This one wasn’t quite my favorite. I was intrigued by the premise of the book, investigating a murder for a recently interviewed politician. However, it was a lot more political and focused on being a reporter than I originally expected. That did take me out of the book quite a bit. On a positive note, the author has some good ideas and was able to write an interesting crime. I’d be open to reading her next book, as the was a debut, and with the amount of promise shown, it could be a good one!

Off the Air by Christina Estes is a murder mystery as a local reporter chases the story of her career. Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona. She usually covers general assignments from the monsoon storms to a newborn giraffe at the zoo. When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene races to the scene as she and other journalists rush to report the facts first. As the victim is identified as the controversial talk show host, Larry Lemmon, Jolene realizes that she conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an edge for now. The circumstances around his death are suspicious, the story heats up as the competition to be the first to report grows as well. Jolene is determined to solve this murder as it is the story that could make or break her career.
Billed as “equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining,” Off the Air is the debut novel for former Emmy Award winning reporter Christina Estes. I was intrigued as the main character is a journalist which doesn’t cross my path often. I opened the book eagerly for a fast-paced mystery. However, it fell fast. It wasn’t thought provoking or entertaining. I was bored. I didn’t care about the characters, especially Jolene. She is unlikable from beginning to end and didn’t help put journalists in a positive light. The constant mention of politics, while I understand that it fits the story with the death of a controversial figure, it really bogged down my enjoyment. The mystery quickly becomes secondary to the story and the story quickly becomes more of a love letter to journalism. Overall, the story was okay. If you enjoy journalism centric stories, you may enjoy Off the Air.

Off the Air is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Off the Air, by Christina Estes, was a complete miss for me and somewhat of a surprise. I began college as a journalism major, but the level of detail was challenging. More important, the protagonist was thoroughly unsympathetic. Dialogue, probably meant to be cute and amusing, seemed snarky to me. I note that I am probably not part of the target demographic, and this is a debut novel. Thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read a digital ARC.

I was intrigued by Christina Estes’ debut novel Off the Air because it promises to be a mystery featuring a local news reporter as the lead character. I come from a family with several journalists so I’ve always loved people who do that work and hearing about the industry—their jobs are so hard! What I got with Off the Air surprised me. It delivered what I expected, but it also had several stand out characteristics that separate it from the herd in the world of cozy mysteries. More on those to follow!

About the Book | Off the Air

Jolene Garcia is a young TV reporter at a local news station in Phoenix, Arizona trying to catch a break to eventually advance in her career. Currently she splits her time between general assignments (is your dry cleaner really removing those spaghetti stains?) and special projects. The special projects are stories that Jolene wants to tell, pitches, and takes time to research and produce. This is the part of her career that she hopes to build up.

Jolene is out to lunch with her favorite camera crew member, Nate, when two things happen: she receives word that there has been a death at radio station, and she spills ketchup all down the front of her shirt. There’s no time to worry about the ketchup though! Jolene and Nate rush to the station to see what they can find out. Through some digging, they learn that popular, controversial talk show host Larry Lemmon has been poisoned.

It just so happens that Jolene got the last interview with Larry Lemmon, giving her an advantage over the other local, network, and cable reporters jostling for the story. Even more helpful, she has a source within the police force who slowly feeds her bits of information. Unfortunately neither of these matter in terms of getting the story first. Her police source—Commander Jim Miranda—may give her bits of information, but he won’t allow her to go on record with any of them. Meanwhile Jolene keeps finding herself scooped by other reporters, especially those from network and larger cable news programs. This story could make or break her career—if it doesn’t break Jolene first!

Review | Off the Air

This story took me by surprise. It delves deeply into the world of broadcast journalism, which hooked me in. There is a lot of drama in the industry, it turns out. Jolene made a mistake at a prior reporter job she had in Omaha, and she won’t make the same mistake twice. She double- and triple-checks her facts before moving forward. But over the course of the novel, Jolene begins to crack. It feels like she has setback after setback and the reader gets first-hand experience of the pressure she feels to get the story.

The other reporters all seem to have more experience, more money, and more resources from their networks. Jolene has the advantage multiple times only to see it snatched away—an exclusive she got with a key witness only for them to accept an offer from a much larger network to do theirs first, an interview she goes for but someone else gets there first. These experiences did make Jolene sympathetic to the reader.

