This was a cute murder mystery! I didn’t love the TV reporter/MC—she was rude to basically everyone. Homeless people, her neighbors, possible sources, actual sources, coworkers…everyone. Unless she thought they could benefit her, and even then…generally rude and immature. She also needs therapy for so many issues, and came across as incredibly lazy and “woe is me” for much of the book.

I really liked the glimpse of local TV life and investigative journalism this book gave. I thought the supporting characters were really interesting, and the dynamic between the MC and her reporting on the very politically-biased victim was a good look (and a good reminder…as if we actually need it these days lol) at how journalism is inherently biased in one direction or the other, even if the reporter tries to stick to the facts.

Synopsis:
When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene and other journalists swarm the scene, intent on reporting the facts first. The body is soon identified as Larry Lemmon, a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long.

Thoughts:
This was is good mystery thriller with rom-com vibes!

The writing in this book made me physically ill. I found myself backtracking to make sense of the story and characters, but still, some made no sense.
From the cover, I expected a unique mystery story, but the book was compiled with too much talk about politics and not enough about the mystery itself.

I loved this. Such a unique story line. Very excited to see what else Estes comes up with! Very entertaining and I enjoyed every minute of this.

A fun thriller, that gave a more rom-com sense. It was a nice change from the over used podcast career. It is a quick read.

I want to thank Netgalley & St. Martin's Press, Minotaur Books for an ARC of this book.

Christina Estes is clearly a very talented author who has love of journalism and Arizona. Her knowkege of both just shines through in this book. I not only feel as if i was shadowing a TV newscaster, but like i have just returned from visiting the state. My one major issue with this book is that it was more like a light mystery than the cozy I was expecting. For me a coy really needs more humor than I found here. Copies for me, in a nutshell are escapism and I found this book to be well grounded in the real world to fit that, especially right now.

I am split on how to rate this so as a cozy mystery this is a three 🌟 because of the genre but for the writing its a 4🌟

This is the story of a news reporter attempting to navigate the ends and outs of reporting in addition to solving a murder mystery. I've learned that the world of reporting is a cut throat business with everyone trying to be the first with breaking news. This story gave off more rom-com vibes to me which is not my preferred genre so I am sure I did not enjoy it as much as others would. Overall, recommend for those that like a fast paced story with some twists and turns.

This wasn't my favourite. While it did contain a mystery it didn't have the heart, humour, or coziness I was hoping for. I found the characters ters different to connect to and the story moved slower than anticipated. It was detail-heavy in the journalism side of things but missed the "oomph" that made me care about the murder.

I liked the setting of Phoenix for this one and learning about the ever changing world of reporting. I appreciated the backstory of the main character, Jolene. I wish the book was a little more focused on the death of Larry.

This book was not for me way to much modern day politics for a cozy mystery. There were parts that I liked about this book like I learned a bunch about journalism that I found interesting but at times a bit long winded. The characters were not my favorite and the all the mentions of politics pulled me back to the real world not something I’m a fan of. The mystery was ok but don’t know if this author is for me. I would like to thank NetGalley and the publishers for a chance to read this book for an honest review.

I absolutely loved this book. How can I ever forget Jolene (and also how can I not have that song in my head the entire time!? Worth it.

This journalistic mystery debut was so fun. I love me who dun it! Jolene was hard core and I’m hoping she redeems herself a bit in the sequel.

The author here obviously has journalism experience and it showed. Loved the writing here too.

Chefs kiss
4 .5 ✨✨

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the chance to read and review. 2.5 rounded up.

The premise of this story had SO MUCH POTENTIAL! Especially in the day and age of true crime reporters/podcasters.
Something about how it unfolded left me disappointed and it felt like a slog.
Jolene Garcia is a journalist covering general interest stories. Her last interview was with Larry Lemmon, “America’s true conservative voice”- and a controversial radio talk show host who was best known for his stance on pushing for a border wall. The man just drops dead, and we are left getting many interviewed voices to figure out the puzzle of who did it and why.

