Sixth thriller in the series about Clare Carlson, investigative journalist in New York, features BROADCAST BLUES. Whereas earlier stories such as Below The Fold felt more firmly rooted in newspaper work, which Clare has now left behind, the broadcast theme puts her firmly on air with Channel 10.

The big news is a car bomb which has killed Wendy Kyle, a former NYPD officer, who left under a cloud of rumoured assault on a boss who sexually harassed her. She became a private investigator. As the producer for a news show Clare Carlson wants to support a woman who was let down by officialdom, and assure the other citizens that they are safe.

The Channel 10 news staff are lively as ever, providing continuity for the reader between books. Susan Endicott is the manager Clare doesn’t like, but they manage to become frenemies for this tale. Clare has her work cut out with Brett and Dani, the co-anchors, who are in a fractious relationship which sometimes shows on air; a sports reporter who doesn’t like sports; and a traffic reporter who wants a helicopter that is definitely not in the budget. The owner of Channel 10, media baron Brendan Kaiser, is selling the business, and all feels precarious.

Learning that the late Wendy Kyle was catching cheating husbands makes Clare wonder if she made powerful enemies. For instance, the name of Jaime Ortiz, a former police commissioner and now candidate in a primary election for governor, appears in connection with the lady. Other wealthy and influential men think nothing of dating women outside marriage, and Clare, approaching a significant birthday, does a lot of stopping to think about her own life.  

The thrice-divorced Clare still looks at men with interest, but doesn’t make time for a social life. She wonders if she’ll be left to age alone, but thinks it’s not too late to find the right man, though we see that he is almost certainly going to be a divorcee too.

I found the second half of the tale moves much faster, as all the pieces are in place and expert author R.G. Belsky just starts toppling a chain of dominoes. At that point it’s hard to look away from the page. Expect murder and duplicity, all covered by Channel 10. BROADCAST BLUES could refer to the NYPD, the troubles at the station, or the angst of a woman seeing her best years in the rear view mirror. These make a powerful combination and probably Belsky’s best story to date.