Seeing the lead character in a cozy mystery face setbacks isn’t new or rare to the genre. However, I actually thought what Estes did with Jolene’s storyline felt very rare in other ways. Jolene falls apart more or less across the course of the investigation. She starts out with morals, ethics, tenacity, and a positive attitude. By the time the story crosses the halfway mark, she’s burnt out, sleep-deprived, frustrated, and making poor decisions. It was so refreshingly authentic that Estes chose to show Jolene going through this. Her friend and colleague Nate actually steps away from working with her at one point because of what she’s pushing to do. I love when an author is unafraid to show the less attractive qualities in their lead character.

Jolene also has an interesting backstory. She grew up in the foster system after her mother was arrested for drug use and child endangerment. When she was twelve, she was able to go live with her grandmother in Omaha for several years before she passed away. Jolene is on her own in terms of family support, and this was heartbreaking to read about. She has many fond memories of her grandmother and thinks of her often—if she would be proud of her and what she might say. She watches Wheel of Fortune religiously not out of any particular love of the program, but because her grandmother loved it and it keeps her memory alive.

In terms of balance, I would say that the book heavily favors both the drama of working in broadcast journalism as well as what is happening with the mystery. Jolene has very little personal life—most of her life is tied up in work. I appreciated this because the mystery stayed engaging. There were plenty of suspects and a lot going on muddying the waters. The way that Lemmon died meant that the murderer didn’t need to be present at the time of the murder, so this case rested quite a bit on motive, in addition to opportunity. Jolene is receiving cryptic notes about the case at work, adding another layer to the story.

The conclusion was satisfying and surprised me—I didn’t guess who did it and the way the reveal happened was interesting. Jolene also seems aware of her mistakes, which redeems her if the reader had any doubts about her behavior in the height of the case. The relationship between Jolene and Jim (the police commander) was another difference. Often cozy mysteries position the police source as either a love interest or a friend. Jim is neither—they have a professional relationship and Jolene has earned trust with him on prior investigations (trust that takes a pretty large hit during her actions in the current case).

This was a great mystery with a compelling lead and premise! The investigation stays at the forefront. Jolene is a flawed and sympathetic character in equal measure. The rich detail around broadcast journalism comes through, in large part due to the author’s long career in that industry. I think mystery fans will love this!

Intrepid, but reckless, reporter gets in the middle of a murder investigation by sticking her head in where it doesn’t belong, pissing everyone off, and bumbling her way to a story.

Not only is our protagonist not sympathetic, she’s pedantic, constantly inserting weird trivia into the narrative and breaking up the pacing. She’s naively young with a penchant for disdaining pop culture that’s more than 20 years old. She uses people and treats everyone poorly and is generally unlikable.

The office politics is intriguing and the plot line is timely. You might still enjoy this if you’re interested in the behind the scenes of tv news. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my copy. These opinions are my own.

Christina Estes writes a grand mysterious tale with Off the Air

In Off the Air, the reader is introduced to Jolene, a local reporter that is always looking for the interesting story to tell, what takes time to research, and find all the answers before reporting it. I haven't read anything by this author before, and what a hidden gem. I enjoyed it so much, that I have now followed the author and look for more books to read. Jolene is very tenacious, and when a talk show host is murdered, Jolene is on the case. She is determined to find out whodunnit in order to report it, so she can have the option to reporting the stories she wants to report. The story and investigation, but her in the middle of the case, as she has had a small connection to the deceased. It's A grand suspenseful story. A very unpredictable story, my favorite kind! I have fast become a big fan of Christina Estes. The story is well-written, and paints a great portrait of the victim, and Jolene. The characters have a lot of depth, and the story has many different layers, keeping the reader engaged. Off the Air is a definite recommendation by Amy's Bookshelf Reviews. I read this book to give my unbiased and honest review. Amy's Bookshelf Reviews recommends that anyone who reads this book, to also write a review.

This mystery was slow-paced, even for a cozy. The concept was super intriguing, but I struggled to connect with Jolene a bit - she was so focused on her story that I was missing some additional depth and personality.

