The Newsmakers - Lis Wiehl with Sebastian Stuart

I love the news, I spend at least a half hour in the morning reading through the breaking news headlines, as well as about an hour in the evening watching local and state news. I have to thank one of my Communications professors for that, because it was a requirement in their class that I just never broke the habit from. I like knowing what is going on in the world and especially at a local level. I hope some teacher somewhere continue to impress upon their students how important news and the media really is. I also happened to dream of becoming a reporter one day, of doing the research and broadcasting it to the public. Sometimes dreams like that just don't pan out and I happen to enjoy what I do anyway. The Newsmakers is the story of successful news reporter, Erica Sparks. She's taken her mess of a life and turned it around, finding herself as the newest, upcoming reporter for a major news network. She faces many challenges on the way and her lief of reporting the news soon becomes the news reporting about her.

Rating: 3 Stars
Published: January 2016
Many thanks to Netgalley and Thomas Nelson for providing an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Amazon Goodreads

Erica is getting her big break, she's been hired on as a field reporter for the next up and coming network, GNN. She's determined to grow from her past and find success, but there might be a cost. Nylan Hastings isn't thought of fondly and when Erica finds herself in the midst of several newsworthy moments she has to ask herself how. Something about the timeline just doesn't add up and when she starts doing her own detective work she might find that the accidents hit close to home. Is the success worth it?

I am going to review this book differently than I have in the past, not because it wasn't a good book, it's just how I wrote notes while I read.







Pros:

• Though the story line is fairly predictable, the method in which Lis Wiehl gets you there is not. There are definitely some twists and turns, some characters that make things even more interesting, and a lot of suspense.
• I like the idea of knowing the villain, but not knowing what he has planned. This works for the good and the bad of this book unfortunately, as at times it is done very well and at other times I just want to know why. 
• There are some shocking moments in this book and I loved reading those gritty scenes, because while they aren't pretty and packaged in a little bow, they do feel like reality.
• I loved the secondary characters, the story came to life with their interactions with Erica, they have very distinct voices. I liked that we moved around the world to see various characters that tie everything together. 

Cons:

• The title gave away too much for me, it puts an idea into your head from the moment you start the book. The plot was very transparent, leaving little to the imagination.
• We're asked to believe that Erica has overcome the odds and built up her career, of course with a little assistance, but it's hard to believe this women has ever done anything on her own. She's terribly vapid, really insecure, and hard to relate to. While I enjoyed her sleuthing, I just could never picture this women having this much strength.
• The book sometimes reads as though it's a script for a movie or a television show: "Erica puts on her clothes" and "Erica washes off her makeup."  It's a present tense third person style, but it doesn't feel consistent. Unfortunately, this took away from the story for me, because it was hard to keep reading.
• As a person who is around several people who have overcome alcoholism I really would have expected more on the battle against it. Erica seems to want to give in more times than I can count and she fails to lean on her friends and family every time she thinks she should.

While it wasn't the best suspense novel I have read, it is an easy one to sit down and get through. At times predictable, but still shocking it is a worthwhile read. You'll find yourself wondering about your own news intake and where it comes from.