Spotlight on The Story That Wouldn’t Die by Christina Estes

From the publisher:

Emmy Award-winning reporter Christina Estes uses her twenty-year career for inspiration for her mysteries. In The Story That Wouldn’t Die, Jolene Garcia refuses to stop investigating, but someone is determined to kill the story—and maybe her.

Phoenix, Arizona TV reporter Jolene Garcia is fresh off winning her first Emmy and committed to covering stories that matter to her community. But Jolene’s managers want stories that grab immediate attention and generate clicks, not ones that take time to develop.

When a beloved small business owner dies in a car crash, Jolene isn’t convinced it was an accident. He’d been raising questions about who keeps getting lucrative deals at city hall—questions that powerful people don’t want answered. The deeper Jolene digs, the more suspicious things she uncovers.

Exposing greed, ambition, and deception could become the biggest story of Jolene’s career. Her bosses tell her to drop it. But there’s a story here, and Jolene’s going to find it.

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Emmy Award-winning reporter Christina Estes uses her twenty-year career for inspiration for her mysteries. In The Story That Wouldn’t Die, Jolene Garcia refuses to stop investigating, but someone is determined to kill the story—and maybe her—for good.

“Vibrant . . . A brain-teasing, fair-play puzzle.”
—Publishers Weekly

“The compelling mystery and pursuit of answers make Jolene a fun and engaging amateur detective.”
–First Clue

Editorial Reviews

The Boston Globe – One of the New Books to Add to Your Summer Reading List

“Readers will enjoy the fast-moving plot twists.” –Booklist

“Vibrant. . . A brain-teasing, fair-play puzzle.” –Publishers Weekly

Also by Estes:

My thoughts:

This is a terrific book for our time. It combines a good mystery with the issue of corruption in politics. This may strike a familiar chord to some.

Meet reporter Jolene who is motivated, determined and capable…oh, and stubborn. She will work hard to figure out all that she needs to, even if her editor is not always supportive.

What led to the death of a small business owner? This is a question that Jolene is determined to investigate. Will she get her story? Readers can guess the answer to that.

This is a crime novel that offers an involving story on some timely themes. The pages keep turning.

I look forward to what Estes will come up with next for her readers.

Many thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press-Minotaur for this title. All thoughts are my own.

Pub date: 19 August 2025

320 pages