MY REVIEW:
Overall I enjoyed “The Newsmakers” although at times I found myself distracted by the unusual (to me) tense in which it was written. The plot was one that could easily have come from today’s news and I believe the author’s familiarity with that community helped immensely. It was so easy to imagine news being manipulated to gain ratings. I have to wonder if there is more truth to this novel than fiction.
I admired Erica’s determination to be a news reporter who made a difference and her willingness to buck the system for stories that mattered. Her quick rise to fame did not alter those desires but she found herself overruled time and time again by her superiors. As the suspense built, Erica found it difficult to know who she could trust – even the man she was beginning to care for.
The fast-moving plot and realistic characters held my interest throughout this large book. Due to the tense issues mentioned earlier, I did bog down occasionally and have to reread paragraphs to be sure I understood what I had just read. Although I received my review copy from a Christian book blogger program, I feel I need to warn readers that if they are looking for a book with a Christian message, “The Newsmakers” isn’t it. It is however a clean read that most Christians should not find objectionable.
This book was provided for review by the BookLook Blogger Program of Harper Collins Christian Publishing.
ABOUT THE BOOK:
TV reporter Erica Sparks has become a superstar overnight. Is it due to her hard work and talent, or is she at the center of a spiraling conspiracy?
Erica Sparks is a beautiful and ambitious reporter who has just landed her dream job at Global News Network in New York. And while it was hard to leave Jenny, her cherished eight-year-old daughter, in the custody of her ex-husband, Erica is determined to succeed in the cutthroat world of big-time broadcasting. She can only hope her troubled past won’t come back to sabotage her dreams.
Although the wounds from her divorce are still fresh, Erica can’t deny the chemistry between her and her new producer, the handsome and empathic Greg Underwood. But a relationship is the last thing she wants right now.
On her very first assignment, Erica inadvertently witnesses—and films—a horrific tragedy, scooping all the other networks. Mere weeks later, another tragedy strikes—again, right in front of Erica and her cameras. Her career skyrockets overnight, but Erica is troubled. Deeply. This can’t just be coincidence. But what is it?
Erica will stop at nothing to uncover the truth. But she has to make sure disaster—and her troubled past—don’t catch up with her first.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Lis Wiehl is one of the nation’s most prominent trial lawyers and highly regarded commentators. Currently, she is the legal analyst and reporter on the Fox News Channel and Bill O’Reilly’s sparring partner in the weekly “Is It Legal?” segment on The O’Reilly Factor. Prior to that she was O’Reilly’s co-host on the nationally syndicated show The Radio Factor. She is also a Professor of Law at New York Law School. Her column “Lis on Law” appears weekly on FoxNews.com.
Prior to joining Fox News Channel in New York City, Wiehl served as a legal analyst and reporter for NBC News and NPR’s All Things Considered. Before that, Wiehl served as a Federal Prosecutor in the United States Attorney’s office.
Wiehl earned her Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School and her Master of Arts in Literature from the University of Queensland.
Wiehl is also the author of The 51% Minority, which won the 2008 award for Books for a Better Life in the motivational category, and Winning Every Time.
She lives with her husband and two children in New York.
