Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this Advanced Reader Copy, in exchange for my honest review.

This was an interesting debut novel by Christina Estes.

The story centers on a group of reports who are trying to break the story of a local media figure. The main character is Jolene, a report who is relatable and obviously has morals.
The deceased is a questionable talk show host, and the mystery of who killed him ensues.
A colorful cast of supporting characters and competing news stations.

I enjoyed the "true-crime" aspect of the story and the look into the world of local news was certainly intriguing.

The writing was bright and flowed well.
Overall, an enjoyable book. The author has a real talent.
Rated 3.5 rounded up to 4 stars.

Jolene Garcia is a local news reporter in the Phoenix area. She is extremely ambitious and competitive with opposing reporters and difficult to work with, more involved with career choices than being complementary with her co-workers. When a local right-wing Radio Talk Show host dies mysteriously at his workplace she is assigned the case. The novel is written from Jolene’s viewpoint and sometimes slow moving. If this is an introduction to a series I could understand all the time spent on her frustrated ambitions, if not, perhaps tighter editing would make it more readable. Thanks to Net Galley and Minotaur Books for an ARC for an honest review.

This wasn’t the book the description said it was. That’s fine, but it’s not the book I expected. It wasn’t horrible, but I wouldn’t recommend that people go off the description on the cover.

The main character was unlikeable. I don’t really care about that, but it may bother some. This was a little too political for my taste. I keep up on the news and all that, but unless I choose to read something political, I’d rather not be bothered with it in my reading. Especially in fictional mysteries.

I personally didn’t like it. But I’ve also been having a slump in reading good fiction. That’s on me.

Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

"Off the Air" was billed as a mystery/thriller about a journalist solving a murder. I would argue that it is actually commentary by a journalist railing against the morally corrupt, politically charged and ever-changing landscape of the news industry in which they find themselves – oh and also, there’s a murder. The main character has very little concern for solving the mysterious death that should have been at the heart of the story. Instead, she is focused on filling news time, making her boss and higher-ups happy, whining constantly and being rude and judgey to everyone.

All that said, I was still excited to read it. A behind-the-scenes look at broadcasts and just how much goes into the 5-minute segments we see on t.v. is intriguing and if it had been executed properly, this could have been amazing! Sadly, there was no character development, the pacing was off, and there was just too much extraneous information that clearly wasn’t pertinent to the story. At times, I felt like I was reading an article with sidebars on Arizona history and culture and a heavy dose of political commentary. Not really my thing.

Thanks to Netgalley and St Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Off the Air is a debut novel that follows a local reporter as she tries to cover and solve a murder mystery.

As this book was written by a reporter, the reader gets a very detailed and inside look into newsrooms and what it takes to get a story. I am shocked at how vicious reporters can be and was kind of turned off by the behavior of our main character- not taking no for an answer, interviewing at funerals/memorial services, and pestering law enforcement. This really seems like a cutthroat industry!

I think how our main character treated others to try and get her story wasn't the best. She excused her behavior by stating "don't know the pressure I'm under " - this character definitely had a lot of stress and pressure on her but I don't know if that excuses horrible behavior.

The writing was good and I think the story flowed just fine ( I finished in a couple of days) . I don't know if the story was for me but I do feel that there are people that will absolutely love this book!

Please check content warnings before going into this read- the author does give a detail list . Some things to note was the strong political views, racism, and animal cruelty.

I would recommend this book to fans of mystery and people who like journalism/reporting stories.

I was sent this book by the publisher and was excited to read it, but I never really connected with the story. I felt like there were too many characters and elements for me to sink in well.

Welcome to the cutthroat world of reporters. Vying constantly to get the scoop and they will do anything for that.


Jolene, a local television reporter in Phoenix, does a lot of general reporting and also some harder ones. Her last interview was with a talk show host, Larry Lemmon. In other news, he has been found dead! At the radio station.


She has a slight advantage, with the interview, but that won’t last long. And there is a swarm intent on grabbing the headline.


The story was fine. The political stuff was harder to miss.

I was given to opportunity to read this from Netgally and Minotaur Books publishing. Unfortunately for me I could not finish this one. It was filled with fluff and boring. I keep waiting for the story to pick up and it’s just not. I made it about 35% through and decided to give up. I appreciate the opportunity to read books before they are published and will always leave honest feedback.

I love this cover! This was a good mystery but i wouldn't classify as a thriller. The main character of the book i really liked following her as she was trying to get ahead of reporting a homicide.

