Nothing But the Truth

The Other Woman by Hank Philippi Ryan (Forge hardcover, 4 September 2012).

"Jane Ryland had thrown up after the verdict."

 That verdict had cost her her job, and some of her dignity, but not her integrity. 

She'd been going places as a television news reporter, until she was asked to reveal a source and refused.  But integrity didn't pay the bills, and after a few weeks of feeling sorry for herself, she'd accepted a job with the Boston Register, vowing to scoop her former employer.

Her first assignment was to interview Moira Lassiter, wife of a senate candidate and former governor.  Mrs. Lassiter seemed to have disappeared from view, and her staff was stonewalling attempts to talk to her.

Meanwhile, Jane's friend Jake Brogan, a homicide detective, was dealing with what appeared to be a series of murders near bridges around Boston.  After only two deaths, the media was already attributing them to the "Bridge Killer",  although Jake's instincts tell him they're not related.

When they meet tracking down a witness, Jane and Jake discover that their assignments are related and begin to compare notes.  It's difficult to provide more plot details without spoilers, but be warned that you won't be able to read "just one more chapter".  Don't start this book at bedtime!

Emmy-winning investigative reporter Ryan knows the news business firsthand, and writes about it with expertise.  Of course her skill as a suspense author (for which she's also won a number of awards) helps a great deal, as does her ability to create believable, multi-dimensional characters.

The attraction between reporter and detective creates a problem for someone who's trying to protect her professional integrity.  Although Jake understands this, he does realize the potential for a great relationship, and attempts to convince Jane that it's possible to pursue it without compromising that integrity.

This is just a great, well-told story that you won't want to put down.  Don't start it at bedtime.





Please visit Crime Fiction Collective, where Ms. Ryan is guest-blogging today.  Also, if you leave a comment over there, you'll be entered to win a first edition of The Other Woman.

Welcome to Hank Phillippi Ryan!

Award-winning investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan is currently on the air at Boston's NBC affiliate, where she's broken big stories for the past 24 years. Her stories have resulted in new laws, people sent to prison, homes removed from foreclosure, and millions of dollars in refunds and restitution for consumers.

From Blogger Pictures

Along with her 26 EMMYs, Hank’s won also won dozens of other journalism honors.

Her first mysteries, PRIME TIME (which won the prestigious Agatha Award for Best First Novel, was a double RITA nominee for Best First Book and Best Romantic Suspense Novel, and a Reviewers' Choice Award Winner) and FACE TIME ( a Book Sense Notable Book), were best sellers. They were both re-issued this summer from MIRA Books. Her newest book is AIR TIME (MIRA Sept. 2009) which is already an IMBA bestseller.Drive Time will be published in February 2010. Her website is http://www.hankphillippiryan.com


And now, here's HANK:


Why is there never hidden camera when you need one? Oh sure, I use one at my day job all the time. As an investigative reporter for a Boston televison staion, going undercover and wiring myself with a hidden camera is standard orating procedure. Do it all the time.

(And in my newest book, AIR TIME, my reporter alter-ego Charlotte McNally goes in disguise and carrying a hidden camera into the closed to the public parts of the Boston and Hartford airports--—and deep into the not-so-pretty world of counterfeit fashion and knock-off purses. And when you read it—feel free to imagine me doing the same thing. Been there—done that. Except of course, for that big life-or-death choice near the end. That’s all fiction. But I wonder if I would have made the right decision…)

Anyway! In my other life as a mystery author, I wish I could do the same when my books some out. I wish I could just park myself in the mystery (or sometimes romance) section, in disguise, and see who picks up my book. See who doesn’t. See what they do choose. And somehow, somehow, try to figure out why.

Every time I have a book signing at a store, I try to (surreptitiously, of course) discern what it is that makes readers turn into buyers. I watch them stroll down the aisles, past the rows and rows of covers—what do they look for? What stops them? Are they on a mission for a certain title? Are they drawn by a beautiful cover? Do they recognize a book they’ve seen advertised? Or gravitate to a certain author—and buy anything that person wrote?

Always, always, when they pick up a book, they then flip it over and look at the back cover copy.

I kind of cringe. In my books, I didn’t write the jacket copy. (And although most of them are great, there are parts of them I would , I admit, tweak a bit. Can I say to a shopper-—hey, that’s the only part of the book I didn’t write?) I wonder how other authors feel.
And you know how annoying it is when the back cover copy doesn’t match the book.

