This story was captivating but extremely political. I don't really enjoy political themed books as it's just a conversation that I enjoy partaking in. The journalist keeps saying that they should be unbiased, but everyone seems to have a side. I thought the ending & outcome was a bit drawn out; like I think it could have been a bit shorter.
The wheel of fortune snippets were so adorable!! I loved that tid bit

The premise for this book sounded good - up-and-coming reporter with the inside track on reporting the death of a controversial radio guy due to having the last recorded interview with him - so I had high hopes. Estes, an actual reporter, also had the inside track to write this story, but it ended up being a bit too much and a bit too little for me at the same time. I like to read to get away from the disaster that is our current political situation and this story had way too much current turmoil and right-wing crazy for me to enjoy it plus a little much detail on reporting, which makes perfect sense from her day job. I did like Jolene and Estes writing, so I'd love to see what she does next. Thank you to Dreamscape and NetGalley for the early listen in exchange for my honest opinion.

I was intrigued by Christina Estes’ debut novel Off the Air because it promises to be a mystery featuring a local news reporter as the lead character. I come from a family with several journalists so I’ve always loved people who do that work and hearing about the industry—their jobs are so hard! What I got with Off the Air surprised me. It delivered what I expected, but it also had several stand out characteristics that separate it from the herd in the world of cozy mysteries. More on those to follow!

About the Book | Off the Air

Jolene Garcia is a young TV reporter at a local news station in Phoenix, Arizona trying to catch a break to eventually advance in her career. Currently she splits her time between general assignments (is your dry cleaner really removing those spaghetti stains?) and special projects. The special projects are stories that Jolene wants to tell, pitches, and takes time to research and produce. This is the part of her career that she hopes to build up.

Jolene is out to lunch with her favorite camera crew member, Nate, when two things happen: she receives word that there has been a death at radio station, and she spills ketchup all down the front of her shirt. There’s no time to worry about the ketchup though! Jolene and Nate rush to the station to see what they can find out. Through some digging, they learn that popular, controversial talk show host Larry Lemmon has been poisoned.

It just so happens that Jolene got the last interview with Larry Lemmon, giving her an advantage over the other local, network, and cable reporters jostling for the story. Even more helpful, she has a source within the police force who slowly feeds her bits of information. Unfortunately neither of these matter in terms of getting the story first. Her police source—Commander Jim Miranda—may give her bits of information, but he won’t allow her to go on record with any of them. Meanwhile Jolene keeps finding herself scooped by other reporters, especially those from network and larger cable news programs. This story could make or break her career—if it doesn’t break Jolene first!

Review | Off the Air

This story took me by surprise. It delves deeply into the world of broadcast journalism, which hooked me in. There is a lot of drama in the industry, it turns out. Jolene made a mistake at a prior reporter job she had in Omaha, and she won’t make the same mistake twice. She double- and triple-checks her facts before moving forward. But over the course of the novel, Jolene begins to crack. It feels like she has setback after setback and the reader gets first-hand experience of the pressure she feels to get the story.

The other reporters all seem to have more experience, more money, and more resources from their networks. Jolene has the advantage multiple times only to see it snatched away—an exclusive she got with a key witness only for them to accept an offer from a much larger network to do theirs first, an interview she goes for but someone else gets there first. These experiences did make Jolene sympathetic to the reader.

Seeing the lead character in a cozy mystery face setbacks isn’t new or rare to the genre. However, I actually thought what Estes did with Jolene’s storyline felt very rare in other ways. Jolene falls apart more or less across the course of the investigation. She starts out with morals, ethics, tenacity, and a positive attitude. By the time the story crosses the halfway mark, she’s burnt out, sleep-deprived, frustrated, and making poor decisions. It was so refreshingly authentic that Estes chose to show Jolene going through this. Her friend and colleague Nate actually steps away from working with her at one point because of what she’s pushing to do. I love when an author is unafraid to show the less attractive qualities in their lead character.

Jolene also has an interesting backstory. She grew up in the foster system after her mother was arrested for drug use and child endangerment. When she was twelve, she was able to go live with her grandmother in Omaha for several years before she passed away. Jolene is on her own in terms of family support, and this was heartbreaking to read about. She has many fond memories of her grandmother and thinks of her often—if she would be proud of her and what she might say. She watches Wheel of Fortune religiously not out of any particular love of the program, but because her grandmother loved it and it keeps her memory alive.

In terms of balance, I would say that the book heavily favors both the drama of working in broadcast journalism as well as what is happening with the mystery. Jolene has very little personal life—most of her life is tied up in work. I appreciated this because the mystery stayed engaging. There were plenty of suspects and a lot going on muddying the waters. The way that Lemmon died meant that the murderer didn’t need to be present at the time of the murder, so this case rested quite a bit on motive, in addition to opportunity. Jolene is receiving cryptic notes about the case at work, adding another layer to the story.

