A chatfest and a mystery series

Ladies Who Punch: The Explosive Inside Story of The View ~ by Ramin Setoodeh, 2019, nonfiction, 336 pages

When Barbara Walters launched The View, network executives told her that hosting it would tarnish her reputation.  Instead, within ten years, she had revolutionized morning TV and made household names of her co-hosts:  Joy Behar, Star Jones, Meredith Vieira, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck.  But the daily chatfest* didn’t just comment on the news; it became the news.

Based on unprecedented access, including interviews with nearly every host, journalist Ramin Setoodeh takes you backstage where the stars really spoke their minds.  Here's the full story of how Star, then Rosie, then Whoopi tried to take over the show, while Barbara struggled to maintain control of it all, a modern-day Lear with her media-savvy daughters.  Read about how so many co-hosts had a tough time fitting in, suffered humiliations at the table, then pushed themselves away, feeling betrayed ― with one nearly quitting during a commercial.  The director, meanwhile, was being driven insane, especially by Rosie.

Setoodeh uncovers the truth about Star’s weight loss and wedding madness, Rosie’s feud with Trump, Whoopi’s toxic relationship with Rosie, Barbara’s difficulty stepping away.  Plus, all the unseen hugs, snubs, and tears.  This book shows why The View can be mimicked and mocked, but it can never be matched.

This is one of Donna's hardback books that her sister let me have.  It has eight pages of color photos in the middle, like this one of Michelle Obama fist bumping Elizabeth when she was a guest co-host on June 18, 2008.  I'm about to read it, so I don't know details yet.  However, it seems telling to me that these are the three sections between prologue and epilogue:

• Prologue:  Out, Damned Cohost
• Part One:  Barbara's View
• Part Two:  Rosie's View
• Part Three:  Whoopi's View
• Epilogue:  Trump's View

Word of the Day*

Chatfest is short for "chatting festival," where two or more people engage in constant conversation for a long period of time.

The Jennifer Marsh Mysteries

Dying to Remember #4 ~ by Jennifer Fitzwater, 2000, mystery, 272 pages

Twelve years ago Jimmy Mitchell disappeared the night of Jennifer Marsh’s prom, and now her good friend Leigh Ann is desperate for Jennifer to accompany her to their high school reunion.  Nothing could make her go back to confront Sheena Cassidy, the backbiting, mean-spirited, boyfriend-stealing junior squad cheerleader who made her life a living hell — nothing except a note from Sheena’s now husband Danny Buckner, Jennifer’s first love and prom date, who is pleading for her help with something that happened on that horrendous prom night. But when she gets to the reunion, Danny barely has a chance to speak with Jennifer before he’s drawn away by one of his in-crowd. Less than an hour later Danny’s dead in the parking lot, an apparent suicide. And Gavin Lawless, budding singer/song writer and the love of Leigh Ann’s life, has returned to dredge up exactly what happened to Jimmy Mitchell that dreadful night twelve years ago that left Gavin with repressed memories and war hero Ben Underwood under a cloud of suspicion in Jimmy’s disappearance.

Dying to Be Murdered #5 ~ by Jennifer Fitzwater, 2011, mystery, 199 pages

Mary Ashton is convinced someone is going to murder her, and that there’s nothing she can do to stop it. But what she can do is hire unpublished mystery writer Jennifer Marsh to record her final days, so her killer won’t get away with it. Mary may seem a little loony, but she’s one of Macon’s leading socialites, or at least she was until the competency hearing. AND she’s offering Jennifer $1,000 a week to stay in her home, the historic Ashton mansion, reputed to be haunted by a Civil War heroine. The money’s too good to turn down, especially for a starving writer, so Jennifer agrees. And what’s the harm? Why would anyone want Mary Ashton dead? But the first night at the mansion, Jennifer’s awakened by blood curdling screams coming from Mary’s room, which is directly beneath her own. Trapped in her room, Jennifer is helpless. When she finally escapes, she finds a blood-soaked bed straight out of a horror movie but no sign of Mary’s body. Old family secrets and grudges, mysterious deaths, and ghostly lights that move about the mansion lead to a mystery fraught with danger and intrigue.

Dying to Get Her Man #6 ~ by Jennifer Fitzwater, 2012, mystery (Georgia), 332 pages

On the coldest day in Macon, Georgia’s recent history, Suzanne Gray dressed herself in white, tied a blue ribbon in her hair, gathered a bouquet of white roses, typed a suicide note, lay herself down on her lover’s grave, and froze to death.  Or did she?  Suzanne's niece doesn't think so.

Neither does mystery writer Jennifer Marsh.  Not only was the note not signed, but, well, honestly the whole thing sounds fishy to Jennifer and she can't let it go.  Sam Culpepper, the reporter on the case and Jennifer's boyfriend, not only appears to be hiding some of the details from Jennifer, but seems more interested in taking their relationship to the next level than discussing work.  So why, then, does an engagement announcement for Sam and his ex-girlfriend appear in the paper the next day?

Did Suzanne commit suicide or was she murdered?  Did Suzanne’s lover really die from a slip on the stairs?  Does Sam have another relationship that Jennifer knew nothing about?  What will it take to solve these mysteries?  When the bullets start to fly, Jennifer knows that she’d better figure out what's happening, or she'll be paying with more than her heart ... she'll be paying with her life.

Deb at Readerbuzz hosts the Sunday Salon.