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As the Wicked Watch

ebook
1 of 1 copy available
1 of 1 copy available

The first in a thrilling new series from Emmy Award-winning TV Host and Journalist Tamron Hall, As The Wicked Watch follows a reporter as she unravels the disturbing mystery around the deaths of two young Black women, the work of a serial killer terrorizing Chicago.

When crime reporter Jordan Manning leaves her hometown in Texas to take a job at a television station in Chicago, she's one step closer to her dream: a coveted anchor chair on a national network.

Jordan is smart and aggressive, with unabashed star-power, and often the only woman of color in the newsroom. Her signature? Arriving first on the scene—in impractical designer stilettos. Armed with a master's degree in forensic science and impeccable instincts, Jordan has been able to balance her dueling motivations: breaking every big story—and giving a voice to the voiceless.

From her time in Texas, she's covered the vilest of human behaviors but nothing has prepared her for Chicago. Jordan is that rare breed of a journalist who can navigate a crime scene as well as she can a newsroom—often noticing what others tend to miss. Again and again, she is called to cover the murders of Black women, many of them sexually assaulted, most brutalized, and all of them quickly forgotten.

All until Masey James—the story that Jordan just can't shake, despite all efforts. A 15-year-old girl whose body was found in an abandoned lot, Masey has come to represent for Jordan all of the frustration and anger that her job often forces her to repress. Putting the rest of her work and her fraying personal life aside, Jordan does everything she can to give the story the coverage it desperately requires, and that a missing Black child would so rarely get.

There's a serial killer on the loose, Jordan believes, and he's hiding in plain sight.

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    • Library Journal

      May 1, 2021

      Fresh from Texas, crime reporter Jordan Manning eagerly takes on Chicago, where she is often the only woman of color in the newsroom, always arrives first on the crime scene (in her trademark stilettoes), and frequently covers the murder of Black women. Sadly, these cases often don't get the attention they deserve, but Jordan plunges into the case of a 15-year-old discovered in an abandoned lot and follows it to the end. From Emmy Award--winning journalist Hall; with a 100,000-copy first printing.

      Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

    • Booklist

      Starred review from August 1, 2021
      A serial killer targeting young Black women in the city of Chicago, and a long-standing tangle of political and police indifference and/or blindness to crimes against Blacks, are what a Black journalist confronts in Hall's street-smart debut mystery, the first in a projected series. Jordan Manning is a TV reporter who specializes in covering violent crimes. The discovery of the body of a young Black woman in a vacant lot near the El tracks galvanizes Manning in a way that sends her from reporting to investigating on her own. The police are quick to dismiss the victim as a runaway, but the teen's background as an honor student from a solid home screams out otherwise to Manning. From the start, readers will be intrigued by the myriad skills that go into street reporting, from figuring out which calls to the TV station's tip line are credible to how to develop sources, how to set up shots and interview difficult or traumatized subjects on-air, and how to avoid being manipulated by sources with agendas. Manning's determination to find the killer behind eight unsolved homicides leads her down increasingly dangerous paths. A pulse-pounding story that also provides a fascinating and important look into the difficulties of reporting on and finding justice for Black victims.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Emmy Award-winning Hall's extensive background as a TV journalist, including reporting for NBC and anchoring for MSNBC, infuses a great deal of credibility and behind-the-scenes verve to her first crime novel.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Booklist

      August 1, 2021
      A serial killer targeting young Black women in the city of Chicago, and a long-standing tangle of political and police indifference and/or blindness to crimes against Blacks, are what a Black journalist confronts in Hall's street-smart debut mystery, the first in a projected series. Jordan Manning is a TV reporter who specializes in covering violent crimes. The discovery of the body of a young Black woman in a vacant lot near the El tracks galvanizes Manning in a way that sends her from reporting to investigating on her own. The police are quick to dismiss the victim as a runaway, but the teen's background as an honor student from a solid home screams out otherwise to Manning. From the start, readers will be intrigued by the myriad skills that go into street reporting, from figuring out which calls to the TV station's tip line are credible to how to develop sources, how to set up shots and interview difficult or traumatized subjects on-air, and how to avoid being manipulated by sources with agendas. Manning's determination to find the killer behind eight unsolved homicides leads her down increasingly dangerous paths. A pulse-pounding story that also provides a fascinating and important look into the difficulties of reporting on and finding justice for Black victims.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Emmy Award-winning Hall's extensive background as a TV journalist, including reporting for NBC and anchoring for MSNBC, infuses a great deal of credibility and behind-the-scenes verve to her first crime novel.

      COPYRIGHT(2021) Booklist, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

    • Publisher's Weekly

      Starred review from September 6, 2021
      Set in 2007 Chicago, Emmy Award–winning broadcast journalist Hall’s outstanding debut and series launch introduces TV journalist Jordan Manning. A tenacious reporter, Jordan has been making a name for herself by arriving first at crime scenes. When the body of 15-year-old African American Masey James is found in an abandoned lot, Jordan refuses to believe the girl was a runaway, as the police insist. Masey had a promising future, having just been accepted into a prestigious STEM program at a distinguished high school. Jordan puts the demands of her job and her personal life on hold in her effort to discover who murdered Masey, and comes to suspect the girl was the victim of a serial killer. Hall brings insight and nuance to such matters as journalism ethics, police treatment of murder cases involving Black women, and competition among journalists and their reliance on those behind the scenes. Readers will want to see a lot more of intelligent, ambitious, and assertive Jordan. Agent: Eve Attermann, WME.

    • Library Journal

      October 1, 2021

      DEBUT Journalist Hall bursts onto the mystery landscape with the first in an exciting new series featuring Chicago crime reporter Jordan Manning, who prides herself on always being the first on the scene. Jordan has what other reporters don't--a master's degree in forensic science, which allows her to see what others miss when investigating crime scenes. When a 15-year-old Black girl is found dead in an abandoned lot, Jordan is unable to shake the feeling that there someone lurking on Chicago's streets is particularly targeting and killing young Black girls, even after three young boys are charged with the girl's murder. Jordan is an exciting lead for this series. She is tireless in her search for answers, isn't afraid to be the smartest in the room, and is determined to shine light on the missing and murdered Black girls that no one else seems to care about. Her perseverance leads to a heart-pounding and unexpected climax. VERDICT Hall's decades of field experience lend a lot of credibility to the story and provide a strong footing for an intriguing new crime series.--Siobhan Egan, Barrington P.L., RI

      Copyright 2021 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

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