TV reporter Jolene interviews conservative Larry Lemmon. When Larry turns up dead, Jolene is determined to find out who did it.

This was a good story with interesting characters. A little slower paced, but still kept me interested.

Thank you to NetGalley and Minotaur for providing me with an advance copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is described as a murder mystery/thriller, but I would actually describe it as a textbook.

Actually, that's an insult to some of the better textbooks I've read.

This was more like random info dumping about hot topic political news tropes, how terrible it would be to be a tv journalist, and the socio-economic history on various places in Arizona.

Together, this does not a book make.

In between learning about the death of conservative talk show host Larry and finding out who murders him, our terrible MC Jolene gives us the lowdown on her fear of dogs to her lack of friends to her distrust of all humans plus a random slew of hot button news stories over the past 50 years. I'm sure it's stressful to be a journalist and her station was putting a lot of pressure on her, but she was also a garbage human who would do anything to chase a story, and I have no idea why anyone spoke to her, ever.

This story was not cohesive or particularly interesting. You could skip entire pages and miss nothing but her spinning her wheels about how to find a fresh angle, or her whining that other reporters were beating her to things when she did nothing to actively track down the story. The ending was exciting for like, two minutes.

I appreciate the ARC. but this book was a big miss for me.

Thank you for the ARC! Honestly this book wasn’t my cup of tea. While it’s marketed as a mystery, it comes off more as something political and like just plain old fiction. It also just seems to take forever to get to the climax or to even get moving, which can be hard for me to take in. The characters were very two dimensional, sometimes even less, and I thought it was boring. Two stars for me.

I think this book is a good fit for those already in the public information sphere. There is lot of industry talk and super detailed on how social media works within the industry, which I don't think the reader needs to know. The most exciting part of the book was when Jolene was trying to interview the people in the studio with Larry. There is a lot of politics that happens with the local news office and the network news office.
In the end, the book grew on me and I ended up liking the last 40% of the book better than the previous 60%. It's funny, cute, and a good whodunit.

Thank you to the publisher for the widget to read and review Off the Air by Christina Estes! Out now!

I liked this story, I'm a sucker for a murder mystery. The different spin here is that we aren't following the detectives/ police but a journalist searching for her exclusive scoop on the story. The FMC was iffy in my mind. I thought I liked her and was on her side then she started doing super questionable and then outright rude things to try and get a story. It made her story sort of one of redemption because she realized she was wrong -- but only after "the big thing" that happened at the end. I'm not a journalist but is this what they do for a story? I hope not, I mean this is fiction so hopefully this is going to the extreme for entertainment factor.

Overall it was a good story. Gave cozy vibes because this woman was not the police but was still interviewing people and by the end she was trying to solve the mystery all on her own, as a one woman show.

I was missing more characterization among the newsroom friends. Alex, Gina and Elena all seemed to be on Jolene's side but I didn't get enough of them. I was a bit confused where the 'hatred' of JJ came from. Was that all due to jealousy? More background on that situation might have cleared it up and made me feel more sympathetic for Jolene's feelings towards JJ.

Off The Air is a Slow burn headed nowhere. I could not bring myself to finish the book. 🤷🏻‍♀️ There was no ohs or ughs to keep me focused. I ma read 40%. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martins Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read the ARC.

Off the Air
By Christina Estes

This book showcases the media and their antics in pursuit of a "story" making them the story themselves. It is a sickening portrayal of the fourth estate – and alas, it appears to be right on the money.

This book takes place when a TV host is murdered. Jolene is a reporter for a Phoenix news station who is trying to hold on to her job and make a name for herself in a field whose significance is dwindling. As revenues and ratings are down, Jolene and her competitors resort to shoddy and often disgraceful tactics to get a scoop. While the story revolves around Larry's murder, it is really an indictment of the practices of the media as a whole.

While the antics of the media here ring true, the book is depressing. With the lack of civil discourse and exchange of ideas in this country today, it is a sad commentary that we cannot trust anything we are fed by the media – which leaves us nowhere to turn for truth.

