her narration and only wish I could have continued, if not just to listen to her. She was excellent and I will be looking for other titles that she narrates in the future. I highly recommend listening to her.

I was invited to read/review this book by the publisher St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books and I thank them, NetGalley, the author, Marcella Black - Narrator, and Dreamscape Media for providing the eBook and audiobook ARC's in exchange for an honest review.

This was a cute cozy and an easy read. Jolene certainly got herself into situations because she needed to get the story. I didn't feel like there was anything spectacular that happened in the book. But it wasn't bad either. It's not a book I'd read over and over, but it was good for a read and it was good for an escape.

I received a widget for “Off the Air” Christina Estes and I decided to give it a shot as it is not the typical genre I enjoy to read. The author has decades of experience in the Phoenix area as a tv reporter, so I thought it was pretty clever that this was a big part of the story line. However, this book just didn’t do it for me. I believe there was too much going on and the book had a slow start.

The premise of this story was an interesting one. In this story, we find Jolene Garcia, a news reporter, trying to solve the murder of a controversial talk show host, after being the last reporter to interview him. Without giving anything away, I will say this was a quick and GOOD read!

Despite its marketing as a mystery novel, Off the Air reads much more like a manifesto about journalism - and especially the state of broadcast journalism in the days of the internet. The author is herself an experienced reporter, and her broad knowledge - about her field, as well as about the politics and geography of the book's setting, Phoenix - pervades the story.

Unfortunately, the massive amount of information imparted in the narrative slows its pace, particularly in the first half. I struggled to get invested in the central mystery - who killed conservative talk show host Larry Lemmon? - or in the protagonist's struggle to acquire career-boosting coverage of the developing story. I definitely struggled to connect with the main character, and although I was hoping to see her grow as a character in the second half of the story - or at least acquire some hard-won wisdom about the state of journalism and the world - that never happened.

Off the Air would be a good palate cleanser between denser, darker, graphic thrillers. It definitely gives you a behind the scenes look at how local television news stations work if that's something you've ever wondered about.

A little bit of a warning though: There's a lot of seemingly unnecessary background information. For example, the characters turn onto Indian School Road and then you are given several paragraphs on the history of the schools. Is this stuff necessary for everyone to know about? Of course. Is it necessary to the plot of this novel? Not at all. These little tangents of information started to get a little cringey after awhile. It was as if the author really wanted to make sure that everyone knew which side of the political aisle she leans towards. Since the main character is a journalist, all of the extra background could theoretically be intentional. The way it was written did sort of remind me of how newspaper articles are written at times.

All in all, the story did keep my attention until the end but if you are the type to avoid politics (of either side) when you read, I would maybe skip this one.

Off the Air by Christina Estes is a debut mystery novel. This one may be considered by some as a cozy mystery but I really didn’t get that overall cozy vibe with the main character being a professional journalist and their job to chase down leads and crime.

Jolene Garcia is a television reporter working in Phoenix, Arizona where she covers all kinds of news and stories. Jolene is always looking for the next big break when she finds out there was a death at a local radio station. Jolene immediately dives into the story trying to find out just who died and if it was a possible murder.

Author Christina Estes is making her debut with doing exactly what she should with following the old advice write what you know. You see before taking the leap as an author Christina Estes has spent twenty years in journalism and that fact was obvious within the pages of Off the Air. Now as much as really knowing your stuff could be a good thing I found with Off the Air it fell a little on the it’s a bad thing side because I would often feel I was reading a how to in journalism. I wanted the characters and story to speak for themselves more than they did with the almost step by step instruction going on. Overall that said this one landed at two and a half stars for me.

I received an advance copy from the publisher via NetGalley.

🎥unhinged Book Review🎥
*
Summmary: Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments—anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo—and special projects. Stories that take more time to research and produce. Stories that Jolene wants to tell.

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 conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long.

As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It’s an investigation that could make or break her career—if it doesn’t break her first.
*
Rating: ⭐️⭐️💫
*
My thoughts: thank you @macmillan.audio and @netgalley for the advanced copy of this debut book! This one definitely had potential, the premise was really unique. I don’t think I’ve ever read a book from the perspective of an on air anchor. I really enjoyed diving into that world. I didn’t however love the overall character in this one, it really glamorized the idea of not eating, only living for your job under the guise of a strong female character ? I just found her to be annoying and was unable to relate to her as a character. The premise was cool and this had potential if the character was created to be an actual real human being.
*
QOTD- what is the job of your main character in your current read ? I’m planning to start daughter of mine tonight so I have no idea 😂
*
#offtheair #christinaestes #bookreview #bookrecommendations #bookstagram #booksofinstagram #booksofig #booksofinsta #bibliophile #booklover #bookworm #bookwormsunite #bookish #readersofinstagram #readersgonnaread #readmorebooks #readersofig #readersofig #booknerd