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 empathetic 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.
Lis Wiehl is an American author and legal analyst for Fox News.
She is an adjunct professor of law at New York Law School, and used to be an associate professor at University of Washington Law School. She has offered legal commentary for National Public Radio program and on Bill O’Reilly’s radio program, The Radio Factor. She appears weekly on The O’Reilly Factor, Your World with Neil Cavuto, The Kelly File with Megyn Kelly, Lou Dobbs Tonight, the Imus morning shows, and hosts the Legal Lis radio show and the Wiehl of Justice podcast.
Sebastian Stuart is a native New Yorker who now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
My Impressions:
I have been a big fan of Lis Wiehl’s novels since reading her Triple Threat series. I have read almost all of her books and have really enjoyed them. But The Newsmakers? Not so much. The premise sounded very interesting — an up-and-coming investigative reporter who not only witnesses first hand huge news stories, but becomes part of the stories themselves. Is there something sinister going on that is fueling her rise to fame? Great stuff for a story. But this one just fell flat for me. The characters were one-dimensional, and the mystery was easy to spot. Thomas Nelson is the publisher of The Newsmakers, but there wasn’t much in the book that would let you know they are Christian publishers. Besides the language, there is a big creepiness that seemed a bit gratuitous and frankly titillating. I was disappointed in that from a publisher that I have really liked. Thomas Nelson has ventured into an edginess that I have liked, but this one just went too far. The Newsmakers is book 1 in the series, but I don’t think I will be reading any of the subsequent books.
Audience: adults.
(I purchased this book. All opinions expressed are mine alone.)
I’m glad to hear your thoughts on this book. I received a free copy from Thomas Nelson for optional review and have not yet read it. I’ll get to it eventually, but I’ll go into it with your opinion in mind! The premise does sound good.
I was so disappointed by this book. I have loved all her books. She has a different co-writer for this one. I ‘m not sure if that made the difference or it is just a new direction for her.
Read your review and when you mentioned Thomas Nelson publishers, I got a moment of deja view. I checked back on my blog and I recently reviewed the second book in THE NEWSMAKER series with similar reactions. Both books have the same co-author; could that be the change? I, too, had been a Liz Wiehl.fan previously.
I was wondering if the second book had some of the same issues as book 1. And yes, I think that a new co-writer could be the reason for the change. I need to read your review.