"OFF THE AIR" is the debut work of fiction (and Tony Hillerman award winner for best mystery manuscript with a Southwestern setting) by longtime Phoenix TV news journalist Christina Estes.

What the reader gets (far more than the expected murder mystery), is a very detailed, fact heavy procedural-esque love letter to both TV journalism and to the town of Phoenix where Estes sets her story. This is not necessarily a negative observation, as the author's love for all things Phoenix was interesting. However, the murder that should have been central to the novel seemed almost secondary to the actual story being told. And, if I am being honest (and I am), said murder was not nearly as compelling or interesting as it could have been. It just sort of got a bit lost amongst the other aspects that saw more focus within the story.

As a huge fan of Tony Hillerman's Navajo police procedural series (Jim Chee and Joe Leaphorn are iconic), I was not expecting the winner of Hillerman's namesake literary award to be such an exacting collection of facts. In place of the expected story development, where a highly descriptive approach to setting and characters drive the work of fiction, the reader was met with a non-fiction approach to fiction. (Think of Joe Friday of "Dragnet" fame and his no-nonsense approach to things:
"Just the facts, ma'am."
That is somewhat more in line with how this novel played out.)

This book was recently released on March 26, 2024. I received an advanced digital copy in exchange for an honest review based on my reading experience.

#OffTheAir
#ChristinaEstes
#NetGalley

Rating: 3.5/5 Stars
Genre: Mystery

Jolene Garcia is a TV news reporter for a local station in Arizona. She is always looking for the next BIG scoop. She loves special projects that involve lots of research and using her contacts, although her superiors at the station often push some of the lower level stories about dry cleaners and every day news. When there is a death at a local radio station all the reporters flock to the site to see who it is and how the person was killed. Turns out it was Larry Lemmon, a controversial conservative radio host, and Jolene was the last to have an exclusive interview with him. Oh yeah, and it is looking like murder. Jolene will stop at nothing to get to the bottom of this in hopes of it being a game changer for her career.

I thought the writing in this was really good. The author clearly did lots of her own research into Arizona state news, local and national politics, and journalism in general to make the story really believable. I, unfortunately, found the story to be a bit slow at times though as there was a lot of this type of background information. The book read more like an in depth look at the lives of journalists vs focusing on the plot of "who did it". There are a lot of people that news reporters come in contact with (and apparently they all have silly nicknames, so people can talk about them in code...reminds me of high school). I didn't love that Jolene would cross a lot of ethical lines to get the story she wanted, but I suspect that this does happen in the business from time to time. I just couldn't relate! I would highly recommend this book if journalism is an interest of yours because I do think it was well done and I feel like I learned a lot!

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐⭐⭐ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 & 𝒜𝓊𝒹𝒾𝑜𝒷𝑜𝑜𝓀

𝐈 𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐡𝐚𝐬 “𝐰𝐡𝐨𝐝𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭” 𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬, 𝐢𝐭’𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐥 𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐦 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝. 𝐈 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝’𝐯𝐞 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐫𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐟 𝐈’𝐝 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐠𝐨𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐢𝐭. 𝐈 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐈 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐧𝐨 𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐚 𝐡𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐛𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐢𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐬! 𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝, 𝐈 𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐞𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐬.

𝐈 𝐰𝐨𝐮𝐥𝐝’𝐯𝐞 𝐥𝐢𝐤𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐲𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐡𝐚𝐯𝐞 𝐡𝐚𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞. 𝐔𝐧𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐥𝐲, 𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐚 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐞. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫, 𝐉𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐞 𝐆𝐚𝐫𝐜𝐢𝐚, 𝐟𝐫𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐥𝐲 𝐝𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐢𝐭 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐚 𝐭𝐫𝐮𝐞 𝐣𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐦𝐩𝐡𝐚𝐬𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠, 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐜𝐞𝐞𝐝𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐮𝐬𝐡 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐧 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐥𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐫𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐠𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐫 (𝐢.𝐞., 𝐟𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐧 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐢𝐧 𝐚𝐧 𝐄𝐦𝐦𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐭𝐨 𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐠𝐨𝐨𝐝).

