Book Review: Air Time by Hank Phillippi Ryan (Charlie McNally #3)

Stars: 4 out of 5
Pros: Great characters, right mix of mystery and realistic romance

Cons: I had a hard time getting into the mystery subject

The Bottom Line:

Fake purses?  I yawn

But even this guy did get

Into mystery

Charlie Faces Danger in the World of High Fashion

It's been about two years since the last book about TV investigative reporter Charlotte "Charlie" McNally came out.  I had enjoyed the previous two books, so I was glad to see Air Time finally see the light of day.  While it took a little effort for me to get into, I was ultimately glad I read it.

Charlie works at the TV station in Boston.  As a middle age woman, she knows she is on borrowed time in a career that favors the young.  After years of being married to her career, she's trying to juggle her relationship with Josh and his nine-year-old daughter.

This book finds Charlie working on her next big story.  Despite some politics at the news stations, she is going ahead with her investigation into the world of fake fashion, specifically purses.  Unfortunately, their best lead cancels a meeting and then vanishes.  Is this lead in danger?

Meanwhile, Charlie has just gotten a...well actually, she doesn't know quite what Josh just did.  Did he ask her to move in?  Or did he propose?  And independent Charlie isn't sure she would accept if that was a proposal.  Does she even have time for a love life?

Originally published as part of a romantic suspense line, the romance and mystery are almost on equal footing here.  But the romance isn't fluff but built out of real characters struggling with real life issues.  As a result, I don't mind its emphasis here.  In fact, I found the romantic story more intriguing than the mystery at times, and I was frustrated by how the romantic story got chocked out by the mystery in the final 100 pages.

To be honest, it took me a while to get into the mystery.  Let's face it, I'm a guy.  And I'm not going to gravitate to a plot about phony purses right off the bat.  Not only do I not carry a purse, but my idea of fashion is whatever is cheap but fits.  Setting that aside, the mystery did move forward steadily and built steam as it went.  By the time I reached those last 100 pages, I was hooked and needed to know who was involved.  And there were some nice twists along the way.

What really excited me about this book was returning to the characters.  I fell in love with them in the first book, and they continue to entertain.  Granted, at times I wanted to shake some sense into Charlie, but even when I disagreed with what she was doing, I did understand why she was doing it.  I have always loved the leading men in her life.  Josh is a tad on the perfect side when it comes to boyfriends, but that wall comes down some in this book.  I like him better for it.  Franklin, Charlie's producer at work, makes a good side kick, trying to keep Charlie out of danger while working with her to get the scoop.  While the book really does focus on them, the rest of the cast is fleshed out enough to make them seem real when they are on the page.

Even though I didn't connect with the subject matter right away, I still enjoyed reading Air Time.  Charlie's next report is already on my schedule for viewing, I mean reading.