I first met Hank Phillipi Ryan last year at Bouchercon in Baltimore when she was handing out bookmarks for the Jungle Red Writers, a group of women authors. I recognized the nail polish from the movie “The Women” right away. And only a woman would mention hot flashes in the very first sentence of her book. Thus begins Prime Time, a witty and entertaining read.
Ryan’s sleuth Charlotte ‘Charlie’ McNally is an investigative reporter for a television station in Boston. When suspected whistleblower Bradley Foreman dies in a one-car crash with no witnesses, Charlie has no reason to believe it’s anything beyond a tragic accident. That is until she discovers an email, disguised as spam, sent to her and two others from Foreman prior to his death. The grieving widow gives her a stack of files that her husband brought home from work before his untimely demise. In them, Charlie finds a number of similar emails with references to Shakespeare’s works and Bible verses. She also finds her heart, which had long been buried behind work schedules, overtime and the looming November sweeps week, and promptly loses it to Josh Gelston, handsome college professor and co-addressee on Foreman’s pre-crash email.
Shortly after, the third person the email was sent to dies in another one-car accident with no witnesses. Now Charlie suspects there is more to that email than just spam. When she attends the funeral of the second crash victim, she is threatened by an old woman to stop her investigation. As if. She also sees Josh there, unexpectedly. All of a sudden, she’s not so sure about him and his intentions anymore.
It’s apparent why Prime Time is an Agatha winner. Ryan’s writing style is clever, humorous and in some places, downright snarky. Charlotte McNally is a real character that the reader can relate to and sympathize with. She has the human failings we all have but won’t admit, like the scene where she’s checking out the good-looking detective while her producer and friend lies in a hospital bed beaten to a pulp.
Ryan also manages to keep the action brisk and face-paced without leaving the reader out of breath or confused. Very well-written, Prime Time is a great and fun read that’s sure to appeal to everyone.
Ryan’s sleuth Charlotte ‘Charlie’ McNally is an investigative reporter for a television station in Boston. When suspected whistleblower Bradley Foreman dies in a one-car crash with no witnesses, Charlie has no reason to believe it’s anything beyond a tragic accident. That is until she discovers an email, disguised as spam, sent to her and two others from Foreman prior to his death. The grieving widow gives her a stack of files that her husband brought home from work before his untimely demise. In them, Charlie finds a number of similar emails with references to Shakespeare’s works and Bible verses. She also finds her heart, which had long been buried behind work schedules, overtime and the looming November sweeps week, and promptly loses it to Josh Gelston, handsome college professor and co-addressee on Foreman’s pre-crash email.
Shortly after, the third person the email was sent to dies in another one-car accident with no witnesses. Now Charlie suspects there is more to that email than just spam. When she attends the funeral of the second crash victim, she is threatened by an old woman to stop her investigation. As if. She also sees Josh there, unexpectedly. All of a sudden, she’s not so sure about him and his intentions anymore.
It’s apparent why Prime Time is an Agatha winner. Ryan’s writing style is clever, humorous and in some places, downright snarky. Charlotte McNally is a real character that the reader can relate to and sympathize with. She has the human failings we all have but won’t admit, like the scene where she’s checking out the good-looking detective while her producer and friend lies in a hospital bed beaten to a pulp.
Ryan also manages to keep the action brisk and face-paced without leaving the reader out of breath or confused. Very well-written, Prime Time is a great and fun read that’s sure to appeal to everyone.
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