Off the Air: A Mystery
Traditional Mystery
Setting – Arizona
Publisher : Minotaur Books (March 26, 2024)
Hardcover : 320 pages
ISBN-10 : 1250863856
ISBN-13 : 978-1250863850
Kindle ASIN : B0C1X8NM47
Equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, Off the Air introduces Jolene Garcia in Emmy Award-winning reporter Christina Estes’s Tony Hillerman Prize-winning debut.
Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments—anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo—and special projects. Stories that take more time to research and produce. Stories that Jolene wants to tell.
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.
As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It’s an investigation that could make or break her career—if it doesn’t break her first.
Dollycas’s Thoughts
Local TV reporter Jolene Garcia covers a wide variety of assignments. Recently she landed an interview with controversial conservative radio talk show host Larry Lemmon. It turns out to be his final interview because he has now died under “suspicious circumstances” during his show. Jolene and her station think she will get the inside scoop because of that interview but another reporter seems always to be one step ahead of her. Jolene’s main source refuses to give her anything on the record and her boss is turning up the heat so she decides to make her own scoop by solving the case herself. That works as long as she doesn’t become the next victim.
Christina Estes, an award-winning reporter herself is writing what she knows. News reporting has been changing and her protagonist’s station seems to finally getting on board with where people are getting their news. It’s all about tweets, clicks, shares, and “sexy” stories and the competition to do it all first, sometimes even when you don’t have the facts.
The mystery is not a typical whodunit. Reporter Jolene Garcia is chasing a story, not a killer, at least at first. This made the story drag in places and get bogged down with things that weren’t pertinent to the mystery. I have never been to Arizona so some of the information was interesting but I wanted more focus on the matters at hand. There were a few twists but Jolene was really clueless when she came eye-to-eye with the killer setting up an exciting showdown. I will admit the person wasn’t on my radar either, but the story was written to keep everyone in the dark until the killer gave his summation. After hearing it I was sympathetic to his reasoning but couldn’t defend his actions.
The story touches on several themes/subjects throughout including politics. I am sure the victim had a certain red hat. I was surprised to get to the end of the book to find a “Content Advisory” “This story contains references to” with the following list in alphabetical order.
- Ageisms
- Animal Cruelty
- Child Neglect
- Classism
- Homelessness
- Racism
- Sexism
- Sexual Coercion
- Substance Abuse.
I believe this “Advisory” should have been at the beginning of the book, not at the end.
Off the Air was an entertaining story focusing more on the cutthroat world of journalism than a murder mystery. I understand why the book won the Tony Hillerman Award for a mystery set in the southwestern United States by a first-time author. There are several references to real places in Phoenix and information about the Phoenix Indian School and other local history. I do believe this author has promise and would be open to reading her next effort, maybe in a different genre or more mystery-focused.
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About the Author
CHRISTINA ESTES is an award-winning reporter who has spent more than 20 years covering crime, public policy, and business in Phoenix, Arizona. Her reporting has been heard on National Public Radio (NPR) and appeared in the Arizona Republic, Arizona Business Gazette, and Phoenix Business Journal. Christina’s career inspired Off the Air, which won the Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery Set in the Southwest.
Author Links
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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. Receiving a complimentary copy in no way reflected my review of this book. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”
