The Newsmakers by Lis Wiehl with Sebastian Stuart

Erica Sparks is an obscure television reporter in Maine. She's been through a divorce and rehab for alcohol abuse. She's trying to get her career back on track, even letting her ex-husband have custody of their eight year old daughter for a year. When Nylan Hastings, billionaire founder of Global News Network sees a trailer of her reporting, her life changes forever.

To Erica, it is the chance of a lifetime. She is hired to be a field reporter for the network. She witnesses a tragedy on her very first assignment as a ferry crashes into a bulwark. Her live coverage results in her skyrocketing popularity. Then tragedy strikes again when she is doing a live interview with a potential presidential candidate. Her quick response and on air presence results in the offer of a daytime show. She has reached the place of her dreams.

Or is it a nightmare? Why do her fellow workmates warn her about the eccentric network owner? How can there be so many “coincidences” pushing her career? If she continues to investigate loose ends, is her own life in danger?

This is another good novel from Wiehl. I really liked Erica as a flawed heroine, trying to get her life back together. We share in her struggles to rise above her dysfunctional childhood and her alcoholism. She is a tenacious investigator and I look forward to the next novel.

There is a good deal of psychological suspense as the story unfolds. Erica seems to be on her own in pursuing the truth and the situation gets tense at times. I found the ending to be a little rushed and a little too neat. But other than that, a good suspense novel that gives us some insight into the workings of a network news station.

Just a warning that there is mild swearing in the book. It was only one individual and was totally in character.

My rating: 4/5 stars.

Lis Wiehl is the legal analyst and reporter on the Fox News Channel. She is also a Professor of Law at New York Law School. Her column “Lis on Law” appears weekly on FoxNews.com. She lives in New York. You can find out more at http://liswiehlbooks.com/.

Thomas Nelson, 352 pages.

I received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher for the purpose of an independent and honest review.