My thanks to Net Galley and St Martin's Minotaur for this arc of this book.

Jolene Garcia is an eager and competitive reporter that wants to get the story first. When a controversial radio show host is found murdered, she wants to solve it, but gets herself in bits of trouble in the process.

I did like this book, fun,quick, and easy to read. Found Jolene a bit stubborn and annoying, but an OK fun read.

It was really hard to get into. The banter in the beginning seemed to have gone on forever with no end in sight and it took a while for the plot to actually start. It was a DNF for me.

I just wanted this to end the entire time I was reading it. The female main character was extremely insufferable, probably one of the worst I’ve ever read. Not only was she irritating to me, but she was also pissing everyone off in the story- her coworkers, police investigators, other news reporters, innocent civilians. She was giving major ‘pick me’ vibes (ick) not to mention she really doesn’t seem to be skillful in her field but rather just lucky. Right place at the right time- it took zero skill for her to solve this murder.

This wasn’t twisty, or suspenseful. It didn’t have any mystery elements and wasn’t a page turner. I really struggled to get through it.

On that note, kudos to any author putting their debut novel out to the world to read, sadly this debut didn’t work for me.

Thank you Netgalley, Minotaur Books an imprint of St. Martin's Publishing Group and Christina Estes for the ARC of Off the Air set to be published in March of 2024. I love that its a murder mystery that includes a local news company.

This was a really fun read with some Stephanie Plum vibes. I'd definitely recommend this book and I'd love to read more.

Jolene is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona. When word gets out about a death at a radio station, all the journalists in town swarm the scene.

As the story heats up, so does the competition with Jolene determined to win. Can she win? Or will the competition break her first?

This was an interesting cozy mystery that was more about journalism and less about anything else. It also had some strong political undertones that were a bit too much for a book about journalism – where they’re supposed to stay neutral. That wasn’t the case at all with these characters. I did appreciate the vast journalism knowledge that the author brought into pages, though with all the politics, it was hard to find them in a positive light. It was easy to see the inspiration for the book though! I also got lost in all the descriptions of Arizona. There were some paragraphs that felt that they were thrown in just to appease a certain demographic because they really didn’t have anything to do with the story.

As far as the mystery was concerned, there were plenty of suspects, and putting the pieces together was quite an accomplishment. I do think that the conclusion was unsatisfactory and left me longing for better execution.

I think that this author proves she is a talented author, I just think that she needs some direction, and she’ll do amazing things. This is her debut novel, and despite this one falling on the flat side for me, I can’t wait to see what she comes up with next!

Thank you so much to St Martin’s Press, Minotaur Books, and Netgalley for this e-arc in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are my own.

“Off the Air” is not the cozy mystery I was expecting. This story is more serious and likely perfect for those looking to follow an investigative reporter as she chases clues in order to be the first to report the news. I personally did not connect with any of the characters or the plot.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

I wanted to like this book. It was a quick read, but that might be due to me skipping large passages because they didn’t add anything to the plot. This book just didn’t really fit my book preference.

Thanks to NetGalley for the arc.

I really don’t know how to explain my feelings around this book. One the one hand, I think it had a lot of promise and a good storyline. On the other hand, I thought there was way too much predictability, there was a lot surrounding the history of Arizona and it didn’t really fit into any part of the story. Jolene as a FMC makes me so angry; she continually screws people who care about her over and they let her get away with it. She almost gets herself killed and everyone is expected to forgive her. I would be hesitant to read something from this author again.

Off the Air is a debut novel, written by an author with decades of experience as a tv reporter in the Phoenix area. She obviously knows what she’s writing about, especially the transition to multimedia journalism and the competition to get a story on the air.
Jolene is the main character here, a 29 year old reporter for a local station. She’s tasked with covering the death of a prominent conservative (dare I say rabid dog) talk radio host, one she recently interviewed. I alternated between feeling sorry for Jolene and being irritated with her. At the end of the day, the only thing I was certain of was that you couldn’t pay me enough to do her job.
I also struggled with the rest of the characters. Think cliches, lots of them, especially the dead radio host and Jolene’s competition. As were some of the plot lines - the boss constantly pushing for new angles, a stalker, the rabid guest. There were also times I wasn’t sure what Estes was trying to achieve, adding details about Phoenix that had nothing to do with the story, and which just served to cause a drag on the story, for example, a few paragraphs on Indian schools.
Finding out the reason for the murder made me more sympathetic to the murderer than the murdered victim.
In what is a first for me, the book contains a “Content Advisory” list at the back of the book. But shouldn’t it be at the beginning?
My thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin’s Press for an advance copy of this book.

Off the Air is a story of a TV reporter who is after the best story she can get and working against her rival from another station. A radio talk show host dies under unexplained circumstances. Jolene is pushed by her bosses to find the best story throughout this and report about it while also texting on social media. The story just moved too slow for me and I thought got bogged down in the middle.

3.5 🌟

This book fell a little short for me.

This book is labeled as a mystery and while yes, there was a murder and the mystery of "who done it", I was not on the edge of my seat trying to solve it. Also, this book made me grateful I'm not in the cut throat world of journalism.

Thanks, Netgalley for the ARC of this book!

