Gloss

From her earliest college days Annabelle “Annie’ Kapner knew she wanted to be in television. Not as the star or the story, but as the producer, the person behind the people who bring us the news and views each day.

Things behind the scenes at the New Day USA morning show have been going along fairly well. Holding the top slot over the competition, Annie has produced some outstanding stories. While morning early morning television doesn’t want to jar it’s watchers with too depressing of a story, Annie does have a shot at the occasional juicy account of the day’ events. One such heartfelt story is that of Cosmetic Relief—an opportunity for the women of Fardistan for their moment of beauty. After company owner Douglas Purnell has his fifteen minutes of fame on New Day USA he departs from Annie’s life and returns to Washington, D.C. with Annie moving on to her next story.

Annie, however, quickly becomes the story when Washington’s most eligible bachelor not only meets and greets her, but moves beyond to wine and dine her. By the end of the evening…make that the next morning, Annie and Mark are an item, at least in the local paper’s gossip columns. Not that it bothers Mark, he is as anxious to see Annie again as she is to see him. The opportunity to travel from New Day USA’s headquarters in New York to Washington, D.C. quickly arises when Annie decides that a follow up story with Doug Purnell may be just the ticket to keep that flame with Mark burning. When Mark is late for their date, Annie agrees to go with Doug to see the Cosmetic Relief set up. What she finds is a lot more than a few tubes of lipstick. Instead, she finds herself smack dab in the middle of the most bizarre and explosive political story ever. In one of life’s weird twists of fate, Annie moves in one fell swoop from producing the stories to being the story. That story has Annie put behind bars at the Federal Detention Center in Washington, D.C. with no word from Mark or her network. In fact, the only friend she seems to find is in the guise of Russian émigré, Galina, another “guest” at the jail. Between watching her former co-workers stumble through their mornings and Galina’s refreshing perspective on life, Annie gets a new sense of purpose and unwittingly blows apart the insider’s world of Washington, D.C.

Drawing on her own background as a morning show producer, Jennifer Oko’s debut novel, GLOSS takes the reader behind the scenes of those shows. She does so with a touch of humor, some larger than life characters and fast-paced action with something for everyone. It has romance, action, suspense, mystery, humor and intrigue. From the egos and personal dramas of the morning show hosts to their personal petty arguments to the angling for the news star of the day, Ms. Oko brings them to life for her readers. GLOSS is perhaps the best book this reviewer has read this year.

In a unique voice, Ms. Oko tells part of Annie’s story in the first person, subtly shifting to the omniscient and threading into the third person. Rather than being jarring or hard to follow, the shifts are well done and make the reader part of the story. As the events unfold, you are there with Annie.

In a blend of mystery and suspense Ms. Oko touches on issues of government interference, favoritism and children as unwitting victims of a world gone mad. Sometimes presented by over the top characters, the story takes readers along in Annie’s investigation.

Ms. Oko’s characters are complex and realistic—even the ones who are over the top like Faith Heide and some of the visitors to the New Day USA set. Galinda was by far this reviewer’s favorite character with her down to earth, practical advice and perspective on life with a solid touch of humor thrown in. Readers will cheer when Mark has his epiphany, when Faith gets hers and the bad guy in all the drama finds out just what a morning show producer can do when she sets her mind to it.

Run, don’t walk to your nearest book store and pick up your copy of GLOSS today. It is a do not miss for you reading enjoyment and a keeper for your bookshelves.

July 2007