Dead Air

By: Talia Paxton

Narrated by: Roberto Scarlato

David Docherty helmed the six o'clock news on KRBT when reports of a mall shooting took over his broadcast. When a girl trapped inside the mall calls the station to give her a report, she goes from witness to victim live on air.

Dead Air is the story of how tragedy and sudden fame can affect everyone involved in the event. It is the story of David, a reporter, whose live newscast of young Maisie Hughes' death becomes a viral sensation. His guilt is in conflict with his desire to use the event to further his career. At the same time it is a story about the Hughes family: mom, dad, and middle sister. They are thrust in the spotlight where the private family is forced to reveal painful secrets and deal with their loss all under the public's scrutiny.

©2014 Elizabeth Cauley (P)2015 Elizabeth Cauley

A single moment... haunting consequences

Received as an audio copy from the narrator, this is an honest review. With a magnificent, award winning performance Roberto Scarlato anchors a realistic, gut wrenching and poignant story written by Talia Paxton. For reporter David Docherty, making it to the anchor desk for KRBT news was suppose to be the beginning of better things for his career but never could imagine to be on live television speaking to a young woman caught up on a mall shooting. A David tries as best as possible to comfort a terrified Maisie Hughes as she becomes another victim of one man's rampage; the experienced has left David haunted... and then his world is plunged into hell as the public fights to decide whether or not the reporter did the thing in Maisie's final moments of is a villain everyone can abuse for their entertainment. For Maisie's family, amidst the tsunami of personal grief, shattering secrets discovered about their family; about David's family threatens to absolutely consume their entire lives if something doesn't pull everyone back from going over the precipice before it's too late.

Highly recommended.

Tense, Riveting, Stunning and Heartbreakingly Brilliant!

TV News Reporter David Docherty had one goal … to anchor the six o’clock news on KRBT. He finally got his chance as a “fill in”, and as fate would have it … that was the night a horrific story broke live … a story that would change the lives of so many … a story that would result in “Dead Air” … Tense, riveting, and absolutely stunning, I was completely invested in this story, in these characters, from the opening words, through every unexpected turn, to the final conclusion! The writing is “edge of seat” perfection, the characters a brilliant mix of “I love ‘em” and “I loathe ‘em”, with a few that managed to sway this listener to the other side by story’s end! I’m not giving plot details to avoid playing spoiler, but this story, THIS timely, albeit disturbing, thought provoking story is absolutely worth a listen! Brilliantly and beautifully narrated, the mood was perfectly set, the characters captured exactly as the author intended, lending an air of absolute believability to this hauntingly realistic, story! I was overcome with feeling … so many feelings .. as I listened! The dialogue spoken with perfect emotional intonation, never overstated, at all times dynamically perfect! I found myself struggling for composure as I listened, juggling feelings of rage with overwhelming compassion, and then replaying sections sobbing! This is a powerful story, one that gave me the shivers, one that will not be soon forgotten, and one that deserves five solid stars across all categories!

Could be happening right now

This is one of those books that I absolutely hate to read. As a funeral director I deal with death every day, and tragedy is commonplace to me. This is why I tend to stay away from realistic things such as this, it hits too close to home. So, I try to just hit things that can never happen such as fantasy, sci-fi, or paranormal horror. As much as I didn't want to read this, I did, and I have to admit it was a compelling emotion driven story.

You have a girl who dies on air, and a conflicted reporter who is involved has to decide if he wants to launch his career on the back of this death, or be moral and "not". It also deals with a lot of other "heavy" issues. The entire book is an emotional rollercoaster. I can easily see this happening today, whether at a school shooting or in another similar location. What do all the parties involved do to deal with this event? I will say that the emotions in this book are raw and real. You feel them as much as the characters do. This is not a book that you will put down and walk away from; it will stick with you and whenever you hear of something similar happening on the news you WILL think of this.

As much as I hate to admit it, this was a fantastic book, and it was hard to stop listening to once I put it on. Part of that is because of the gravitas that Robert Scarlato puts into his readings. The man can narrate, and it feels like this is his story to tell. He really fills it with the emotional gravity that it deserves. I also blame him for making me read this book, because he is one of my favorite narrators and I will try anything that he does! So, Darn you, Scarlato!!!

Even though I did receive a promo code for this review it in no way influenced my considerations of the material, and in fact, inspired me to be more honest. In fact, getting a code generally makes me harsher as a reviewer as I am more often concerned what someone like Me will decide based on my review.


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Dead Air

This was a very good story. It was gut wrenching. Narration by Roberto Scarlato was perfect. I was given this book free for an honest review.

Outstanding!

Engaging story about the aftermath of a mass shooting at a mall and the effect the death of a witness to the shooting has on a number of people. I couldn't put this book down. It is one of the best I have read this year.