Details at Ten [Hardcover]

Ardella Garland (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2000

With this heart-stopping new thriller, Ardella Garland -- pen name of bestselling novelist Yolanda Joe -- introduces one of the sassiest, smartest, and most compelling characters ever to crack a mystery: television news reporter Georgia Barnett.

In a tale as immediate as this evening's news, "Details at Ten" follows the charismatic Georgia as she struggles with justice, truth, and the ratings while pursuing a terrifying story of a child missing in the midst of gang warfare in Chicago. Little Butter, as the girl is called, has disappeared after witnessing a drive-by shooting on the South Side and identifying the criminals' car on live TV during an interview with Georgia. Haunted by the recognition of her responsibility for the child's fate and heartbroken at seeing her old South Side neighborhood devastated by violence, our whip-smart reporter throws herself into the search for Butter -- dragging news producers, directors, cameramen, and support staff behind her kicking and screaming. For as the take-no-prisoners Georgia quickly discovers, the last thing her ratings-driven TV news czars want to cover is another tragedy in a poor black neighborhood.

Georgia uses her power as a television personality in smart, hilarious, and heartfelt ways as this shocking story unfolds with the pace of a runaway train. Our daredevil reporter's pursuit of the truth takes her into dangerous territory, but she's not there alone. This is one woman who won't take no for an answer, but everywhere she turns, there in her way stands a masterpiece of a man, Detective Doug Eckart. He's a tough cop and he's not about to let a TV reporter nose in on the case, but Georgia's drive is relentless and she keepsscooping him at the most sensitive moments. These made-for-each-other enemies agree to a sexually tense truce while gang violence escalates, informers turn up dead, and time to find the little girl seems to be running out. As a simple missing-persons case mushrooms into a citywide effort to nab one of the most powerful gang leaders in Chicago, Georgia, Doug, and the crew of Channel Eight News find themselves struggling to do what's right in a world of violence, racism, and fear. In "Details at Ten," Ardella Garland takes her readers into a world of both terror and hope with a powerful tale of innocence, justice, and, finally, love.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Georgia Barnett is a Chicago television news reporter with ideals but no illusions. She knows the pressures and expectations of her highly politicized profession, and as an African American woman, she recognizes that her work will inevitably be judged within the constructs of race and gender. When a young black girl disappears after identifying a drive-by shooter's car on live TV during an interview with Georgia, the reporter is caught between guilt-ridden responsibility for the child's fate and her awareness that the powers-that-be want nothing to do with another story from the projects.

Detective Doug Eckart understands that all too well, and it's not long before Georgia and Doug join forces to find Butter and bring her abductors to justice. Their search takes them through Chicago's South Side, a once-proud neighborhood brought to its knees by drugs, violence, and apathy. As Georgia moves gingerly through the minefields of gangland territory, she becomes both the pursuer and the pursued; treachery and danger are the hallmarks of this bleak world.

Georgia is immensely likeable: her quick wit and no-nonsense feminism may remind readers of another African American mystery heroine, Charlotte Carter's sassy, brassy sax player Nanette Hayes (Drumsticks, Rhode Island Red). Her personality and sarcastic asides buoy a novel handicapped by an illogical plot that unfolds at an often glacial pace; author Ardella Garland (nom de plume of novelist Yolanda Joe) may have spent 12 years as a CBS news writer, but this work lacks the suspense of late-breaking news. To readers captivated by Georgia's voice, however, such shortcomings will no doubt be minor, easily forgiven offenses. --Kelly Flynn

From Publishers Weekly

African-American TV journalist Georgia Barnett makes her debut in a mystery chiefly notable for its heroine's sassy sense of humor. At the scene of a South Side Chicago gang killing, Georgia interviews on camera an important eyewitness, a little black girl named Butter. After Butter is kidnapped, Georgia's guilt drives her to seek the girl's abductors. Helping and hindering in this hunt are a local preacher, Georgia's superiors at the television station and handsome cop Doug Eckart, with whom she quickly falls into a predictable, innuendo-laced give and take. The author (Falling Leaves of Ivy; Bebe's by Golly Wow, etc.) is less adept at plotting a mystery than she is at presenting an overly knowing black romantic fiction reminiscent of Terry McMillan. Which of the two rival gangs, the Rock Disciples or the Gangster Bandits, actually seized Butter is in truth pretty much anyone's guess, while the constant fibbing to which the career-addicted Doug and Georgia subject each other prior to the florid scenes of passion gets tiresome fast. The extreme youth of the killers and victims adds some poignancy, as do the drugs, poverty and helplessness with which they constantly battle. Somewhere inside this coy work there's a serious message struggling to get out. Agent, Victoria Sanders. (Sept.)
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster (September 25, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684873753
• ISBN-13: 978-0684873756
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,740,560 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Georgia Barnett, Channel 8 News, December 7, 2000

By 

Yasmin Coleman (PENNSYLVANIA, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Details at Ten (Hardcover)

Details At Ten is Yolanda Joe's (aka Ardella Garland) debut entry into the mystery genre arena. The storyline evolves around Georgia Barnett an up and coming television news reporter in the Windy City. In pursuit of the perfect story and awesome rating points, Georgia pursues a harrowing story of gang violence and a missing child in inner-city Chicago. During the course of a week, Georgia finds herself in the midst of serious drama and a potential relationship with detective Doug Eckart.

Details At Ten displays Joe's crafty writing style, however, the storyline was slow in developing and not as fast-paced and action-packed as I prefer my mysteries. The story was told more from a reporter's angle and sometimes this aspect interfered with just plunging in and enjoying the storyline. All In All, the storyline was realistic and became more suspenseful toward the end. Fans of Yolanda Joe's who enjoyed This Just In will also probably enjoy Details At Ten as both books seem to focus on broadcast media.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent read, September 25, 2000

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Details at Ten (Hardcover)

TV reporter Georgia Barnett interviews a local eyewitness of a drive-by killing. The ho hum murder would be another statistic in Chicago,'s South Side gang war with same day media coverage and no follow-up except the witness, Butter, a little girl fond of bread and butter sandwiches, has been abducted.

A guilt racked Georgia realizes on-the-scene reporting has jeopardized the life of the precocious child. To make amends, Georgia begins her own inquiries. However, her efforts lead to clashes with Detective Doug Eckart and her superiors at the station. Eckart and her employers want her to drop the case that is no longer a ratings grabber. However, Georgia owes it to her self and especially Butter to rescue the little girl from the gang that kidnapped her.

DETAILS AT 10 is an interesting amateur sleuth-police procedural tale that highlights the helpless poverty of a depressed neighborhood. The story line works when Ardella Garland concentrates on the South Side and the problems haunting even the very young. The plot struggles when it focuses on the attraction between the journalist and the cop that tends to blur the more sererious and tragic aspects of a superior novel.

Harriet Klausner

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars DRAMA AT ITS BEST, October 20, 2000

By 

kendari2 (California) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Details at Ten (Hardcover)

Details at Ten is a fast paced read that introduces us to news reporter Georgia Barnett.

Georgia gets involved in the case of a missing child known as "Butter". This happens after Georgia interviews the little girl on live television after a drive by shooting.

Who took Butter? And Why? You will be taken on a ride into television newscasting, going behind the scenes and finding out just how far Georgia Barnett will go in an effort to get Butter back.

Continued success and blessings to Ardella Garland. Peace!!