The conclusion was satisfying and surprised me—I didn’t guess who did it and the way the reveal happened was interesting. Jolene also seems aware of her mistakes, which redeems her if the reader had any doubts about her behavior in the height of the case. The relationship between Jolene and Jim (the police commander) was another difference. Often cozy mysteries position the police source as either a love interest or a friend. Jim is neither—they have a professional relationship and Jolene has earned trust with him on prior investigations (trust that takes a pretty large hit during her actions in the current case).

This was a great mystery with a compelling lead and premise! The investigation stays at the forefront. Jolene is a flawed and sympathetic character in equal measure. The rich detail around broadcast journalism comes through, in large part due to the author’s long career in that industry. I think mystery fans will love this!

Audiobook Review

The audiobook for this story is narrated by Marcella Black, and she does a fantastic job capturing Jolene’s character and energy. Without knowing the narrator’s age, her voice sounds young which suits Jolene, who we know is pretty early in her career (nothing drives me crazier than when the age of the narration doesn’t suit the age of the character!). Her cadence is engaging and upbeat, while still capturing the tenacity and grit that makes Jolene’s character who she is.

Thank you to Minotaur Books and Dreamscape for my copy. Opinions are my own.

This new release by Christina Estes is such a fun read! News reporter Jolene is all about getting the scoop and providing the best news, but exactly how far is she willing to go?

When a talk show host, know for his controversial opinions, appears to have been murdered Jolene is ready to do whatever it takes to get the best news!

I really enjoyed this book! My sister lives in Arizona, where this book takes place, so I loved making the connections to places I’ve been and seen! The author depicted the Phoenix area really well, and wrote an engaging, wholesome, and suspenseful read!

This was a fun little read with an interesting mystery plot but was pretty average for the genre. I enjoyed reading it, but it didn't feel extra special in any way to me.

I enjoyed the interpersonal relationships and the way the author described how a newsroom works. The main character was often hard for me to relate to or even like, but I think that was kind of the point, even she didn't like what she was doing. The consequences of her actions were nice to see as well, I appreciated that everything was perfect throughout the story.

A decent book, definitely recommend if you like the cozy mystery genre.

Was this a bad book? No

Was this a mystery? Also no (at least not the first 80% of the book)

As stated in another review that I saw, I believe this book is way more of a nod to journalism than it is a true mystery. There is a murder and a mysterious situation and maybe this could be classified as a cozy mystery (I’m not really sure since I don’t read those) but it really didn’t feel at all like the main character was actively trying to solve the mystery as much as she was trying to excel in her career. If there would’ve been more focused on the mystery, I probably would have bumped this to four stars. I thought the crime-solving part of the novel was very intriguing, I’m just not interested in what the main plotline is about — journalism.


Thank you to Christina Estes, Dreamscape Media, and NetGalley for a copy of this novel.

Plucky TV reporter Jolene Garcia is having lunch with cameraman Nate when they get an urgent call to report to duty. A prominent radio personality has been found dead and Jolene and Nate rush to the scene.

Off The Air follows Jolene's investigation as she follows leads, puts herself in danger, wanders into political commentary (the radio host was a Rush Limbaugh like character), traverses Phoenix, and solves the mystery.

It's cute, nothing deep or lasting. Jolene gives everybody nicknames: Sexy, Woman Hater, Leather Boots and she has quips like "Ceavage can't compete with deadlines". If cozy mysteries are your bag and the above sounds interesting, you'll enjoy Off The Air.

The audiobook was easy to follow and the narrator captures Jolene's pluck.

My thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media for the audiobook.

This one fell a little flat for me. For a cozy mystery, it had a whole lot about journalism and not much about anything else. There was also a lot of political undertones. Sometimes it felt like there was so much detail without anything really happening. I do appreciate the knowledge about journalism that was brought into this story and how competitive it is in that profession. That being said the FMC constantly complaining about getting scooped became grating. I think the author has promise and am intrigued to see what she comes up with in the future. This one just left me wanting with the execution.

Cw: Death, misogyny, animal cruelty/death, child abuse, drug use.

I listened to the audiobook and enjoyed the narration.

Thank you to Dreamscape Media and NetGalley for the ALC. All opinions are my own.

this was super fun. I enjoyed the fact that i felt like i just went to work with out MC. I feel like we don’t realize the length that reporters truly have to go through to get a story & this particular reporter went farther than most probably should, including herself.

