A cutthroat newspaper editor is found stabbed in his office with the paper spike he used to kill stories. Who killed him?
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reviews
Mar 03, 2011
John
rated it: 
I loved this author's earlier The Darwin Conspiracy (though not so much his first novel, Neanderthal), so pounced on this when I came across it. A series of murders in the building of the New York Globe (i.e., the New York Times, where Darnton has for a long time been an illustrious fixture) shocks all the journos and indeed the nation. The tale is full of roman a clef elements -- no prizes for guessing who's the prototype for Antipodean media mogul Lester Moloch, for example -- but that's More...
Feb 02, 2011
Paul
rated it: 
A well known editor the the New York Globe is murdered just outside of his office. It looks as if he has been killed by a "spike" that is used to kill stories. The editor is known for his "spiking" many stories and has earned him the wrath of many of the Globe reporters.
Priscilla Bollingsworth, the detective assigned to this case, finds that she has too many suspects to choose from and must find some way of narrowing down the numbers.
The More...
Priscilla Bollingsworth, the detective assigned to this case, finds that she has too many suspects to choose from and must find some way of narrowing down the numbers.
The More...
Aug 26, 2010
L. A.
rated it:
As with all newspapers these days readership, advertising and circulation are becoming a thing of the past. However you really know trouble is in the works when the body of a top Editor for the New York Globe is found murdered in the very newsroom where he works. And not just any murder, he is killed with a spike to the chest, in fact the very same spike he has used from the beginning to kill the hopes and dreams of other journalists by killing their story. The paper assigns one of their own, Ju
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Feb 05, 2009
Reviewers for the nation's major newspapers clearly loved this comic romp through their own stomping grounds. Anyone in the habit of reading the New York Times will have no trouble recognizing a few of the book's characters, and reporters and editors will probably share a great deal of the author's gallows humor. After all, Darnton did spend 40 years as a reporter, editor, and foreign correspondent for the New York Times, and Black & White is a tribute to an earlier era of reporting. A few criti
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Oct 12, 2009
Julie
rated it:
As a writer, there are many times I have wanted to kill my editor. And as an editor, I’m sure my staff had wanted to put a spike through my heart as well. Every writer’s fantasy comes true when John Darnton opens his new novel, Black & White & Dead All Over, with the killing of Theodore S. Ratnoff, the New York Globe’s “much feared assistant managing editor.”
Ratnoff is found by his administrative assistant with an editor’s spike stuck deep into his chest with a brief note penned in purp More...
Ratnoff is found by his administrative assistant with an editor’s spike stuck deep into his chest with a brief note penned in purp More...
Nov 10, 2009
Karen
rated it: 
Meh. Started out sort of interesting, but I think the author was having so much fun creating fictional counterparts to the actual NYT times employees, making up clever names for them, and satirizing the decline of print journalism, he forgot how to write a coherent mystery. Too many supporting characters, few of them well-developed, and some of them reappeared so late in the story that I had no idea who they were. I felt as if I should have taken notes.
And the thing that bothered me More...
And the thing that bothered me More...
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Mar 14, 2009
Rick
rated it:
Loved this book. You will enjoy this fast-paced thriller too, moreso if you’ve worked in a newsroom, and especially if you remember copyboys, composing rooms, and clipping morgues (which I do, though I was a pup). The reporter is the hero (naturally) in this plot, which revolves around a newspaper that is an obvious send-up of the New York Times. (The author is a veteran Times correspondent.) Darnton knows how to both keep things moving and drop in key clues for the alert reader. The action is a
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Nov 22, 2009
Stewart
rated it:
"Black & White & Dead All Over" isn't the greatest murder mystery ever written but it was a fun look at the (increasingly battered) world of big city newspapers. Taking place in and around the New York Globe, a thinly disguised New York Times, John Darnton (who worked for the Times for 40 years as a reporter and editor), puts together an intricate novel in which three newspaper people are killed and a young reporter and police detective team up to find out who was responsible for the k
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Apr 23, 2009
Matthew H.
rated it:
This is a very good book. It centers around the the New York Globe. The newspaper is plummeting and readers are becoming fewer and fewer. All of the a sudden the disliked editor in chief is found dead. Jude Hurly is assigned to the story unfolding in their own news room. Jude teams up with Det. Priscilla Bollingsworth to find the killer. Along the way their are numerous plot turns and more employees turn up dead. The book leaves you with no idea about who could have killed them and when I finall
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Aug 05, 2011
Patrick
rated it:
This is a fabulous murder mystery set in the world of a major New York daily newspaper, the Globe.