Emmy Award winning reporter Cristina Estes is a Tony Hillerman Prize winner for this debut in the “Best First Mystery set in the Southwest” category. I appreciate that this kind of story has never been done with fun fiction. It's full of facts about Arizona, highlighting the good, the bad and how reporting has changed over the years with social media as its own competition. But even as a plus, it also made me lose interest in the story itself. If I want journalism, I'll watch the news. Also, there was so much political talk... again, there is a time and a place for that, and I don't want that in my fiction stories. By the time the killing is solved, I was so bored that I almost DNF'd.

One thing is for sure I could never do what our author did all of those years -- no thank you to that career. I appreciate her efforts - writing a book is HARD!

This is an easy, light read cozy mystery.
I found the story focused more on the aspect of being a reporter than on uncovering the murderer, but I found this gave an alternative perspective into the investigation of a crime that is not typically seen in this genre. I used to read a lot of true crime and have read a number of mystery novels, and I must say that I enjoyed seeing an investigation carried out through this point of view.. Following Jolene allows the reader to appreciate the struggles that a reporter goes through to try to give a viewer real news. She did not attempt to sensationalize events and was reluctant to release information without the entire picture, unlike some of her counterparts.
The pacing of the story was good and it was also a fair length. I can’t say that I ended up caring much for the victim thought, but maybe that was a little bit of the point.
I would read more from this author and recommend this book to readers that are looking for an easy read and like to dive into a cozy mystery every now and then.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Minotaur Books for a digital arc of the book. The opinons expressed are honest and my own.

An entertaining novel that was an enjoyable read. This was my first book I have read by this author and I look forward to reading more of their novels.

This is different from the usual mystery/cozy thriller I tend to read, but I still enjoyed it!

Jolene is a local TV reporter in Phoenix and ends up covering the death of a controversial talk show host. She was the last reporter to get an interview with him before he died and is now trying to do whatever she can to get the story out.

What was unique about this story is how it provided us, the readers, a glimpse into the life of a reporter—having sources, following leads, conducting interviews, and trying to get information out first. I felt so bad for Jolene because she kept on encountering struggle after struggle, but it was still a fun story.

It did feel like it dragged on for a bit, but the ending was really fun and full of action.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this eARC in exchange for my honest opinion and review.

Such a fun book! I loved this cozy mystery starring a driven investigative journalist! I hope there's another in this series!

I really liked this read. the author drags you in the first few pages. i love a good murder mystery. While reading i was imagining the set of good morning America.

Off the Air by Christina Estes. Pub Date: March 26, 2024. Rating: 2 stars. In this novel a controversial talk show host is found dead at the local radio station and a local TV reporter, Jolene is immediately in the midst of the murder and investigation. Who did it and why? I loved learning about the inner workings of investigative journalism but felt the actual murder mystery was a slow burn and took forever to get through. Not my favorite. Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars.
Jolene Garcia covers local events and occasionally gets to dig deeper into stories as a TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona.

When word gets out of an incident at a radio station, Jolene and other, competing reporters rush to the location. Very soon, word gets out that the station’s highest profile and controversial talk show host, Larry Lemon, is dead, and Jolene begins clocking a couple of interesting details about the people involved with the dead man reacting to the news.

Things feel off to her, and while doing her best to keep ahead of the competitors, Jolene begins piecing facts together about the murdered dead man, his ex-wives, friends and followers, getting a better understanding of how his words gained him a passionate following, but whose actions pointed to someone whose actions were not always consistent with his claims about himself.

This was a fast-paced and fun mystery. The author’s many years in journalism lent Jolene’s stress to be the first to break a story and experience veracity, as well as showing the pressures on news organizations to produce credible reporting constantly and rapidly, competing for audience attention and advertising revenue.

I hope Christina Estes writes more about Jolene’s investigative reporting.

Thank you to Netgalley and to St. Martin’s Press for this ARC in exchange for my review.

Off the Air by Christina Estes is an attempt at a cozy mystery. It was hard for me to connect with the main characters. I was interested in the journalism part of this novel. It was hard to get into. I received a digital copy of this book with no obligations. These opinions are entirely my own.