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Extra! Extra! Dead All About It (2018) by Amanda M. Lee is the twelfth entry in the Avery Shaw Mystery series, a cozy‑mystery set in the world of journalism featuring reporter sleuth Avery Shaw. Amanda M. Lee draws on her newsroom background to offer a blend of sharp humor, professional chaos and murder‑investigation. The novel matters because it brings Avery’s career and personal life into sharper focus while placing her at the heart of a politically charged story in a high‑stakes election setting.
Setting & Author Context
Amanda M. Lee sets Extra! Extra! Dead All About It in Michigan (specifically Macomb County, where Avery works) and the novel takes place during a primary election campaign. The setting of a newsroom and an election‑cycle environment influences the tone: fast‑paced, politically active, driven by deadlines and power‑plays. Lee’s author style is informed by her past as a newspaper reporter—Amanda M. Lee leverages that experience to give Avery a credible professional backdrop while still ensuring the narrative remains accessible, witty and cozy.
Plot Summary (No Spoilers)
In Extra! Extra! Dead All About It, reporter Avery Shaw finds herself assigned to cover the upcoming primary election in Macomb County. Her boss pushes her onto the campaign trail—two leading candidates, one of whom she loathes, the other with potential skeletons. When her newsroom nemesis, Tad Lancaster, loses a volunteer, Avery senses there may be more than just a campaign hiccup. Avery Pulls together a pile of documents, chases leads of financial corruption, and the clock starts ticking as election day approaches. The story follows Avery juggling her professional investigative duties, her personal relationships (her boyfriend, her ex), and the newsroom politics around her—while working to uncover the truth behind the campaign’s untold story. The conflict arises from Avery facing corruption, personal pressures, professional rivalries and deadline‑driven urgency.
Characters & Themes
Main characters:
- Avery Shaw (reporter/sleuth) → represents ambition, wit and integrity in a chaotic newsroom.
- Tad Lancaster (Avery’s nemesis) → represents workplace rivalry and campaign intrigue.
- Eliot (Avery’s boyfriend) → represents the personal life Avery must balance with her professional obligations.
- Campaign candidates & staff → represent power, hidden motives, and the pressures of political performance.
Major themes:
- Truth versus power: The novel explores how Avery Shaw → pursues → truth even when it collides with political agendas and newsroom politics.
- Work‑life balance: Avery Shaw → struggles with → balancing investigative work and personal relationships.
- Professional ethics: The story examines how journalism (the newsroom) functions in the face of corruption, deadlines and ambition.
- Change and consequence: Avery Shaw → faces → the consequences of stepping into larger arenas (the campaign trail) and must adapt accordingly.
Amanda M. Lee uses her voice to merge humor with serious themes—readers get both laughs and investigative tension as Avery navigates this election‑stage environment.
Tropes & Reader Experience
Extra! Extra! Dead All About It uses familiar cozy‑mystery tropes: a professional protagonist (reporter) who becomes an amateur sleuth, a confined timeframe (run‑up to election day) which creates urgency, a mix of personal life and work life, supportive but quirky secondary characters, and a workplace setting (newsroom plus campaign). These tropes define reader expectations: a witty, accessible mystery rather than a hard‑boiled thriller. Amanda M. Lee delivers an experience of fun‑driven suspense, sharp dialogue, professional chaos and human stakes. On Goodreads the book holds a rating around 4.51/5 among ~1,311 ratings.
Series Placement / Reading Order
Extra! Extra! Dead All About It is Book #12 in the Avery Shaw Mystery series by Amanda M. Lee.
Reading order around it:
- Book #11: Unwritten & Underwater (2017)
- Book #12: Extra! Extra! Dead All About It (2018)
While the novel can be enjoyed on its own thanks to the self‑contained plot, reading from earlier books offers deeper familiarity with recurring characters and development threads (particularly Avery’s newsroom career and personal growth). The series → created by Amanda M. Lee maintains continuity in style, character arcs, professional setting and thematic underpinnings.
Reader Suitability / Why Read It
Extra! Extra! Dead All About It is well suited for readers who enjoy cozy mysteries anchored in professional settings (especially journalism), who don’t mind a romantic subplot, and who like stories set against larger communal events (like elections). The novel appeals to fans of reporter‑sleuth protagonists, newsroom dynamics, light‑hearted humor mixed with investigative tension. The story inspires enjoyment, curiosity and a sense of camaraderie with the protagonist. If you like mysteries that are upbeat, witty and grounded in realistic workplaces rather than dark or gritty crime scenes, then this book is a strong pick.
Continue the Avery Shaw Mystery Series
Read other books in the Avery Shaw Mystery Series.