Tabloid City

February 21, 2011
Hamill (North River) forays into Dominic Dunne society crime territory before veering uncomfortably into a far-fetched terrorist plot. Just as the last ever edition of the New York World is getting put to bed, veteran editor Sam Briscoe stops the presses for a sensational murder: socialite Cynthia Harding and her personal secretary are found stabbed to death in Harding's Manhattan town house. The story unfolds in time-stamped, you-are-there bursts that follow a large cast, including several journalists; Cynthia's adopted daughter; a disgraced Madoff-like financier; a media blogger; the murdered secretary's husband, a police officer assigned to a counterterrorism task force, as well as their son, a convert to radical Islam; and best of all by the weary and worldly Briscoe himself. Hamill is at his best in the Briscoe portions, rich in print anecdotes and mournful for a passing age, but as both the initial murders and the closing of the paper play into a larger plot and the young extremist becomes the driving force of the novel, the quality slides precipitously, and, as if sensing defeat, the book is brought to a too abrupt conclusion with most of the principals gathered for a group of scenes that strain credulity. Hamill nails the dying newsroom, but gets lost on the terrorism beat.

Newsman Pete Hamill knows newspapers and New York, and he pours that knowledge into a story of one long night and day. Lives--young and old, grizzled and tired--intertwine in this present-day story. The duo of Ellen Archer and Peter Ganim pulls the characters together, reflecting the diverse accents and varying tones of a deep-voiced editor, a Jamaican woman, an elderly artist, an excited young reporter, a serious cop, and an angry young man, among others. One of the best is a "rewrite woman" to whom Archer gives a thick New York accent. All have their problems; all lead their lives bustling through Manhattan streets. Both narrators deftly balance their characters, giving cohesion and realism to Hamill's work. Chapters are headed by time of day, which is appropriate for the pace. M.B. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine