The novel “The Media Murders” by Lee Gimenez was published for the first time in 2016. It’s part of the J.T. Ryan series.
When Mark Parker, a journalist who is an old friend of FBI Assistant Director Erin Welch, tells her that he’s investigating a really big story linked to high-profile murders in the world of information, the woman doesn’t know what to think. When the man dies in what appears to be an accident, Welch starts having some suspicions.
J.T. Ryan is charged by Erin Welch with discreetly investigating that strange story, which becomes even more suspicious when another journalist apparently commits suicide. When Homeland Security takes over the investigation and totally cuts off the FBI, concerns rise dramatically and Welch turns to a contact of hers in the CIA.
Lee Gimenez draws inspiration from the real world for his stories and in “The Media Murders” it’s about the world of information. How much influence can a person who can decide what news is spread have on society? Having many newspapers, television channels, and information websites, at a local and national level, is supposed to ensure plurality in information but what would happen if someone could control them?
The plot includes a lot of action and danger like the previous novels in the J.T. Ryan series. This private investigator does unofficial work for the FBI because its agents have to follow laws and bureaucratic rules while Ryan can use quick and decidedly informal methods to get results.
The story is completely autonomous even if it contains various references to “Skyflash“, the previous novel in the J.T. Ryan series. Lee Gimenez includes enough explanations for people who haven’t read it. This also concerns Ryan’s personal problems with his girlfriend, who is very concerned about the dangers he faces during his investigations.
J.T. Ryan is used to facing dangers of various kinds but in “The Media Murders” it becomes difficult to understand where they come from because he gets stonewalled even by the agencies that are supposed to work together. The problems caused by conflicts of jurisdiction constitute another theme of the novel, linked to the theme of interferences that have the precise purpose of hindering investigations. Erin Welch must resort to the help of a CIA contact to get around those obstacles, and Ryan must contain his “lone wolf” nature in order to conduct an investigation that takes him into places far different from the ones he’s used to.
The problem of the influence of media and at other levels is developed by Lee Gimenez also following the point of view of the novel’s villains. Hidden entanglements in various sectors of society show perverse relationships, in every sense, between people with different ambitions that are not always aligned. Where the accomplices always agree is in being ruthless in carrying out plans that intend to increase their power at the expense of the people.
Told in Lee Gimenez’s dry style, “The Media Murders” is an excellent novel for readers who love action-packed thrillers and plots full of twists. It’s perfect for readers who appreciate stories that also have political ramifications. It’s part of the J.T. series. Ryan but it tells an independent story with a proper ending, so you can read it and then decide if and when to continue with the novels in this series Lee Gimenez wrote in the following years. It’s available on Amazon USA, UK, and Canada.
