Below the Fold

by R. G. Belsky

Overview

Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Award Gold Winner for Mystery

When the murder of a "nobody" triggers an avalanche

Every human life is supposed to be important. Everyone should matter. But that's not the case in the cutthroat TV news-rating world where Clare Carlson works. Sex, money, and power sell. Only murder victims of the right social strata are considered worth covering. Not the murder of a "nobody."

So, when the battered body of a homeless woman named Dora Gayle is found on the streets of New York City, her murder barely gets a mention in the media. But Clare—a TV news director who still has a reporter's instincts—decides to dig deeper into the seemingly meaningless death. She uncovers mysterious links between Gayle and a number of wealthy and influential figures.

There is a prominent female defense attorney; a scandal-ridden ex-congressman; a decorated NYPD detective; and—most shocking of all—a wealthy media mogul who owns the TV station where Clare works.

Soon there are more murders, more victims, more questions. As the bodies pile up, Clare realizes that her job, her career, and maybe even her life are at stake as she chases after her biggest story ever.

Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Robert Crais

While all of the novels in the Clare Carlson Mystery Series stand on their own and can be read in any order, the publication sequence is:

Yesterday's News
Below the Fold
The Last Scoop
Beyond the Headlines
It's News to Me (coming in 2022)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781608093250
Publisher:	Oceanview Publishing
Publication date:	05/07/2019
Series:	Clare Carlson Mystery , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	368
Sales rank:	948,021
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

R. G. Belsky is an author of crime fiction and a journalist in New York City. He has been a top editor at the New York Post, NY Daily News, Star Magazine, and NBC News. Below the Fold is the second in his award-winning Clare Carlson Mystery Series, following Yesterday's News, and is followed by The Last Scoop and Beyond the Headlines. Belsky resides in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

03/11/2019

An unpersuasive portrayal of the news business and a tired plotline mar Belsky’s sequel to 2018’s Yesterday’s News, which introduced New York City TV news director Clare Carlson. The implausible backstory doesn’t help. Carlson won a Pulitzer for reporting on a kidnapping and presumed murder, without revealing that the 11-year-old victim, Lucy Devlin, was actually the daughter she’d given up for adoption. Carlson is now searching for Lucy, having learned that the girl is still alive. Meanwhile, her boss, media mogul Brendan Kaiser, is linked to a sensational murder case. Someone battered Grace Mancuso to death with a replica of the Statue of Liberty in her Manhattan apartment. Mancuso was an investment firm employee who testified about her colleagues’ fraud scheme. Near her corpse is a list of names, including Kaiser’s, which prompts Carlson to try to solve the killing and discover how the names are connected with each other. Thin characters, incongruities, and errors make suspension of disbelief a challenge. Agent: Nalini Akolekar, Spencerhill Assoc. (May)

Publishers Weekly

"Below the Fold takes readers on a whiplash ride through a New York murder case. The television news investigation provides a fascinating lens for the story. Heroine Clare Carlson is formidable, human, and thoroughly authentic. R. G. Belsky knows his stuff.” —Meg Gardiner, Edgar Award-winning author

“In an era of "fake news" and political attacks on the free press, reporter-turned-TV news director Clare Carlson personifies the best in journalism—tenacious, honest, and relentless in her pursuit of the truth and to giving a voice to those who can't speak for themselves.” —Lee Goldberg, New York Times best-selling author

“Below the Fold is a gripping and intelligent thriller that rips open the dark underbelly of TV news, written by a former television and print journalist himself. Fast-moving and full of colorful, down-and-dirty characters, this terrific novel is the second in a series starring the compelling and engaging TV journalist Clare Carlson.” —Douglas Preston, New York Times best-selling author

“In Below the Fold, R. G. Belsky has created a twisty tale where almost nothing is as it seems and everyone is hiding dark secrets, including damaged heroine Clare Carlson. Belsky's background in everything news makes you feel like you're feeling the heat of the spotlights right next to the anchors in front of the TV cameras.” —Matt Coyle, Anthony, Shamus, and Lefty Award-winning author

“Below the Fold is a terrific mystery, written with a veteran journalist's eye. The pacing and plotting are everything you want, but it's R. G. Belsky's insider knowledge that adds a wonderful layer to this story of media and murder.” —Michael Koryta, New York Times best-selling author

Praise for The Clare Carlson Mystery Series

“Belsky’s Yesterday’s News elicits all parents’ deepest fear—the disappearance of a child. But this intelligent, gripping novel is about so much more: ambition, secrets, and, most shocking of all, truth.” —Reed Farrel Coleman, New York Times best-selling author


“(Yesterday’s News) A complex and compelling nonstop cat-and-mouse chase—and you're never quite sure which one's the mouse. Even the savviest of readers will be gasping in awe at Belsky's impressive story-telling skills.” —Hank Phillippi Ryan, Agatha, Anthony, and Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author


“Belsky's behind-the-headlines thriller Yesterday’s News is about truth, lies—and how much of each we're willing to live with.” —Lori Rader-Day, Mary Higgins Clark Award-winning author

From the Publisher