Off the Air - Review

*I received a digital copy from Minotaur Books via NetGalley. All reviews are my own

I’m still in my Mystery/Thriller mood and decided to pick up Christina Estes’s debut Off the Air. It’s nothing like the other mysteries I’ve been reading; no humor, no danger, no thrills. Just pure sleuthing skills, and I figured it would break up the monotony of the type of mysteries I’ve been consuming. I’ve been very heavy on my Elle Cosimano lately. As for Off the Air, in my best Consuela from Family Guy voice, “No. Noo”.

"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."

I listened to this book via audio, narrated by Marcella Black, for 8 hours and 30 minutes. I like the tone in Black’s voice. It’s soothing with a touch of scratch, which piqued my interest in her narration. After a while, it became monotonous to me, but I think it had more to do with the writing than the actual performing. I need to hear something else of hers to give her acting skills a better shot.

I’m going to keep it short. I DNFed the book at 27%. I didn’t like it too tough. The story focused more on the inner workings of Journalism rather than finding out who killed a controversial Radio Host. Now, for someone who majored in Journalism and did nothing with her degree, I appreciated the ode to Journalists and everything that they do. Estes discussed in great detail how the job of a journalist works, including the importance of journalism integrity, the battle between social media reporting and traditional reporting, cutthroat competition, and more. If anyone is ever interested in entering the field, this book is an excellent introduction to the life of an everyday news reporter.

On the flip side, I found myself transported back to my school days, and to be honest, some of those classes were a real struggle to stay awake in. I was really hoping for a classic mystery, but what I got was a different kind of narrative, and I almost feel catfished about it.

Overall, I have no rating for this book. Understanding that the author is a retired Emmy-winning Journalist, this was essentially a loose diary of her work life. And while the details are appreciated, they slowed down the reading process for me, taking my mind and mood out of the realm of mystery. Again, I’m not mad at it; I just wasn’t for me. And perhaps it improves later in the plot. Judging from the reviews on GoodReads, it may be worth sticking around for. I know 27% isn’t much to go on, but I think it would’ve translated better as a script. It put me in the mind of the Apple TV series, The Morning Show, and HBO’s The Newsroom. If you fancy any of those shows and love truth-seeking, check out Off the Air.

Off the Air is available now!

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