News: A Tale of Too Much Information and a Girl

By: Simon Plaster
Publisher: Mossik Press
Publication Date: December 2016
ISBN: 978-0-9914480-7-4
Reviewed by: Amy Lignor 
Review Date: April 14, 2017 

This is one of the funniest books you will read in a long, long time. Yes, it is an intriguing mystery, yet it is filled with colorful characters, great lingo, and absolute reality when it comes to showing exactly how horrific journalism (AKA: the lack of actual factual reporting) there really is out there in the world today.

Her name is Henrietta. She used to live in small town Henryetta, Oklahoma, where she worked for the local newspaper, the Henryetta Weekly Herald, as a journalist. This is a small, small town, so it didn’t really have a whole lot of juicy headlines, but Henrietta made sure to always research well, investigate appropriately, and always tell the truth – even if it was a bit boring at times. She did, however, sink her teeth into a couple of stories that promoted her up the ladder by Mr. Harold, the owner and publisher of the Herald. Mr. Harold also encouraged her to seek a brighter future. So, Henrietta ends up in a much bigger city working for a local TV station as an assistant producer. What does that mean, you ask? Well...poor Henrietta is basically a girl who runs around helping a reporter who’s not all that nice, fixing her makeup, fixing her hair, etc. But one day, she receives a call from her mother back in Henryetta. Her mom, Wynona Sue, who works at the “Best Little Hair House in Henryetta,” calls her daughter to tell her about a reality show that’s going to be shot inside the Hair House. She needs her daughter’s help when it comes to the “news” and how she should act on TV. But that’s not all that’s happening back home.

Three girls have gone missing, No one knows why and there are no clues as to where they went or what happened. When she heads home, Henrietta finds herself in a real mess. The person who took over her job at the Herald is all about salacious journalism. She picks and chooses certain words from a very real story and presents it in a way that makes for great tabloid journalism. Her name is Gigi Carpenter. She used to work for Newsweek. Let’s just say her demise came about because of a man by the name of Trump who sued her for ruining his character.

Readers will be engrossed by Henrietta and...Henryetta. Not only is she knee-deep in dealing with this ridiculous Gigi, but she is also trying like heck to track down these three missing girls who literally seem to have disappeared off the planet from the alley behind the Ps-n-Qs pool hall and quaint café. You have characters and suspects galore in this one, and each and every one of them owns a hysterical background story all their own. Will Henrietta be able to go up the ladder by solving this crime? Will she be able to expose a bad journalist? Every question is answered, and any mystery reader who loves that tinge of humor will absolutely love this book.

Quill Says: HEADLINE—Simon Plaster has Once Again Written a ‘5-Star’ Tale!

For more information on News: A Tale of Too Much Information and a Girl, please visit the author's Goodreads page at: www.goodreads.com/author/show/5815519.Simon