San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico – Present day

Margaritas are cheap in Tijuana; it's great relaxation, and it’s only a quick jaunt across the border from San Diego, where Maddy Madison works as an assistant producer for News 9. Her position's a long way from her dream job on the top-rated informational show, Newsline, but it’s a start up the ladder of success. Which is exactly why she and her best friend Jodi skip over the border for drinks and fake-purse shopping in a little boutique that has lots of cheap counterfeit knock-offs -- Prada, Kate Spade, and Gucci. Now, if only Maddy could find a knock-off with a sewn-on label, instead of a crooked glued-on label like the one on the purse she currently owns, she’d be in heaven. But things are looking up. News Director Richard offers her a promotion and a hunky photographer to call her own. Can this get any better? She’s now going to be writing and producing investigative pieces for News 9's headline anchor, Terrance Toller. And the new photographer/cameraman, Jamie Hays, is all hers from eight-to-five. Newsline, here comes Maddy!

A girl can dream, right? Newsline certainly isn’t going to come knocking at her door anytime soon by the looks of her first assignment, Cosmetics that Kill. The reality of her new job is just the same old fluff piece in a new disguise. Who ever heard of a killer cosmetic? But Maddy can make this work, especially with her very own “photog” at her disposal for eight hours every day! A former filmmaker on hiatus between jobs, Jamie is every woman’s dream candy. He’s terribly nice and devastatingly handsome, and -- he’s engaged to be married. Oh well, back to the dreams...

Things go from bad to worse when ego-inflated anchorman Terrance hates the script Maddy writes for his first report. She's had a shock learning that her parents' marriage is on the rocks; her little sister Lulu moves in with her, and to top it all off, after a night of drinking, she wakes up in her own bed with a naked Jamie right beside her. Poor Maddy. She’s now so stressed that she cries at the blink of an eye. But she doesn’t stay down for long. Acting on a hot tip from Marco the purse seller, she and Jamie ride his motorcycle just over the Mexican border and investigate a story on illegal drug running. Now, finally, the brass ring at Newsline is getting closer -- she hopes!

Maddy's got the NEWS BLUES in this original and quirky twist on chick-lit. Maddy is the strong one in this story; she's responsible (most of the time) and totally has her head on straight, while her parents are reverting back to teenaged angst and shenanigans. The secondary characters mentioned previously are lively. Maddy's parents are totally irresponsible and a bit hard to take, and the ending is just a little different than expected. Fast paced, NEWS BLUES is a nice selection for this month.

Diana Risso