A rising reporter, a super conservative controversial radio personality dead, a mystery with too many character and weird pacing. This one was not for me.

Thank you for the advanced reader copy Netgalley & St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books.

Meet Jolene, a news reporter in Phoenix. She is sent to cover the death of a local radio personality. As the story unravels, Jolene is chasing leads, trying to break exclusive news, and not above putting herself in danger for a good lead. This was a fun murder mystery that was an easy read. At times, I felt like the story was a little disjointed. I did like the story and was surprised by the ending and who killed Larry.

I figured this would either be a hit or a miss for me, as I’m a big thriller/mystery fan and this felt like it was going to be a little less serious than the books I usually reach for. But I was pleasantly surprised and enjoyed this a fair bit. It weaves a good mystery while still managing to be lighthearted, making it a good book to cozy up with before bed.

In Off the Air, we follow investigate journalist Jolene Garcia throughout Phoenix, Arizona and its sprawling suburbs as she attempts to get the first dish on new information regarding the death of Larry Lemmon, a controversial radio talk show host who spends a lot of time discussing his three favorite things: God, guns and government. After Larry collapses and dies under suspicious circumstances while working, Jolene tries, and fails, to talk with anyone who will give her an exclusive interview on what they may or may not know.

With assistance from her police source, Jim, she is able to get into contact with a woman who delivered the cookies suspected of being the “murder weapon”. Larry’s death has been ruled a homicide by the medical examiner after cyanide was found in his system, and the cookies could be the culprit. But, what Jolene walks into becomes a much more sinister finding. After a police involved shooting also involves Jolene, she goes on to win an Emmy for her reporting of Larry Lemmon’s death, specifically the effects of that shooting.

In all, I enjoyed Off the Air but it sort of fell flat for me. There were times that the story didn’t flow as well as I would normally like to see in stories. For example, Jolene could be talking with one person, and the next line she is talking to someone else in an entirely different situation. It was confusing to keep up with when it happened, and I felt like pieces of my memory were missing until I realized what was happening. As this is an unedited version of the story, this could be simply that, but nevertheless, for a truthful review, this is where I stand.

Additionally, Jolene was an incredibly annoying character to be in “the mind of”. She spent a lot of time in competitive cattiness with rival, JJ, and while I get the purpose, it just kept reminding me of high school and as two grown, adult women, this is something that I would normally like to avoid in my stories as being a focus. She was also pushy when she didn’t need to be…and when she wasn’t and things didn’t go her way, she felt whiny to me.

In the end, the story wasn’t what I thought it would be based off the description. While I appreciate the ARC from both St. Martin’s and the author, I will sadly have to dub this one a 2.5/5 stars from me.

This was such a great mystery novel. It kept me on my toes and turning the page. I highly recommend.

Name of Book: Off the Air
Author: Christina Estes (Debut Author)
Genre: Mystery/ Thriller
Publisher: Saint Martin’s Press – Minotaur Books
Pub Date: March 26, 2024
My Rating: 3.5 rounded up
Pages: 320

Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona.
Soon after she interviewed, talk show host Larry Lemmon who has the most popular radio show in Phoenix dies under suspicious circumstances. Since she conducted his final interview –true it was yesterday and not today, she and her station feel they have an advantage in getting the real scoop.
Jolene is, determined to solve the truth behind Lemmon's death and end up with a phrase she has been a dream of ~ “And the Emmy goes to Jolene Garcia”.
Last year the Emmy went to Jessica ‘JJ’ Jackson and she is aiming for another.
Thus it begins.

Story turned out better than expected not 4 star great but definitely better than 3 Star Good so I rounded up!
Additionally I look forward to Ms. Estes’ next story!!

About the author: I always enjoy reading the Author’s Notes and Acknowledgements and in this case Christina Estes posts her ‘Author’s Note’ and the beginning.
She tells readers that her inspiration for “Off the Air’ came from her professional experience as a reporter.
She now reports for the NPR member station in Phoenix.

For more info aka the inside scoop visit Christina at www.christinaestes.com

Suggested questions for this story are available on Goodreads but were not in this e-galley. - I am sure will be printed when published in March.

In her ‘Acknowledgements’ she of course, thanks many people but I especially liked that she credited reading J.A. Jance’s Ali Reynolds series for planting the seeds for her writing style. Since I love J.A. Jance and my favorite is Ali Reynolds I felt a connection.

Want to thank NetGalley and Saint Martin’s Press- Minotaur Books for this early eGalley.
Publishing Release Date scheduled for March 26, 2024.

This wasn't horrible, but it wasn't amazing.

I felt like a lot of the book was poorly executed in ways that would have been better, compared to how it was. I had a hard time staying hooked in and kept getting distracted or rereading paragraphs trying to figure out what I read or where I was just at.

I believed this novel had a lot of potential and could have easily had more, it just was not for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

As a journalist myself, I loved the premise of the book. I felt like I was getting a refresher course in the things I forgot. The accuracy was believable as the writer was also one too. That part I really liked. The way you scramble to try to get the exclusive!

I felt like it was paced slow. I did stick around because I wanted to know all the gossip. I’m glad I stuck through it!

Thank you to NetGalley, Minotaur Books and Christina Estes for the chance to read this eARC.