Somebody is killing select staffers of the Globe one-by-one, and it's up to reporter Jude to cover the story.
I liked this book mainloy because it's a great yarn, but it also made me nostalgic for the old days of newspapering.
Writing on deadline, even when their lives are at stake, is all the reason these reporters need to get up in the morning.
The plot has a lot of red herrings and twists to keep yo More...
Somebody is killing select staffers of the Globe one-by-one, and it's up to reporter Jude to cover the story.
I liked this book mainloy because it's a great yarn, but it also made me nostalgic for the old days of newspapering.
Writing on deadline, even when their lives are at stake, is all the reason these reporters need to get up in the morning.
The plot has a lot of red herrings and twists to keep yo More...
Jan 12, 2009
Kristine
rated it:
As a journalist, I was really looking forward to reading this book. One of the editors is killed in the newsroom and then we get to watch the reporters and police figure out who did it.
I liked that the story is set in present-day journalism. It includes the newspaper's Web site and comments about the industry's struggles.
The book has a lot of characters, who I sometimes had trouble keeping straight. The characters were interesting, though.
I did enjoy the va More...
I liked that the story is set in present-day journalism. It includes the newspaper's Web site and comments about the industry's struggles.
The book has a lot of characters, who I sometimes had trouble keeping straight. The characters were interesting, though.
I did enjoy the va More...
Aug 11, 2009
Randy
rated it: 
Someone has a mad-on against the New York Globe.
The first murder victim, an unpopular editor, is found with an editor's spike driven into his chest. Almost everyone who worked for the paper could be considered a suspect.
The second victim, the gossip columnist was having an affair with the first victim. She was turned into a wire mummy, wrapped in a bundling machine while still alive, left posed as a statue holding a copy of the National Enquirer.
The third victim, the celebrit More...
The first murder victim, an unpopular editor, is found with an editor's spike driven into his chest. Almost everyone who worked for the paper could be considered a suspect.
The second victim, the gossip columnist was having an affair with the first victim. She was turned into a wire mummy, wrapped in a bundling machine while still alive, left posed as a statue holding a copy of the National Enquirer.
The third victim, the celebrit More...
Jan 09, 2009
Cynthia
rated it:
My husband and i used to wonder why his editors at the new york times were always so mean and crabby. After reading this who-dunnit, we understand. This book is a murder mystery, ostensibly, but it's really a very detailed portrait of daily life at the world's most prestigious newspaper — which is losing more and more prestige and readership by the minute.It shows the incredible big dog eating little dog daily life there, the fear and loathing of the newsroom. But it also describes in an inspiri
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Jan 24, 2009
E
rated it:
A witty, fun inside scoop of a book on the newspaper world, reminiscent of Front Page and His Girl Friday. Darnton is more interested in seeing how many different and quirky characters he can come up with than in developing any of them in great depth, but the read is worth it for the grittiness and fun of seeing the newspaper world and the exploration of the place of the newspaper in an internet world. A beach book, an airplane book, a book to listen to while running.
Dec 31, 2008
Margaret
rated it:
AS a mystery, ok, not so much. The plot is a bit unfinished, and doesn't really hold together all that well (and the murderer makes no sense).
As a roman a clef about the New York Times, definitely amusing. While some of the pseudonyms are obvious (Jimmy Pomegranate? Come on.) it's definitely fun to try to guess who he's talking about and wonder how accurate the description is.
As a roman a clef about the New York Times, definitely amusing. While some of the pseudonyms are obvious (Jimmy Pomegranate? Come on.) it's definitely fun to try to guess who he's talking about and wonder how accurate the description is.
Jul 02, 2009
Natalie
rated it: 
The beginning is interesting but I am having trouble connecting with the characters...lots of information on the inner workings of a newspaper and interesting views of where news media should go...on line, stay in print, etc. This is not a book to read in brief moments while waiting for kids...better to sit by the pool and stay with it to follow the story line.
Aug 30, 2011
Elizabeth
rated it:
An OK murder mystery, but not a great one. Liked the parts about the newspaper business, but the story really dragged. I was listening, so I wanted to know "who done it," and did finish it. Definitely a book that would have had me skimming to the conclusion. Also, all the characters had bizarre names, which instead of seeming creative was simply annoying.