I did enjoy learning about journalism - clearly Estes knows that world and we were given a TON of information. But that is a double-edged sword. So much of the book was just being told things - lots of tangents/history anecdotes throughout, i.e. the history of how a highway got its name or how a local law came to be. While it gave us some insight into Jolene's character (a critical, overthinking mind), it did become distracting and slowed down the overall pacing, which took away from the story. It was cool to see so many Phoenix-specific references and learn more about the local culture, but beyond that it was a bit much.

The pacing did pick up about 80% of the way in and the conclusion was exciting! The ending was unexpected, which is ultimately why I chose 3 stars. But I wish the story overall moved along faster and we got more character development for Jolene and some of our other key players. Larry Lemmon was truly a despicable character and his thoughts/controversies definitely felt relevant. Props to Estes for creating something timely and political without being overkill.

Thank you for my copy!!

When the controversial, right wing radio host at KFRK dies a suspicious death, Jolene is one of the first reporters on the scene. She finds herself up against some stiff competition as everyone is jostling to get the story first.
Good pacing, but flat one dimensional characters. I felt like all we really learned about Jolene was that she was named after Dolly Parton’s famous song and that she is obsessed with out scooping her fellow journalists and advancing her career. I liked that she was driven, but wanted more details about her. None of the other characters appealed to me either. The story’s redeeming qualities are a good plot twist and that it highlights the difficulties journalists are facing today. If you’re interested in learning more about what goes on in the life of a journalist and you like crime fiction you might enjoy this.

Thank you Netgalley, Christina Estes, and St. Martin's Press for the ebook! This was a great read that really put you on the heart of a journalist in today's day and age. The cut throat tenacity and grit of Jolene was really inspiring. How far would you be willing to go for the story that could make or break you?!

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for a free copy of the e-book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.

My Thoughts
The Characters
I didn’t find myself getting vested in any of the characters. There are a lot—her co-workers, the murder victim’s co-workers, the murder victim’s ex-wives, a nosey neighbor, a stalker-ish friend of the nosey neighbor, and her arch-rival at another Phoenix station.

The Mystery
Off the Air, for me, wasn’t a murder mystery. It was a take on the current state of affairs in a newsroom. Jolene doesn’t spend her time investigating a murder, but instead spends more time trying to track down facts she can talk about on air. The overriding mystery comes across as—can Jolene come up with an angle on this high profile murder that will leave all the other stations scrambling to keep up-both on the air and on social media. At times I forgot there was a murder.

Final Thoughts
This wasn’t the book for me. Politics dominate the story, which I didn’t like. I read cozy mysteries to get away from divisive politics. A lot of Phoenix history is also included in the book, and I found myself skipping those sections because they didn’t add to the primary mystery. Even though this book wasn’t for me, it may be for you. Read the excerpt on the publisher’s website and see.

I had so much fun reading Off the Air by Christina Estes! Jolene, a TV reporter, as our amateur sleuth brought a whole new angle for a cozy mystery. The storyline felt so fresh! It brought in lots of behind the scenes info showing how a news story gets onto television. TV journalism seems much more cutthroat than I realized! Jolene is spunky and hardworking and it was a blast to follow along in her quest for a groundbreaking story. Really, really enjoyed this and I'm hoping it's a series so I can get more!!

Off the Air is out March 26th! Thank you so much to Minotaur Books and Netgalley for my e-arc! Love that Netgalley helps me discover new books just like this one!

I really want to enjoy this book, it’s just not my style! It’s giving a slow burn vibe, I kept feeling like something is about to happen, then it just doesn’t! At 70% I felt like there was no way all the loose ends would be tied up and the ending was just.. blah.

In Off the Air, you get a deep dive into the work centered life of Jolene, a news reporter waiting on that big break to relaunch her career that had been muddled by a past reporting error in judgement. This novel is a murder mystery, heavy on the newsroom politics. Jolene is not the most likable or unlikable character... just with tunnel vision that has the potential to ruin friendships. The stressors of journalism are very prevalent throughout the story. If you want a glimpse into life in the newsroom, then this is the story for you.

A fun, murder mystery that takes you around television news reporting. It does have a few references to touchy topics like racial tension, border issues, and animal cruelty (but nothing truly disturbing). Overall I enjoyed the book and recommend it to readers who enjoy a good story. There’s what might be considered a twist in there but nothing too crazy that it isn’t believable. I won’t post more because I don’t want to give it away.

