What do you think?
Rate this book
Maxi Poole #1
The Reporter
Well-known Hollywood TV reporter Maxi Poole is determined to find the killer of Oscar(-winning director Jack Nathanson--her former husband. Using all her investigative skills and insider access, Maxi uncovers a list of suspect--and soon becomes the killer's next target.
- GenresMystery
368 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published March 14, 2002
36 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 7, 2021
Since this murder mystery kept me so engrossed that I stayed up till 2:30 a.m. to finish it, I have to give it at least three stars. What I really liked, of course, was the authentic picture it provides, in considerable detail, of the entertainment business in Los Angeles. The book cover makes sure you know the author was an award-winning television news anchor there, and she has created an alter ego named Maxi Poole as the central character of this novel. I felt I was getting a reality check on all those other novels that have a Hollywood setting. (They get some things right, but authors' imaginations supply the rest.)
As a murder mystery, the story works but there aren't many surprises. The matter-of-fact tone of the third-person narrative, more at home in a police procedural, serves a completely omniscient perspective in this case, with countless shifts of points of view taking the reader in and out of many characters' heads. The result, of course, is that the reader knows much more than any single character does, whether it's the sheriff's homicide investigators or Maxi Poole, the TV anchor and investigative reporter who's trying to clear herself and her friends of suspicion.
At the same time, again of course, we only know what the author has deigned to put on the page, so we're completely at the mercy of what the author as story-teller decides to reveal in each chapter. Although there are several suspects in the murder of Maxi's ex-husband and faded movie star, Jack Nathanson, including his widow Janet and his first wife Debra (Maxi being #2), by the halfway point the list of viable suspects is narrowed down to two for the reader. At the same time, the suspect list is expanding for the police investigators, and Maxi stays puzzled till way too late.
There are additional murders, and by the three-quarter point we know which of those two is a killer and which one is guilty of other crimes. There are still some questions to be answered and a really disturbing red herring to be disposed of, so as I said the story works...if you can put up with a point of view that jumps around like a frightened grasshopper. The characters are fairly well developed and quite believable, and Maxi's friendships with Debra and Janet are solid. Yes, as the blurb says, they're a wives club!
As a murder mystery, the story works but there aren't many surprises. The matter-of-fact tone of the third-person narrative, more at home in a police procedural, serves a completely omniscient perspective in this case, with countless shifts of points of view taking the reader in and out of many characters' heads. The result, of course, is that the reader knows much more than any single character does, whether it's the sheriff's homicide investigators or Maxi Poole, the TV anchor and investigative reporter who's trying to clear herself and her friends of suspicion.
At the same time, again of course, we only know what the author has deigned to put on the page, so we're completely at the mercy of what the author as story-teller decides to reveal in each chapter. Although there are several suspects in the murder of Maxi's ex-husband and faded movie star, Jack Nathanson, including his widow Janet and his first wife Debra (Maxi being #2), by the halfway point the list of viable suspects is narrowed down to two for the reader. At the same time, the suspect list is expanding for the police investigators, and Maxi stays puzzled till way too late.
There are additional murders, and by the three-quarter point we know which of those two is a killer and which one is guilty of other crimes. There are still some questions to be answered and a really disturbing red herring to be disposed of, so as I said the story works...if you can put up with a point of view that jumps around like a frightened grasshopper. The characters are fairly well developed and quite believable, and Maxi's friendships with Debra and Janet are solid. Yes, as the blurb says, they're a wives club!
March 24, 2020
Kelly Lange has been a well-known news reporter in the Los Angeles area, radio show host and actress. When I found two books with her name as the author I had to check them out. Glad I did! Lange has set her Maxi Poole character in a world she knows well – news casting.
The book opens at the funeral of Jack Nathanson, Maxi’s ex-husband. Laid out in a clear, lucite coffin, it is a hard site to tear your eyes from. Maxi is there as an ex and also as a reporter. Her boss figures she will be able to get some good story info due to her relationship to Nathanson.
Being Nathanson was an Oscar winner, he was murdered and the killer is yet to be found makes this some top news! Then there is a long list of suspects to choose from due to Nathanson’s ego and treatment of the people around him.
Things get really nasty when dead bodies start turning up: bodies who were closely involved with Nathanson and his past. Also some people from his past are showing up and they aren’t in the best of mental health.
Maxie uses her connections to try and solve the case, but also finds she is a target of the killer.
The story runs at a good pace with quite a bit of action. I have the second book of the series on my TBR shelf, so it will be interesting to see if it is a good as this one. Previous reviews seem to say so…
The book opens at the funeral of Jack Nathanson, Maxi’s ex-husband. Laid out in a clear, lucite coffin, it is a hard site to tear your eyes from. Maxi is there as an ex and also as a reporter. Her boss figures she will be able to get some good story info due to her relationship to Nathanson.
Being Nathanson was an Oscar winner, he was murdered and the killer is yet to be found makes this some top news! Then there is a long list of suspects to choose from due to Nathanson’s ego and treatment of the people around him.
Things get really nasty when dead bodies start turning up: bodies who were closely involved with Nathanson and his past. Also some people from his past are showing up and they aren’t in the best of mental health.
Maxie uses her connections to try and solve the case, but also finds she is a target of the killer.
The story runs at a good pace with quite a bit of action. I have the second book of the series on my TBR shelf, so it will be interesting to see if it is a good as this one. Previous reviews seem to say so…
December 2, 2013
Passable book. It is the first book so needs a bit of work. Starts great, but has some plotting problems. In other words it jumps around a bit and doesn't really flow smoothly. Tells a good story but could be much better with a good storyline edit.
Met this author at the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference and bought the paperback thinking I was buying the second book in the series that she read from at conference. That second book hooked me right away. Can't wait to read it as soon as library gets it.
Met this author at the Santa Barbara's Writers Conference and bought the paperback thinking I was buying the second book in the series that she read from at conference. That second book hooked me right away. Can't wait to read it as soon as library gets it.
May 3, 2011
I got intrigued by the media world in the story, but guessed the villain half-way through the book. It could have done better with more twists and turns, and less exposition at the end. Also, the love interest comes in late in the book and so isn't very convincing.
June 29, 2007
The murder should have been solved on day one.
Really incompetent as a mystery. At first I thought it was ghost written, but who would pay anyone for that kind of work?
Really incompetent as a mystery. At first I thought it was ghost written, but who would pay anyone for that kind of work?
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews