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As the Wicked Watch
As the Wicked Watch: The First Jordan Manning Novel | Tamron Hall
9 posts | 8 read | 11 to read
The first in a thrilling new series from Emmy Award-winning journalist Tamron Hall, in which a reporter unravels the disturbing mystery around the deaths of two black girls, 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 a 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 thus far been able to balance her dueling motivations: breaking every big story--and giving voice to the voiceless. From her time reporting in Texas, she's sure she has covered the vilest of human behaviors, but nothing has prepared her for Chicago. You see, Jordan is that rare breed of 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 females, 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, try as she might. A 15-year-old girl whose body was found in an abandoned lot, Masey has come to represent for Jordan all of the frustration that her job--with its required distance--often forces her to repress. Putting the rest of her workload 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.
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JackOBotts
Pickpick

⭐️⭐️⭐️

So-so leaning to a pick. This was clunky at points, but a good first go from journalist-tv host-writer Tamron Hall. What can‘t this woman do?!

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kera_11
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Jordan is a crime reporter & when a horrific death of a Black teen girl isn‘t getting the attention it deserves, she takes it upon herself to solve it. This book talks a lot about the disparity of reporting & work done around crimes against Black communities vs others & the horrific fates of young Black girls. I wanted to like this so much but it fell flat for me, very obvious first time author, pacing, tone & telling vs showing was all not good

5 likes2 stack adds
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KathyWheeler
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Mehso-so

It‘s pretty clear this is a book by a first time author that‘s probably a little autobiographical as well. Hall‘s mc, Jordan Manning, is a tv journalist who gets caught up investigating a murder that has devastated the Black community. The book is a little overly preachy and gets a little draggy at some points. I‘ll probably listen to the second book.

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KathyWheeler
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I‘m not happy that they‘re building something on the back end of a trail I walk on. It‘s been awhile since I‘ve been back there, and I was surprised to come across this. I‘ve got three hours left in this book; it took a turn that I wasn‘t expecting. #audiowalk

Reggie They paved paradise and put up a parking lot. We used to have a trail where the community would go walk in the evenings and the neighboring private school thought a new administration building was more important. It sucks. 2y
KathyWheeler @Reggie True. I thought this trail was all university land but it must not be as this is not a university construction project. It definitely sucks. 2y
26 likes2 comments
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KathyWheeler
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The narrator for this book reminds me so much of the narrator for the Lou Norton series, so, even though Jordan Manning is not like Lou, I keep conflating them. So far I‘m enjoying this book. I love that the temperatures are lowering here; it‘s so nice to walk outside and not be drenched in sweat and not risk heat stroke. #audiowalk

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Hana321
Pickpick

A debut novel from Tamron Hall. This is the first novel in a series featuring Jordan Manning. Jordan is a black crime reporter in Chicago, and her character does seem to share a lot of similarities with Tamron Hall herself. When a missing black teen turns up dead, Jordan throws all her resources behind leading the police to solving the case. This feels like a ripped from reality tale, complete with unhelpful cops, and minority victims.

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amma-keep-reading
Pickpick

Okay-kay-kay Tamron Hall! Welcome to my world Jordan Manning! Looking forward to the next installment.

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JoyBlue
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Mehso-so

This debut mystery thriller is set in Chicago (pro). The author has room to grow in her fiction writing (hopefully temporary con). I‘m not sorry I read this, but I expected to like it much more. Read my full review here: https://debbybrauer.org/#as-the-wicked-watch-jordan-manning-1

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ReadingRambo
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Mehso-so

Yes. That Tamron Hall! Ok, so it's about a Chicago news reporter that is sucked into the case of a missing Black girl. There's a lot of social commentary, and its a great setup for a series........but this book needs a structural/developmental edit. Lots of repetition and rambling unfortunately. I love Tamron Hall, and with the right team this concept could be a very cool series.