Below the Fold

March 11, 2019
An unpersuasive portrayal of the news business and a tired plotline mar Belsky’s sequel to 2018’s Yesterday’s News, which introduced New York City TV news director Clare Carlson. The implausible backstory doesn’t help. Carlson won a Pulitzer for reporting on a kidnapping and presumed murder, without revealing that the 11-year-old victim, Lucy Devlin, was actually the daughter she’d given up for adoption. Carlson is now searching for Lucy, having learned that the girl is still alive. Meanwhile, her boss, media mogul Brendan Kaiser, is linked to a sensational murder case. Someone battered Grace Mancuso to death with a replica of the Statue of Liberty in her Manhattan apartment. Mancuso was an investment firm employee who testified about her colleagues’ fraud scheme. Near her corpse is a list of names, including Kaiser’s, which prompts Carlson to try to solve the killing and discover how the names are connected with each other. Thin characters, incongruities, and errors make suspension of disbelief a challenge. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Assoc.

April 1, 2019
Belsky (Yesterday's News, 2018) returns to the world of journalism in his latest novel, which sees TV reporter Clare Carlson team up with a disgraced cop to find out who killed a homeless woman?a death that may be linked to later crimes and to a Bernie Madoff-style financial scandal. Troubled characters abound here and create quite the web of intrigue, which is engrossingly backdropped by the workings of TV reporting?it's all about breaking news, and the book's pace keeps up. Belsky's background as a reporter shines through, but he's also earned his place as a writer of memorable characters and intricate plots. Even the murdered woman, who kick-starts the many mysteries in this book, and who is mainly depicted in others' distant memories, is well fleshed out. The banter among reporters, cops, and those they investigate rings true, too, and keeps the pages turning. Readers who enjoy police procedurals but who are looking for something a little different are an ideal audience for this thriller.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2019, American Library Association.)