By Kelly Bridgewater
Synopsis:
TV reporter Erica Sparks has become a superstar
overnight. But 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.
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| From Amazon |
My
Thoughts:
Wanting success and the ability to move
above her past, Erica Sanders jumps at the first opportunity to leave her past
behind her as she travels to New York to work for an up and coming new news
station GNN (Global News Network). Lis Wiehl is known for her fast acting
reporter and as a former federal prosecutor, but her novel writing skill captures
my attention and draws me into the story from the first pages.
In her newest first book in what I hope
is a series, The Newsmakers, I was
introduced to Erica Sanders, a young heroine who is divorced and wants more
than anything to gain custody of her daughter. Erica grew up in a horrible
environment with parents who didn’t really care about her or her education, but
she proved herself and went to Yale University. After reading all of Wiehl’s
previous books, I really enjoy how she makes strong heroines. They all have a
past that they are trying to forget as they move along with their current
lives. Single, divorced mothers are a trend in Wiehl’s stories, which I think
make the stories instantly relatable. I’m not a single mother, but I know many
women who are. These stories tug at my heart as I feel empathy for the working
mother who literally does anything to earn a good life for their children.
The second thing I really enjoyed about Newmakers is Wiehl’s ability to truly
get into the mind and actions of a news reporter. Being a news commentator
herself, Wiehl creates a character that lives and breathes her work
environment. I never once had to second guess anything that Wiehl had Erica
tell us. Along the same lines, Wiehl allows, someone like me, who has never
been to New York to actually see and experience how it is to live and work in
such a thriving metropolis.
As for the conflict, it is completely
original. Even though I had a suspicion pretty early on who was weaving the conflicts
in Erica’s life, I still enjoyed watching the action occur as the pages moved
closer and closer to the final showdown. There is a little bit of romance
between Erica and another co-worker, but nothing over the top that will make
the male species cringe. I had a really hard time putting the book down. I
wanted to prove that my theory was correct, which it was.
For a word of caution, in the last fifty
pages of the novel, there is a “bad” word that might be a moment of pause for
younger readers. But nothing too graphic. Most of the conflict is controlling
the media and happens off the page.
As for Lis Wiehl’s newest story, The Newsmakers, the mystery is physiologically
and gripping at the same time. Wiehl ends the story in a cliff-hanger, begging
for the next book to hurry up and be released.
My
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
Purchase The Newsmakers
As a writer, we are told not to write a
character that is just like you or has the same career you do? As for Lis
Wiehl, I think it works in making her characters more realistic. Do you agree
with me or not? Share your thoughts
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