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KEY News #1
Do You Want To Know A Secret?
Eliza Blake is a newswoman on the rise. She's well liked and respected by her colleagues at Key News, and she's finally come to terms with her husband's death. Then Bill Kendall, a senior anchorman, dies unexpectedly, and Eliza is thrust into the limelight. And when she starts to suspect that Kendall's death has ramifications beyond the set of Key News, she begins to uncover a plot that involves players as high up as in the White House...
Audio CD
First published October 28, 1998
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About the author
Mary Jane Clark
41 books465 followersMary Jane Elizabeth Behrends Clark (1954-) is the author of thirteen novels, including 12 in the KEY News media thriller series, and one in her new Wedding Cake mystery series. A veteran writer and producer for CBS News, Clark worked for almost three decades at the network’s New York City headquarters. Her books are published in twenty-three languages. She lives in New Jersey and Florida.
Clark's former mother-in-law and sister-in-law are the authors Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, respectively.
Clark's former mother-in-law and sister-in-law are the authors Mary Higgins Clark and Carol Higgins Clark, respectively.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews
January 6, 2021
Great book, but I wouldn’t recommend the audio version. One of the characters’ voices was so annoying it was like fingernails scratching a chalkboard.
I read this many years ago and I still couldn’t figure out in advance who the killer was!
I read this many years ago and I still couldn’t figure out in advance who the killer was!
April 23, 2016
I really enjoyed this book. This was one of that books that kept me up reading at night. There are 10 books in the series and I'm so happy that the local library has the whole set, because I will be reading through them.
September 10, 2020
The first of a series of mystery novels set in fictional network KEY News, Mary Jane Clark's 1998 "Do You Want To Know a Secret?" has almost as many named characters as it does chapters. This would not be an issue except for the fact that it has no less than 141 chapters! I soon realized that if I stuck to my usual practice of reading a chapter each evening at bedtime it would take me several months to get through it. Happily some chapters are only three or four sentences long so I was able to increase my pace.
Published in 1998, this novel had several plot elements that were eerily contemporary as I read it in the summer of 2020, namely a threatening epidemic (AIDs), a national political convention nominating a candidate of questionable morality, and a bright female newscaster (not unlike Nicole Wallace) taking over the KEY News anchor slot. One would think the author knew her way around a newsroom which, being a long time CBS News producer and Dan Rather protege she does.
All in all, a promising start to the 12 volume KEY News series of mysteries.
Published in 1998, this novel had several plot elements that were eerily contemporary as I read it in the summer of 2020, namely a threatening epidemic (AIDs), a national political convention nominating a candidate of questionable morality, and a bright female newscaster (not unlike Nicole Wallace) taking over the KEY News anchor slot. One would think the author knew her way around a newsroom which, being a long time CBS News producer and Dan Rather protege she does.
All in all, a promising start to the 12 volume KEY News series of mysteries.
April 30, 2024
This book was ... not great. Until the last 5% of the book or so it wasn't clear what the plot was, or who even was the main character. It's billed as a mystery, but there was nothing really that the reader (or characters even) was drawn into and trying to figure out.
The story starts off with a death, as all good murder mysteries should, but, whoops, turns out that there's no foul play at all in that death. Then we spend the rest of the book following various characters as they live their lives. We mostly follow people who work in a news room (where the person who died at the beginning was the lead anchor), and also a man who is running to be the next President of the United States. Political affiliations are excluded from the book, however, because it's never stated which party he belonged to (which I, as a non-American, appreciated).
But really, who's the main character? Why do I care what all these people are doing? They seem to really only be tied together because of their work and the various people who are sleeping with each other.
It's brought together right at the end, and I wasn't expecting the twist, which is the only thing that brought this from a 1 star to 2.
The story starts off with a death, as all good murder mysteries should, but, whoops, turns out that there's no foul play at all in that death. Then we spend the rest of the book following various characters as they live their lives. We mostly follow people who work in a news room (where the person who died at the beginning was the lead anchor), and also a man who is running to be the next President of the United States. Political affiliations are excluded from the book, however, because it's never stated which party he belonged to (which I, as a non-American, appreciated).
But really, who's the main character? Why do I care what all these people are doing? They seem to really only be tied together because of their work and the various people who are sleeping with each other.
It's brought together right at the end, and I wasn't expecting the twist, which is the only thing that brought this from a 1 star to 2.
July 24, 2010
Good Venue, Satisfying Plot, But Lots of Clutter...
By now y'all probably know Mary Higgins Clark is the ex-mother-in-law of our author here, Mary Jane Clark. Many speak to the similarities of style -- a dashing (and gorgeous wholesome single mom, young widow, and accomplished professional) leading lady who overcomes all odds; enough violence and suspense to entertain and befuddle; and a nice clean ending we can all feel good about. Well hopefully that could be said about many a good book. The differences we see are more interesting. First the venue -- set mostly in the surrounds of a major news network, midst the tribulations of the early morning shows and anchor broadcasts at night, we certainly get (ala the movie "Network News") plenty of up close looks at the pressured lives on the news set. In the best tradition of write about what you know about, MJ speaks from personal experience as a producer and writer for CBS News. Indeed, Dan Rather gets a cameo mention in the story, as he does in the acknowledgments up front for his encouragement to the author. We just hope the romances reported among many co-workers aren't quite that prevalent, although as we know, propinquity is a powerful force (said Zelda to Dobie...).