Say you’ve got an indecisive hero, surrounded by people he can’t decide whether to trust, feeling alone, missing his father, struggling to understand his role in a world he can’t escape. You got Hamlet. You also got Gilligan’s Island.

The jacket copy has to be the true essence—it’s what gets people in the front door of your world. Will readers grasp the fast-paced, high-stakes, suspenseful and romantic world of the Charlotte McNally mysteries when they read the back? Sometimes I wish I could chat with every reader in person!

When I’m in book-buyer mode,it different. I love that introductory moment, that audition moment at my local bookstore. The cover creaks a little, that nice ‘new book’ feel. The cover’s what attracts me first, of course.

Then I read the back, and I love to see a picture of the author. You all? Picture, yes? Or no? Do you look? Do you care?

Blurbs—I do look to see what other authors have said! Do
you?

Reviews? Definitely.

But it’s the inside jacket copy that gets me. Are there key words that mean probably yes? Many of them--Literate. Clever. Innovative. Mystery. It’s easier to think of the ‘no’ words: Cowboy. Bodice. Titillating. But hey, not always.

So. It would be fascinating to watch on surveillance camera, don’t you think? Watch what people pick up, what they read, what they discard and what they take home?

What makes you turn from shopper—to buyer?


In honor of my very first guest blogger, I am giving away one copy each of Hank's first two books, Prime Time and Face Time, and Hank has graciously offered three limited editon Prime Time tote bags.

All you have to do is leave a comment, and I'll pick 5 winners at random.

Coming Wednesday -- A Guest Blogger and Prizes!!

Hank Phillippi Ryan, author of the Charlotte McNally mysteries, will be guest-blogging here on Wednesday.

To celebrate my very first guest blogger, I'll be giving away one copy each of the first two books in the series, Prime Time and Face Time.

Hank has graciously added some limited edition Prime Time tote bags.

See you Wednesday!!

Just finished reading...

Prime Time and Face Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan.

Hank Phillippi Ryan was kind enough to send me a signed copy of Face Time (the second book in the Charlotte McNally series), which meant that I had to purchase a copy of Prime Time and read it first.

I enjoyed the first book so much that I had to read the second immediately, which is why I'm writing a joint review.

Prime Time introduces us to Charlotte "Charlie" McNally, an award-winning investigative reporter for Boston's (fictitious) Channel 3 news. In her mid-forties, Charlie worries that she's too old to be on camera and expects to be replaced by the Latest Young Thing at any moment, and goes to the office early to try to come up with a big story.

However, when the LYT doesn't appear to read a morning newsbreak, Charlie is asked to fill in, and one of the stories she teases captures her attention. The story is about a man named Bradley Foreman who was killed an a car accident. Foreman worked for a company called Aztratech, which is what alerts Charlie, and she considers it good luck when she is required to interview Foreman's widow in place of the missing LYT.

The widow, Melanie Foreman, tells Charlie about an email that her late husband had supposedly sent the reporter before his death. Charlie's pretty sure she didn't receive it, but checks again when she gets back to her desk, and finds one that was sent anonymously but had to be from Foreman.

Digging into the questions raised by the email provides Charlie with the Big Story she's been looking for, and her investigation leads her to an attractive professor named Josh Gelston, who immediately invites her to one of his drama class productions. At first Charlie is smitten, but some incidents occur that her suspicious self thinks are curious, and she backs off, while still hoping that he is genuine.

In Face Time, Charlie and her producer Franklin have to deal with hot-shot new news director Susannah Smith-Bagley, who is pushing them to get a scoop for sweeps month. She's a little distracted because her mother is in hospital, her best friend just found out she's pregnant, and her boyfriend wants her to vacation with him and his 9-year-old daughter, but she's sure she can handle all that AND look into the story of a woman who may have been wrongly imprisoned for the murder of her husband 3 years earlier. The investigation is hampered by the fact that Dorinda Sweeney, the convicted woman, refuses to see or speak with Charlie. As a result, Charlie and Franklin are forced to conduct their research in a very roundabout way, which ends up putting both of them in jeopardy.

Both books are gripping reads and I stayed up reading until my eyes couldn't stay open a few nights in a row. I'm looking forward to the third book in the series, Air Time, which was released September 1st, and which I don't have yet. But that's okay, because I really need to catch up on my sleep.