Sep 06, 2008
Andy
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This is a solid, fun book. It held my interest throughout. I must say, Darnton must be quite intelligent to put this book together, with all the characters, and how they fit together for the protaganist reporter and his peers who work to solve the crimes at his newspaper. Although I know certain things must have been oversimplified about the running of a newspaper, I liked the fact that this book filled in a few blanks for me about how such a place operates. I also appreciated that the book take
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Feb 06, 2009
Dana
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A quick read, and a good one, although the writer's newspaper background is pretty obvious from the style. But that really works for the detail of the setting in funny stories about the modern day newspaper biz. Kinda have to wonder how the higher-ups at the NY Times felt about their opposite numbers in this novel.
Jan 03, 2009
Carrie
rated it:
It started out good, was slow in the middle, and had a pretty good ending. It was a little different having the main character as a reporter for a newspaper. The frustrating part was there are so many characters that it's really too many to keep track of. It's hard to figure out who is important and who isn't.
Jan 19, 2010
Dan
rated it:
Enjoyed this immensely -- fun, easy, fast-paced, and lots of inside humor and accurate description of what newsroom life is like. Not perfect (his attempts at slang in dialogue are often pretty close to a cornball old movie about journalism's glory days), but overall, a lot of fun for me. Disclaimer: If I hadn't worked as a reporter in a newsroom myself, I'd probably have given it a "3".
Jan 26, 2009
Reita
rated it:
An adult murder mystery. Several people are ending up dead at a newspaper. The journalist covering the stories is searching for clues. You don't know whodunit until the last 1/3 of the book, so it keeps you guessing but there really aren't any clues to follow till further in. A pretty good mystery.
Sep 03, 2008
Natalie
rated it:
Hee, hee. This was a fun read, good characters, fun plot line. All in all a good whodunit. Not too transparently obvious in most places. I never suspected the murderer but I also didn't swallow the bait on the red herrings.
The other fun part of the book was the walk down memory lane of when newspapers were king. It had interesting details about the industry.
It's also a "smart book", by which I mean if you're smart you'll pick up on the references to worl More...
The other fun part of the book was the walk down memory lane of when newspapers were king. It had interesting details about the industry.
It's also a "smart book", by which I mean if you're smart you'll pick up on the references to worl More...
May 06, 2011
J.
rated it:
This book by John Darnton is a very interesting and enjoyable book. The characters are characters and the plot weaves like a drunken person going home after a night on the town. You just want to see what is happening next.
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
J. Robert Ewbank author "John Wesley, Natural Man, and the 'Isms'"
Nov 25, 2011
james
rated it:
This is a fast moving murder mystery; fast moving of necessity due to the fact that there is a lot of ground to cover. A body is discovered early on and just as the investigation starts, more bodies are found. Not bad, but there are too many characters, most of whom are suspects.
Aug 17, 2011
Brian
rated it:
An hysterical sendup of murder at a New York newspaper that is the New York Times by another name. It helps a bit identifying and visualizing the character types if you have ever worked at a newspaper. But it's not mandatory, the characters stand on their own and this is a funny book.
Nov 12, 2009
Mommalibrarian
rated it:
very witty - I am just getting started
Well the wit became scarcer and there was a lot of repetition of the clues and possibilities. If you knew nothing about the internal life of newspapers you would pick up some interesting words and word pictures. Not a waste of time but it would make me look for another book by the author.
Well the wit became scarcer and there was a lot of repetition of the clues and possibilities. If you knew nothing about the internal life of newspapers you would pick up some interesting words and word pictures. Not a waste of time but it would make me look for another book by the author.
Dec 29, 2008
LibrariAnne
rated it:
I didn't do right by this book, reading it in 15 minute bursts as I dropped off to sleep. It was a lot funnier than I was able to properly appreciate since I was half asleep through too much of it, coming to as the book crashed down - again - on my nose. Fun newspaper stuff!
Oct 26, 2009
MJ
rated it:
Circulation is down at prestigious New York Globe and with rumors flying about budget cuts and layoffs everyone is nervous. But when their powerful editor is found murdered in the newsroom, everyone is suspect. And that is only one of Priscilla Bollingsworth NYPD detective problems.
Working with reporter Jude Hurley, together they work to solve the case. With the suspects list growing and bodies piling up, Jude and Priscilla have to solve the murder quick before they are next on the More...
Working with reporter Jude Hurley, together they work to solve the case. With the suspects list growing and bodies piling up, Jude and Priscilla have to solve the murder quick before they are next on the More...
Feb 16, 2009
Joyce
rated it:
This book struggled between trying to be a noirish mystery and a contemporary commentary on the decline of journalism. As a journalist, it was somewhat entertaining to read about a serial killer loose in the newsroom and I have to admit the denouement was a hoot.