Second, we get a pretty good story line. The first shocker is the apparent suicide of a famous anchor, followed thereafter (but paced well) by the murders of his doctor and his secretary. Even the most dense of us realize the connections, though the trained newshounds seemed to miss it. A big surprise at the end serves up a murderer we dare say few suspected more than a page or two before the unveiling, so high marks for suspense.
Third, and of course not as welcome, we do get an awful lot of characters, relationships, AIDS pleas, disease causes, snippets of events, changes in scenery, etc.; to us, all that clutter gets a little tiresome. Certain loose ends never do get wrapped up, and we're not even sure that a major subplot, the campaign machinations of a presidential candidate, really advanced the basic story line that well. We also personally disliked chopping the book up into 141(!) chapters - do the math, they span 302 pages, so that's like two pages each. And the last 35 span only 25 pages, so we're down to barely more than the "sound bites" so lovingly quoted throughout.
So - for her first outing (of four to date), not bad. Clean things up, simplify a little, give us a little longer reading stretch with out raising and lowering the curtain a hundred times, and we might have something here. We'll at least move on to number 2 - "Do you promise not to tell?". And you?
By now y'all probably know Mary Higgins Clark is the ex-mother-in-law of our author here, Mary Jane Clark. Many speak to the similarities of style -- a dashing (and gorgeous wholesome single mom, young widow, and accomplished professional) leading lady who overcomes all odds; enough violence and suspense to entertain and befuddle; and a nice clean ending we can all feel good about. Well hopefully that could be said about many a good book. The differences we see are more interesting. First the venue -- set mostly in the surrounds of a major news network, midst the tribulations of the early morning shows and anchor broadcasts at night, we certainly get (ala the movie "Network News") plenty of up close looks at the pressured lives on the news set. In the best tradition of write about what you know about, MJ speaks from personal experience as a producer and writer for CBS News. Indeed, Dan Rather gets a cameo mention in the story, as he does in the acknowledgments up front for his encouragement to the author. We just hope the romances reported among many co-workers aren't quite that prevalent, although as we know, propinquity is a powerful force (said Zelda to Dobie...).
Second, we get a pretty good story line. The first shocker is the apparent suicide of a famous anchor, followed thereafter (but paced well) by the murders of his doctor and his secretary. Even the most dense of us realize the connections, though the trained newshounds seemed to miss it. A big surprise at the end serves up a murderer we dare say few suspected more than a page or two before the unveiling, so high marks for suspense.
Third, and of course not as welcome, we do get an awful lot of characters, relationships, AIDS pleas, disease causes, snippets of events, changes in scenery, etc.; to us, all that clutter gets a little tiresome. Certain loose ends never do get wrapped up, and we're not even sure that a major subplot, the campaign machinations of a presidential candidate, really advanced the basic story line that well. We also personally disliked chopping the book up into 141(!) chapters - do the math, they span 302 pages, so that's like two pages each. And the last 35 span only 25 pages, so we're down to barely more than the "sound bites" so lovingly quoted throughout.
So - for her first outing (of four to date), not bad. Clean things up, simplify a little, give us a little longer reading stretch with out raising and lowering the curtain a hundred times, and we might have something here. We'll at least move on to number 2 - "Do you promise not to tell?". And you?
December 3, 2020
I enjoyed this book on the next one in the series
December 10, 2020
Exciting fast-paced mystery with suspense throughout. Very likable and interesting characters set in the dynamic world of broadcast news. New York news anchor Eliza Blake is thrust into the mysterious web of deception as a series of murders all centered around a common thread quickly takes center stage. Coverage of a presidential election brings government and politics into the news spotlight. AIDS enters the story as the author reveals the first victim had contracted the disease from a blood transfusion. A lot of focus is given to educating the reader on AIDS as the presidential candidate focuses attention on the topic at length.
The author leads her readers on a suspenseful ride through a page turning story with a surprising twist at the end. Very enjoyable first in a series by Mary Jane Clarke.
The author leads her readers on a suspenseful ride through a page turning story with a surprising twist at the end. Very enjoyable first in a series by Mary Jane Clarke.
January 16, 2008
I've read most of the Mary Jane Clark. Kind of found her by accident since she was right with the Mary Higgins and Carol Higgins in the bookstore. Good reads....probably better than the Carol Higgins but not as good as the Mary Higgins books. They are nice fast reads. I'll just add a few to the list
March 23, 2017
This was a well-laid out story, slowly letting bits of investigative information out as it is uncovered - and I was rather surprised by the revelation of the killer. Looking forward to checking out the next book in the series.