𝐈 𝐚𝐥𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧 𝐞-𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧! 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧 𝐞𝐱𝐜𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐣𝐨𝐛 𝐚𝐭 𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫’𝐬 𝐚𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧.

𝓣𝓱𝓪𝓷𝓴 𝔂𝓸𝓾 𝓽𝓸 𝓝𝓮𝓽𝓖𝓪𝓵𝓵𝓮𝔂, 𝓒𝓱𝓻𝓲𝓼𝓽𝓲𝓷𝓪 𝓔𝓼𝓽𝓮𝓼, 𝓜𝓲𝓷𝓸𝓽𝓪𝓾𝓻 𝓑𝓸𝓸𝓴𝓼, & 𝓓𝓻𝓮𝓪𝓶𝓼𝓬𝓪𝓹𝓮 𝓜𝓮𝓭𝓲𝓪 𝓯𝓸𝓻 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓐𝓡𝓒! 𝓐𝓵𝓵 𝓸𝓹𝓲𝓷𝓲𝓸𝓷𝓼 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓶𝔂 𝓸𝔀𝓷.

This is marketed as a cozy mystery about a journalist reporting on a high profile murder of a controversial radio talk show host. One thing is for sure, this author knows the ins and outs of journalism and it's obvious she loves the profession. However, it reads more like a commentary/documentary-type on the cut-throat and corrupt behind-the-scenes of journalism and how it's changing with the times. I found myself struggling to get into the ebook which led me to requested the audiobook, and although it was definitely a better choice for me as I thought the narrator did a good job with it, I still didn't exactly love it. Also, a cozy mystery is supposed to provide a brief escape from the troubles of the real world, so did not anticipate how heavily imbedded in politics this story would be, which I did not love. Thanks to Dreamscape Media and St. Martin's Press/Minotaur Books for the early review copies of the e-book and audiobook via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.

Off the Air by Christina Estes is a high-stakes story about an investigative journalist who digs for more information on a dead (poisoned) radio personality. My favorite thing about this book was the in-depth description of what a journalist's life is like, and I thought Off the Air did a great job of showing how difficult it was for the main character to balance the stress of the job with the ethics that dictate journalistic behavior.

I gave this one a three-star rating because I enjoyed it, but I wouldn't recommend it to a friend or read it again.

Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona doing her part to report real news despite her producers constantly pitching her silly stories about things like manicures and the best dry cleaners. She has slowly built community and credibility at her station.

When news comes in that “America’s true conservative voice” Larry Lemmon has suddenly died Jolene and her favorite photographer Nate Thompson head to the scene to report the facts first. As the last person to have interviewed Lemmon, Jolene is thrilled to be ahead in a constant media race, but that lead quickly disappears as she investigates the suspicious circumstances regarding Lemmon’s death. Off the Air follows Jolene has she tries to outpace her media rival JJ and get the scoop first.

As a journalism major in college, I can appreciate the level of detail Christina Estes puts in to explaining the ins and outs of television reporter Jolene’s job, but I would wager most people would be annoyed by the level of information presented. Jolene as a character wasn’t particularly likable, but in this era of media, I’m not sure many reporters are beloved anymore.

The plot is quick paced, and the mystery won’t be shocking, but the reasoning behind the murder certainly is gruesome. Most of the red herrings didn’t sway me as I read, in particular the character Oliver, who I believe should have been left out. Also, this book doesn’t shy from politics, and it’s obvious the author is not a conservative should that matter to you as a reader.

Thank you to NetGalley, Macmillan Audio, Minotaur Books, and the author Christina Estes for the advanced copy of the book. Off the Air is out now. All opinions are my own.

For those who want to become a journalist, this is probably the perfect book. For me as a reader looking for a mystery - not so much.

