Official Review: Murder at Broadcast Park by Bill Evans
Posted: 26 Mar 2018, 23:22
[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Murder at Broadcast Park" by Bill Evans.]
2 out of 4 stars
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Authored by Bill Evans, a former vice-president and general manager of several affiliate television stations, Murder At Broadcast Park follows the staff of a Santa Barbara news station following the shock discovery of their top news anchor dead in his own studio. When a woman is found dead in the news anchor’s bed just hours later - a woman not his wife - the scandal could destroy the entire station.
The narrative follows three major characters and their roles in the investigation; Barry, the head of the newsroom, John, an ambitious but very junior reporter, and Lisa, the station’s general manager.
Although the police are of course investigating the murder, Barry isn’t about to let anyone else scoop him in his own newsroom. He sets his reporters on their own parallel investigation, delving into the private lives and hidden secrets of the station’s staff. Secrets someone has already committed murder to hide.
The inner workings of an affiliate television station are fascinating to read about; Bill Evans is obviously an expert on the topic with years of experience to draw on, and I’d guess many of the characters are thinly veiled sketches of his former co-workers. The murder method is absolutely ingenious - not one I’d ever heard of before - and the descriptions of the police side of the investigation seemed reasonably consistent with reality, at least to this non-American who has nevertheless watched a great many episodes of Law And Order and CSI.
Where the story fell down was in the head-hopping between characters, which happened so frequently I was occasionally confused whose point-of-view I was reading. While the personal lives of many of the newsroom staff was delved into, we discovered very little about the protagonists, which led to a lack of empathy with them. The dialogue was stilted and jumped about too much, and I discovered quite a few spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes which should have been picked up by a competent editor.
These things aside, I was quite enjoying the book and thinking that it probably deserved three stars as I approached the ending and what I assumed would be the grand finale concluding with the unmasking of the murderer, whose identity had been revealed to the reader about halfway through the book.
And then, the book just ended on a cliffhanger. Startled, I checked the chapter index against where I had read up to; even headed over to the book’s page on Amazon to see if there was something wrong with my download. There, I discovered this is apparently the first book of a trilogy, but even in a trilogy each book needs its own complete arc. Ending on a cliffhanger is a cheap tactic to get readers to buy the next book in the series, and not one I care for at all. The reader should want to buy your next book because of how much they enjoyed the one they just read, not because they want to know how the story actually ends.
Those who are interested in the inner workings of a TV news station might find this a good read, but murder mystery fans will only find frustration in the lack of a satisfying conclusion. I recommend the author check out the most popular and enduring authors in the genre; after all, Agatha Christie made sure never to allow her murders to go unsolved. For all of the above reasons, I find that I can rate this book no higher than two out of four stars.
******
Murder at Broadcast Park
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like CaitlynLynch's review? Post a comment saying so!
2 out of 4 stars
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Authored by Bill Evans, a former vice-president and general manager of several affiliate television stations, Murder At Broadcast Park follows the staff of a Santa Barbara news station following the shock discovery of their top news anchor dead in his own studio. When a woman is found dead in the news anchor’s bed just hours later - a woman not his wife - the scandal could destroy the entire station.
The narrative follows three major characters and their roles in the investigation; Barry, the head of the newsroom, John, an ambitious but very junior reporter, and Lisa, the station’s general manager.
Although the police are of course investigating the murder, Barry isn’t about to let anyone else scoop him in his own newsroom. He sets his reporters on their own parallel investigation, delving into the private lives and hidden secrets of the station’s staff. Secrets someone has already committed murder to hide.
The inner workings of an affiliate television station are fascinating to read about; Bill Evans is obviously an expert on the topic with years of experience to draw on, and I’d guess many of the characters are thinly veiled sketches of his former co-workers. The murder method is absolutely ingenious - not one I’d ever heard of before - and the descriptions of the police side of the investigation seemed reasonably consistent with reality, at least to this non-American who has nevertheless watched a great many episodes of Law And Order and CSI.
Where the story fell down was in the head-hopping between characters, which happened so frequently I was occasionally confused whose point-of-view I was reading. While the personal lives of many of the newsroom staff was delved into, we discovered very little about the protagonists, which led to a lack of empathy with them. The dialogue was stilted and jumped about too much, and I discovered quite a few spelling, grammar and punctuation mistakes which should have been picked up by a competent editor.
These things aside, I was quite enjoying the book and thinking that it probably deserved three stars as I approached the ending and what I assumed would be the grand finale concluding with the unmasking of the murderer, whose identity had been revealed to the reader about halfway through the book.
And then, the book just ended on a cliffhanger. Startled, I checked the chapter index against where I had read up to; even headed over to the book’s page on Amazon to see if there was something wrong with my download. There, I discovered this is apparently the first book of a trilogy, but even in a trilogy each book needs its own complete arc. Ending on a cliffhanger is a cheap tactic to get readers to buy the next book in the series, and not one I care for at all. The reader should want to buy your next book because of how much they enjoyed the one they just read, not because they want to know how the story actually ends.
Those who are interested in the inner workings of a TV news station might find this a good read, but murder mystery fans will only find frustration in the lack of a satisfying conclusion. I recommend the author check out the most popular and enduring authors in the genre; after all, Agatha Christie made sure never to allow her murders to go unsolved. For all of the above reasons, I find that I can rate this book no higher than two out of four stars.
******
Murder at Broadcast Park
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Like CaitlynLynch's review? Post a comment saying so!
I really enjoyed reading your review. I remember I have read the sample in this one and I liked the beginning with young John discovering Steve's body sitting at his desk with a rope around his neck. Murder in a news station is a good idea. Maybe others will like being challenged and reading what happens next in the second book in the series. Thanks for your review!