Waiting On Wednesday (21): Off the Air by Christina Estes

Waiting on Wednesday's is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. *It appears that Breaking the Spine hasn't been active since 2016, but I still want to credit them as the creators.

For this week's Waiting on Wednesday I'm spotlighting Off the Air by Christina Estes.

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Expected publication date: March 26, 2024

Goodreads synopsis

Equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, Emmy Award winning reporter Christina Estes introduces Jolene Garcia in her Tony Hillerman Prize winning debut, Off the Air .

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 am on a real murder/thriller kick recently, so I'm very excited for the release of this novel on March 26, 2024. You can add it to your goodreads TBR here!

Speak of the Devil by Rose Wilding

Title: Speak of the Devil

Author: Rose Wilding

Publisher: Minotaur Books

Publication date: June 13, 2023

A group of women are connected by their hatred for one man. On New Years Eve, 1999, they gather in a hotel for an emergency meeting. In the center of the hotel room, sits Jamie's head. The man they all have a reason to hate has been beheaded, and nobody knows which one of them is the one who swung the axe.

Told in the alternating POVs of all the women who had their own motives for murder, plus the detective trying to put the pieces together, this is a very character driven novel. Because there are so many POVs to keep track of, it took me a second to get each character straight, but as more of the story unravels it becomes easier to keep each character separate.

I liked all the characters, which actually came as a surprise to me because usually when I read books with multiple POVs, there usually one that seems to drag for me, but that didn't happen at all for me here.

The only gripe I had is that the ending felt very abrupt. After finding out everything that Jamie did to each of the women, the killer is revealed right after and the story is wrapped up, I want to say within about ten pages. I didn't feel like their were any breadcrumbs or any sort of build up to the reveal. The abrupt ending was a little bit disappointing.

Overall, I enjoyed this novel. It reminded me a little of Rachel Kapelke-Dale's writing, so if you enjoyed The Ballerinas or The Ingenue, or if you're looking for a fast paced, character driven thriller, I would give this one a try.