The premise was good and had potential, but the pacing was bogged down with needless facts about Phoenix’s history (I don’t need the rundown on every area of town), gripping about what journalism was and is now (we get it, the 80’s are over), and unrelated plot threads.

It’s great that the publisher included a list of trigger warnings at the back of the book, but it should have been upfront and in the descriptions because one of those is a hard no for me. Honestly, Lemmon got what he deserved.

Up until I found out why Lemmon got killed I hadn’t connected with any of the characters. None of them were very likable in my opinion, not even Jolene. There were too many cliches. For once can we get a female character who is career-driven and actually knows how to cook like an adult? Can we stop making pit bulls the “bad dog”? You’re more likely to be bitten by a chihuahua. And can the female not be TSTL? (Spoiler) Going to meet the suspect alone? Please. I’m so done with that. Sorry, but this one didn’t work for me at all.

Extremely unlikable cast of characters. I had a really hard time especially with our FMC. The book became very repetitive. Additionally the extremely in your face politics was just too much. I had no desire to find out who killed Larry Lemmon. Overall disappointing. The synopsis sounded very promising and interesting but that did not translate to the book itself.

Off the Air is about a Phoenix-based TV reporter, Jolene Garcia, who is reporting on the murder of a local radio personality, and goes to great lengths to try and scoop her competitors on the case.

This book brought me back to my early career as a TV news producer, and the book was spot-on in its description of news personalities and the surprising un-glamour of the TV news life. The story itself was OK, but I thought a little disjointed. There were parts where it felt like the author was trying to teach us about the news life or about Phoenix that weren't well-weaved into the story. Overall, the book gets a middle-of-the-road three stars.

Off the Air is a lighter whodunnit following reporter Jolene as she tries to figure out who murdered controversial talk radio host Larry Lemmon.

It’s an interesting premise and behind the scenes look at reporters having to chase down stories. The first half was a little slower, but the second half picks up with more mystery/thriller-like bits.

Thanks to St Martin’s Press and to NetGalley for the invitation to read this story.

This was a fun read. Perfect for my surgery recovery. I love having a mfc that I can identify with. We all have insecurities and feel so far behind everyone else. I look forward to more adventures from Jolene.

Off The Air brings the reader a world of journalistic investigative actions surrounding the death of a local political radio show host. It is a high profile mystery, so all the media stations in Phoenix, AZ are vying for the first scoop. Jolene was the last reporter to interview the dead host, so she tries to keep the story in her backyard and to do it by the book.

This was an interesting insight into how the media world works. Surprising is just how cut throat this business is and the crazy things reporters will resort to in order to get the big break. Not surprising is how reporting the facts has now become inserting opinions.

The straightforward way Estes unfolds the story made for an easy and entertaining read.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for the ARC. The opinions expressed are my own.

Off the Air is Christine Estes's debut novel from St. Martin's Press.
The cover images seem to promise a light-hearted murder mystery.The body belongs to a controversial shock jock named Larry Lemmon at Station KFRK in Phoenix, Arizona. And although the police are involved in the case, it is the view from the newshounds we are following. One in particular - Jolene Garcia.

Estes herself is a reporter in Phoenix. She brings a behind the scenes perspective to Off the Air. There's lots of detail about the battle for a story within one office, as well as between stations/outlets. It's frenetic and more than a little dodgy. The reporters and photographers walk a thin line using questionable tactics and judgement. It certainly made me think about the news I watch and read every day. How was it obtained? Is it the truth? And yes, news reporting has certainly changed over the years.

Jolene is intent to be the one to crack the murder. I applauded her determination, but I have to say I didn't like her.

To me the murder itself is not really the focus of Off the Air. Instead it's the hunt for the next sound bite. Somewhere around page 100, I started to skim some of the details of diving into a van and racing to a site or knocking on a door repeatedly after someone saying no to her. There is, of course, a final whodunit, but it felt like an add on, too little, too late.

There's also some warning re: triggers. I feel this should have been in the first few pages and not at the end.

Just okay for this reader. Estes does indeed knows what she writes.