This was a well written book and there were definitely fun aspects of this book that made you want to keep reading. While reading i would stop and try to solve it as well.

I enjoyed most of the characters, loved the writing and will read more from the author.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

4/5 stars! I enjoyed this book and thought that it was a quick read. This book is about a TV reporter Jolene who finds out about a death at the local radio station where the person died under suspicious circumstances. Coincidently the person who gave Jolene there last interview before their untimely demise. Jolene is invested in the story and wants to solve the mystery of the murder. This book is released March 26,2024. Thank you to St. Marrin’s Press, Christina Estes and Netgalley for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

This book is different than my usual thriller read, but a good mystery! Throughout the book you follow the main character as she tries to get ahead reporting on a homicide. The book is written with lots of detail and what I would call fun facts scattered into the book. I feel like this book would also really appeal to people who live in Arizona because I feel like they would enjoy the local things mentioned. I liked the main character being a strong female reporter going after her goals! On the flip side I thought the character who was killed was not at all a likable character or good person and for that reason I was a little less concerned with who killed him, but overall I still wanted to solve the mystery. I am going to be on the lookout for this author’s books in the future.

I can’t believe this is a debut! It was a very exciting thriller written in the form of investigative journalism. The mystery of a murder kept me hooked but I really enjoyed the behind the scenes reporting aspects that go into writing the news.

This one fell flat for me. Despite plot points in the book it didn’t really feel like much actually happened beyond our main character constantly hitting dead ends. I liked the idea of solving a crime from the reporters perspective but it wasn’t executed in a way that made it enjoyable to read and take the journey with our main character.

This is a fine little debut, if a bit clunky. Not gonna lie, it’s a little hard to care too much who the killer is when the “victim” is a lying jerk of a Rush Limbaugh wannabe.

I definitely felt Jolene’s frustration as she tried to respect her source and do things “the right way” while still getting the story, along with the extra social media pressures of the newsroom. However, I wish she had focused more on why her rival was a bad reporter and less on her beauty and fashion choices. I also wish we had gotten more closure with the creepy neighbor. That whole story line felt more extraneous to me than the other historical tidbits that were sprinkled in.

Altogether, an easy, fine read. Would try at least one more in the series to see if things are a bit more polished in the future.

Move over Kinsey Millhone, Jolene Garcia is on the story of her lifetime and won't quit until she gets that Emmy award! Having the "scoop" on other reporters when the suspicious death of controversial radio talk show host Larry Lemmon is announced makes Jolene feel like this is it--the Big story that she's been waiting for to get out of reporting local news and straight into national news reporting. But the other news outlets seem to be getting inside information before Jolene, even though she's got a hunky police detective on her side. Ignoring her news director's instructions and going rogue is the only way Jolene is going to get the story--if it doesn't kill her first!
Fast paced, with well drawn characters. Only lacking in some additional background information about her relationship with the hunky police detective.

My Thoughts

Jolene Garcia, investigative reporter with Channel 4 News, is only one of a multitude in the race to uncover talk show host Larry Lemmon’s cause of death and then who murdered him.

In the midst of finding answers about the murdered talk show host our intrepid Nancy Drew/Lois Lane want to be finds herself pushing boundaries and making waves but not much headway in getting answers to her questions.

However, her dogged persistence pays off in the end with more than she bargained for.

A great who-dun-it with some interesting behind the scenes looks at what a cutthroat and competitive business investigative reporting can be.

A fast, easy, interesting read.
[EArc from Netgalley]

This book was an interesting fun read for me. It was an up close look at what journalists often have to go through while being a fiction read. I enjoyed it a lot and would recommend. I feel like it would be a great discussion book.

loved this mystery that takes place in phoenix and learning about all of the suburbs . Loved that she was able to solve the crime of the on air personality. Loved her neighbor and taffy. There were so many suspects and in the end I was wrong with who did it. Great story and loved learning about something specific to Arizona from Tillman to illegals coming to America.

Jolene Garcia is in the business of tracking down explosive news stories in the cutthroat world of television journalism, always trying to have a leg up on the competition. When the murder of a prominent, controversial newsman takes place at a rival station, Jolene is in the thick of not only reporting the story, but trying to track down what really happened and who the killer is. As she becomes more deeply involved, secrets are revealed and relationships are strained as the guilty party or parties are sought.
The plot moves quickly, and the characters are well developed; the story line keeps the reader engaged. It is a good picture of what happens behind the scenes at newsrooms.
Recommended!

Entertaining book that presents a true picture of the broadcast industry. look forward to others by this author.