I was hoping this would be a bit more entertaining but it was just an okay read. Being from Arizona, it was fun having the setting take place in Phoenix and being familiar with some of the places mentioned but other than that, the writing style didn't really work for me. It really didn't draw me in from the beginning. It was almost a DNF but I kept at it and have to say I skimmed through some of the chapters. It was only the last few chapters that it finally got a bit more interesting.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the review

In this story you will be taken into the heart of the dog eat dog world of journalism. Jolene Garcia is an up and coming television reporter with a station In the beginning scenes, Jolene, as well as every other reporter in the area are gathered outside a radio station where a controversial talk show host, Larry Lemmon, holds court. They soon find out that he died under suspicious circumstances.

Jolene's television station is elated that she was the last reporter to speak with Larry. They feel this gives them a competitive edge. Jolene is determined to solve the murder mystery. She was a great character. She had tenacity that few possess, but which makes her a top notch reporter. It's a race to the finish to see who can solve it first. There are plenty of red herrings to make the mystery more interesting to read and try to solve.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC. I am leaving this review voluntarily.

Off the Air ⭐️⭐️⭐️

This story follows Jolene a news report. She is following this case of a controversial talk show host, Larry Lemons, who died under suspicious circumstances at his office. Since Jolene conducted his final interview before this happened, she has an advantage. But that won’t last for long. As competition heats up, Jolene is determined to solve his murder. This could make or break her career. Only problem, she might be the next target.

Unfortunately, this book wasn’t for me. It took awhile for the action to start and by that time, I almost lost interest. This was more of a journalism experience and describing why you need them and how the job is, etc. which the author did a great of. However, I wanted more of the mystery/thriller aspect of this story. I think it could have been really interesting if that were the case. The murder mystery was solved and that part was good, it just got clouded over some with all the journalism info.

This book has already published. If you’re into journalism, then I think you’ll really like it! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for my advanced readers copy. This is my honest and voluntary opinion.

This wasn't quite what I was expecting based on the summary of the book. Personally, I read to escape, relax, and decompress.

Based on my preferences, this was a generous 2.5, rounded up to three, star read. I felt it was overly political which did little to engage me and make me want to read more. I'm all for authors adding their own morals and values into their work but I'm also all for readers deciding they'd rather not be hit over the head with them. The overdone politics mixed with the often-excessively-pointed-out generational changes in reporting (whether good or bad) had me wanting to read quickly so I could be done with the book.

But again, a three star read for me means I acknowledge that the book wasn't for me but I can see where others may really enjoy it.

Thank you NetGalley and Christina Estes for the opportunity to read this ahead of its release day which is today - March 26th.

OFF THE AIR is the debut novel by Christina Estes. It is a deep dive into the highly-competitive and pressure-packed world of television journalism, a topic the author is intimately familiar with having been a TV reporter in the Phoenix area for decades. In the book, Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix that works on both general interest assignments and special projects. Her recent interview with Larry Lemmon, a controversial and highly-conservative radio talk show host, has garnered her some media attention. When Larry Lemmon is found dead in his studio under suspicious circumstances, Jolene and her bosses believe they will have a leg-up on their competitors by playing up the fact that Jolene conducted what will be the final interview with Lemmon. If only she can get the exclusive interviews that will help solve his murder. But things don’t necessarily go as planned. Jolene is thrust into a cut-throat race against time in a new world of journalism forced to perform on social media to succeed. What will Jolene risk to come out on top? Interestingly, there is a content advisory at the end of the book, including abandonment, animal cruelty, racism, sexism, child neglect, substance abuse and more. There was a lot of strong political perspectives presented that could have been pulled from current events. I would probably have enjoyed this story more if the emphasis was placed more on the mystery than it was. Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to read and review an early copy.

This was painful.

The story is that Jolene is a TV news reporter. A national radio host, who is very controversial, ends up dead after eating some cookies delivered to the radio station. Was it just his time or something more sinister?

This book is nothing but harping on and on about why we need journalist and we need them to do their jobs rather than worrying about the ratings. And while I totally agree with this, the book just harps on and on and on about this.

My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this eBook.