If you love news, are fascinated with new reporting, or are into journalism - this book is for you!

It wasn't necessarily my cup of tea, but I did very much like it, just not into journalism as the premise for a story. But hey, props for being super unique!

I was excited to read this debut book because it is based in Phoenix, AZ. Unfortunately, it was really difficult to read. There was something about it that just didn't flow well for me, and the main character, news reporter Jolene, was extremely annoying and stupid. (Hopefully the main character wasn't based on anyone the author knew!)

I think that someone that is more familiar with journalism would find this a fun book to read. I liked all the references to streets, restaurants, and iconic Phoenix places, however the constant history 'telling' was rough and took away a lot from the story. There was also a lot of political commentary that was unnecessary and took away from the mystery.

An interesting cozy mystery debut that wasn't my cup of tea.

Sad to say, this was a DNF for me. Got to 41 percent on my Kindle, and I threw in the towel. Too much inside baseball on TV stations and reporting, and I'm actually in the media. So I should be in the target audience. It's just not a page turner, and the infighting among reporters and the details on news and TV are overwhelming any interesting part of the mystery. Also too basic. I mean, at one point, the main character decides to throw in a paragraph on the first amendment. For goodness sakes, not good.

In this cozy mystery we meet Jolene a sarcastic journalist/reporter working a high profile murder case. This novel is unique with a suspenseful ending. While the beginning and middle part of this book is slow with many added unnecessary details. This debut author provides a great deal of insight into the daily life of a reporter, and with the way the book ended I’m hopeful to read more of Jolene’s adventures in the future.

I want to be honest, I had a very hard time getting into this book.
I received a request to review it and wanted to assist where I could, but I don’t think this book was for me. The genre of mystery is normally something I enjoy, but with such a high focus on tv broadcasting and production, it quick became uninteresting.
I read through the first few chapters with anticipation, and knowing that some books just take a while to get into, but I just found myself skimming and not finding a part I wanted to explore more.

I chose to not finishing this one. I read 30% and I just couldn’t get any further. I was bored with the story and it really didn’t seem to go anywhere. Maybe I’ll give it another try sometime but for now I’m just going to stop. Thank you NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my review.

When I heard about Off the Air I was intrigued - debut novel by a TV reporter about a local TV reporter who ends up on the case of a dead right wing radio host. I liked the note from the author saying she was following the advice to write what you know. Unfortunately the execution didn’t work for me and I ended up deciding to DNF this one. Thank you to Minotaur for the free book to review.

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a complimentary copy of this novel!

Jolene Garcia is a 29-year-old reporter working for a local news station in Phoenix, Arizona. She is hoping to up her game with a big news story that will take her career to the next level. So when she hears about a death at a local radio station, she will stop at almost nothing to get the scoop. And Jolene has an advantage…she was the last to interview the deceased, Larry Lemon! Other local news stations compete to get the main scoop, but time is running out. It appears his death was not an accident. With a mysterious woman who delivered cookies just before his death, Jolene is racing to find out her identity. But time is running out and Jolene herself may be getting too close to the murderer. Can she find out the truth and take her career to the next level with getting murdered herself?

Off The Air is Christina Estes’ debut mystery novel. She has years of experience working as a TV reporter in the Phoenix, AZ area. She is currently a journalist for the NPR member station in Phoenix. Reading this novel, I felt I was right there in the story alongside Jolene. Christina knows what she’s talking about. I can see this first novel becoming a series that continues to follow Jolene on future stories as she works to unveil the next mystery!!! 4 stars for me!!! This novel will be available March 26, 2024!

Phoenix talk show host, Larry Lemmon, collapses and dies at the KFRK radio station. Jolene Garcia, the protagonist, is a TV reporter who happens to have conducted Larry Lemmon’s final interview. Is Larry’s death a suicide or a murder? Jolene solves the mystery.

I enjoy reading about Jolene Garcia and her life as a TV reporter. The plot is logical and leads to a satisfying conclusion. The only thing I find off-putting is the political commentary. I understand that the views expressed are those of the fictional character, Larry Lemmon, but writing about current politics and a present-day candidate is ill-advised in my opinion. Thank you, St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review OFF THE AIR.

I really had high expectations given the description and cover but I was kind of disappointed with how politically driven this book is. The writing is great, and it is a HEAVY story but it just wasn’t what I expected. I think the cover should be designed differently.

Thank you St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books, and NetGalley for providing me with an early copy to read and review.

This is definitely a case of “don’t judge a book by its cover,” for me. The bright colors and illustrations led me to believe this would be a fun, mystery/thriller. It was more of a commentary on journalism and the current state of politics and social media. Which is not an uninteresting topic…but this novel fell flat for me.

It was a slog to get through and the “mystery” element never really piqued my interest. The main character didn’t really develop into someone you’d root for and there were so many side characters.

Definitely a niche read and ultimately just not for me.

What a slightly confusing read! This book was really hard to read for me – I struggled with the back and forth and feeling like I was constantly missing pieces of background or storyline even though I wasn’t. Jolene is a local TV news reporter who is working on covering the murder of a local radio DJ, and while she keeps getting beat out on interviews and releasing information by her main competitor, she is determined to get the facts straight due to some past drama. There is a lot of back and forth but eventually Jolene stumbles on the true murderer and gets herself into some hot water in the process.
I voluntarily read and reviewed an Advance Reader Copy of this book.

The world of broadcast journalism can be a dog eat dog world’. And in Off the Air it is in spades. Jolene is an investigate reporter for a local news channel in Phoenix AZ. When a local right wing host (Larry Lemon) of a radio show suddenly dies Jolene is sent to investigate. Initially Jolene is feted as she had the last live interview with Larry. Then everything goes terribly wrong. She gets scooped by a rival network’s femmfatale . Her law enforcement source holds back information and several exclusive interviews never happen. The pressure at her network turns mean and nasty. Besides finding Larry’s killer all Jolene wants is to have the “exclusive “ on the final story, beat her rival and earn her first Emmy. Maybe at the cost of her life.
This novel shows the dark side of network news. One obsessed with ratings and getting a huge social media presence at the cost of their personnel’s sanity and possible life. Why anyone would want to work in that environment is beyond me, not my cup of tea. Though the book is well written. Thanks to Netgally and the publisher for this ARC.

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.