Go ahead, admit it. You've looked at them, and wondered,
"What do they have that I don't? I could do them job
just as well. What makes them special?"
You wonder, "What's behind those smiles?" Not athletes
or politicians, but those other faces we come to
recognize--local TV personalities.
As Joe Lee, a Brandon author, lays it out in "Dead
Air," the world of television news is anything but
glamorous, and when the cameras stop rolling, the smiles
start fading. For those aspiring to be network stars, it
can be a cutthroat climb.
Newscast co-anchor Shawn Forrest is like that, all soft
and cuddly to viewers, but in real life, she's more like
a viper, ready to strike out at anything, or anyone, in
her way.
When, after dinner at a local restaurant, she turns up
dead, no one is sad to see her gone. Her death, however,
brings no closure to those around her, but instead
raises only questions.
For two detectives, there are too many pieces to the
Forrest puzzle.
Lee's second novel, like his first, "On The Record," is
set in Jackson. The familiar locations at to the novel's
appeal, making it easy to imagine things, crimes in this
case, taking place just as Lee describes.
Was Forrest murdered? Or did a night of partying simply
catch up with her?
Who profits from her death? Or who doesn't?
Where was her husband? Hiding in Hattiesburg with his
underage lover?
Who were her friends? Does she have any?
Who is telling the truth, and who's lying?
Lots of questions, and few answers, as the detectives
discover. And every time they fill in a hole, two more
pop up.
Besides entertaining readers as armchair sleuths, Lee
gives them a glimpse of what's found on the other side
of the camera. And it's certainly not always pretty.
Copyright, 2004, The Clarion-Ledger, Jackson, MS. Used
with permission, no additional reproduction permitted
without further permission of
The Clarion-Ledger. |