May 13, 2020
Not too bad. I enjoyed it. Some parts were a little slow but it was good overall. The end had an interesting twist but still left things unanswered. For example, what happened to the homeless man?
May 2, 2019
At the beginning, a son comes home to find his father dead in a chair. As readers quickly find out, the dead man is the evening anchor for a major news channel and his death will send reverberations throughout the country, including the presidency.
Eliza Blake is the morning TV anchor, a widow, and a mother. Her star is rising but jealousy is dominant in the TV world. Someone feels threatened and is killing to keep secrets from being reported.
Copies of this book are still making the rounds 20 years later. I found this copy in a book sale. 1990s headline-making issues are prevalent in the book. Short chapters are narrated by multiple people which keeps the action moving. The killer was a total shock to me, but made perfect sense.
Eliza Blake is the morning TV anchor, a widow, and a mother. Her star is rising but jealousy is dominant in the TV world. Someone feels threatened and is killing to keep secrets from being reported.
Copies of this book are still making the rounds 20 years later. I found this copy in a book sale. 1990s headline-making issues are prevalent in the book. Short chapters are narrated by multiple people which keeps the action moving. The killer was a total shock to me, but made perfect sense.
August 27, 2019
An excellent, but dated, story of politics, news media, and murder. Today’s 24/7 media coverage and the impact of technology have had their impact on politics and the news media. Unfortunately, much of the impact of the story might be lost on someone who was not aware of what was happening in the USA in the 1980s and 1990s. The story revolves around a Washington DC Television station crew, especially the life of TV anchorwoman Eliza Blake. As she becomes aware of the secrets of important people in politics, she has to examine her conscience as to what to make public and what to keep a secret…. And are secrets able to be kept in Washington DC??? Excellent for those who lived through the 80s an 90s. the many zigs and zags in the action, keep the reader hopping.
February 3, 2019
I think this was the first of the Key News novels from Mary Jane Clark. I've read several, so it was probably time that I read the first. It is nice to know how they started. It took a long time in the book to learn of the first murder, but, though this surprised me, it did not bother me. I enjoyed the introduction of the familiar characters and the intrigue of personal secrets of the staff being leaked in lurid headlines to the popular tabloid.
August 16, 2021
This is a quick read with a mystery that is not gory or gruesome. The story is set in New York City and involves TV personalities and politics. The solution is well-camouflaged. The only difficulty is
that the reader must remember that it was written in 1998 and, therefore, the technology mentioned has been surpassed today. There are none of the post 9/11 security issues, for example. This is the first of her Key News series. The author is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark.
that the reader must remember that it was written in 1998 and, therefore, the technology mentioned has been surpassed today. There are none of the post 9/11 security issues, for example. This is the first of her Key News series. The author is the daughter of Mary Higgins Clark.
July 31, 2024
I had a hard time getting into this book. I don't much care for politics, and this had both real politics and work politics. It also felt like the book spent a lot of time setting the scene. A lot of explanation, and description. I found myself having a hard time concentrating so when the story got actually moving...I missed it.
August 29, 2020
Years ago I read a few of the KEY News Mysteries, but after reading the first book in her new series, decided to go back and start the this series at the beginning. Love short chapters. Lots of red herrings.
May 20, 2017
Great Mystery Thriller. Story kept me interested. I enjoyed the book.
July 26, 2017
Could not get into the story line. I read 40% before I got to a the beginning of a plot. It took too long to get started.
July 27, 2017
Loved this book! Great story, great characters, great read!
January 1, 2018
A descent mystery. It's a bit dated to read now.
June 4, 2018
A fun little mystery that is pleasant and engaging. A nice break between heavier stuff.
November 16, 2018
It was ok. Seemed a little slow. I didn't like the fact that the word "retarded" was used to describe a special needs adult.
September 19, 2019
A good story about the news media and how it works . Good suspense with a bit of a twist.
May 29, 2021
Great book. . . Read sort of like a soap opera, and I had to listen really close to keep up with the characters. Looking forward to the next book!
July 21, 2021
Audiobook
Not bad. Not great.
Not bad. Not great.
October 7, 2021
A good mystery, pretty fast paced, surprise ending. Entertaining.
March 30, 2022
Cozy mystery
This is a nice little Murder mystery, whodunit, without all the descriptions of violence. Very subtlety written. A newscaster, a presidential candidate and a murderer.
This is a nice little Murder mystery, whodunit, without all the descriptions of violence. Very subtlety written. A newscaster, a presidential candidate and a murderer.
Read
June 7, 2022This is probably a really good book. But there are so many characters, I had a very hard time keeping them all straight.
January 19, 2023
Enjoyed this mystery, looking forward to more in the series!
September 27, 2023
The book kept me interested and I was actually surprised by the ending; however, I felt it left a few storylines open at the end and the next book in the series doesn’t seem to pick them up.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 98 reviews