Title: As the Wicked Watch by Tamron Hall
Jordan Manning Series Book One
Publisher: William Morrow
Genre: Contemporary, Mystery, Suspense
Length: 400 pages
Book Rating: B
Complimentary Review Copy Provided by Publisher Through Edelweiss
Summary:
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.
Review:
As the Wicked Watch by Tamron Hall is an intriguing mystery that does not shy away from social issues and racial injustices.
Broadcast journalist Jordan Manning has been covering the disappearance of fifteen-year-old Masey James. The Black teenager vanished without a trace and the police are treating the case as just another runaway. Masey’s mother, Pamela, insists something has happened to her daughter and Jordan makes sure this case stays in the public eye. While filming an update on the missing teenager, Masey’s body is discovered in an abandoned, overgrown playground. Jordan becomes fully invested in learning the identity of Masey’s killer and she puts herself in harm’s way as she searches for answers.
Jordan is confident, intelligent and ambitious. She is dedicated to ensuring Masey does not become another forgotten missing Black girl. She is willing to put in long hours as she interviews family members and people in Masey’s neighborhood. Jordan also reflects on how under represented Black women are in positions of power in broadcast journalism.
When the police make an arrest, Jordan and the rest of the community are outraged and believe they have made a mistake. With a degree in forensic science, Jordan follows her instincts as she investigates the information she has uncovered. Certain she knows who killed Masey, she sometimes acts a little recklessly as she tries to locate the person responsible.
As the Wicked Watch is a clever mystery with an interesting lead protagonist. Jordan is tenacious as Masey’s case tragically turns into a murder investigation. She is a mostly appealing character but she is not without flaws. The police are a little quick to dismiss viable leads and their eventual arrests bring national attention to the case. The storyline is unique but the pacing for the first third of the book is very slow. With a plethora of characters, it is sometimes not easy to keep up with who everyone is. Jordan sometimes goes off on unexpected thought tangents that are a little repetitious. With unexpected plot twists, Tamron Hall brings this engaging mystery to a satisfying conclusion. All in all, a decent first installment in the Jordan Manning series.