As a fiction book, i liked that it felt almost like non fiction as if we just were truly trying to find out who killed him.

I really enjoyed the narration. It kept me engaged and wanting to continue on the journey. I flew through it and will definitely be returning to this author and her future work.

Off The Air by Christina Estes
Publication Date: March 26, 2024

A cozy mystery that I am realizing is not my top genre. I said this before I received this book, but I think I only have a small space for cozy mysteries in my heart and that space is full.

Much more political than I thought it would be.

I did like the look into the journalism career. The author, Christina Estes, is an Emmy Award winning reporter so the behind the scenes felt real.

This was like an ad for Pepsi, why? For real can someone answer this question for me.

If cozy mysteries are your thing, you might enjoy Off the Air way more than I did.

Jolene Garcia is a journalist and reporter for a local station in Phoenix Arizona, she has big ambitions of hard hitting and big impact stories that take time and care. Her latest projects however end up being of more fluff variety.
When a death is reported at a popular radio station and the victim is controversial and incredibly popular Larry Lemon. Jolene finds herself pushing every boundary and even crossing a couple in her pursuit to be the first person to break the story. This could be the story that breaks her career wide open, if it doesn’t break her first!

I went into this book knowing it was going to be a race for the truth kind of mystery, and I enjoyed the premise.
Jolene is a person that knows what she wants, and while I do find myself saying more that once that she may be going too far or making some silly risks. Then in the same moment it’s framed in a way that I can see what led her to do that, what motivates her, and what keeps her going. We’re also able to hear her deal with the result of her actions and what effect it has on the people around you.

The narrator had a very lovely cadence to her voice and really was smooth the whole way through, I will definitely being listening to more of her works.
The only reason why I wouldn’t give it 5 is that it was a bit dragged, I do feel like even though it added to her journey I think there were things that could have been omitted and not changed the overall feel of the story and made it slightly better for me! However as a debut book I have high hopes about the authors future works and look forward to seeing what she has in store for us next!

I was fortunate to receive this book as an ARC thanks to NetGalley and Dreamscape Media! I consumed this as an audiobook which was 8h30m long but, it is also available as an e-book coming in at 295 pages and a physical book coming in at 320 pages!

Thank you so much to Dreamscape media for the audiobook.

I was so excited for this one and was initially sold because of the adorable cover and synopsis.

I'm a huge fan of fun and cozy mysteries but this didn't quite meet met my expectations. I had to force myself to want to pick it up even after stopping and starting a few times.

The narrator was amazing though and if I was just rating audiobook performance it would be 5 stars!

This one is out now!

This was an okay book. I really liked that it was written by an actual former reporter, so we got to read a behind-the-scene type story. The mystery itself was a little lacking- something you’d find on a crime show drama, not necessarily a real whodunnit. Jolene, the main character, kind of annoyed me, but I think I was annoyed with journalism today as a whole, and what it’s forced journalists to become. Two minor things I did like about this book was how she watched Wheel of Fortune every night, and that there’s a brief, smallest of small mention of a cat named Wrigley. (Named so for the same reason my Wrigley is: a husband with an overzealous love of the Chicago Cubs.) Anyway, this was a fast read, and the audio wasn’t half bad, so I’m giving a flat 3 🐾 / 5.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dreamscape media for an audiobook arc of this book! It was a fun murder mystery and I enjoyed the “behind the scenes” look at local news. It was a quick listen and the narrator did a fantastic job! That being said, I did find myself losing interest at times, but if there are more books in the series I will definitely pick them up 🤗

I unfortunately struggled getting through this, if it wasn't an audiobook I wouldn't have made it through. I just never felt invested in the story or characters.

Thank you to DreamScape and the Publishers for review copies of Off the Air, a debut from reporter Christina Estes. This is well produced and nicely narrated by Marcella Black.
This is an interesting book to read/listen to, a lot of expert behind the scenes insight from a reporter to develop the main character and ground the mystery in a sense of why reporting matters. But it's also a lot of why this matters... and it's a lot for a reader, even a detail loving let's get this right reader like me. I also admit that I found the main character not super likable and while women and likability is one of those things that irks me, it's also hard to get into a story when I find it hard to connect with a character.

That being said, it's a good debut, finding a balanced way to establish a possible series is hard, to get the writer tone in place and characters developed might mean waiting for book #2, which I would give a try!

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.

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.

Im giving this book 3 stars. I was interested in it thinking it would be something like Finlay Donovan series, but sadly, it wasn't. I could connect to the characters. I disliked the narrator she really didn't show any emotion when voicr the book i believe. The book was just average. Nothing was exciting. Didnt jump out at me