The Oxford Guide to Scandal and Lies by Westbury

THE OXFORD GUIDE TO SCANDAL AND LIES by Kate Westbury is a wonderful historical and cozy mystery debut set in the early 1950s.  The main characters are very different from each other: Ginevra Bishop (estranged daughter of a viscount and former debutante, trying to find purpose) and Sidney Braithwaite (former soldier, recovering from wartime emotional trauma) although they are both students at Oxford. It is at the university that they witness the death of a beloved librarian and are recruited by the security services (Rook is their handler) to investigate further. The handful of suspects (both professors and students) provides multiple scenarios for the dual to unravel, all while fighting a romantic attraction.  Westbury’s THE OXFORD GUIDE TO SCANDAL AND LIES was a LibraryReads selection, a September 2026 Indie Next Pick and received a starred review form BookPage (“The chemistry is delightful, the setting is academia personified and the story itself encourages propulsive page-turning―a heck of a debut novel indeed”). Enjoy!

 

The Next Journalism by Tom Rosenstiel

THE NEXT JOURNALISM by Tom Rosenstiel is subtitled “How the Press Must Change to Serve Democracy.” Obviously, that is a difficult and controversial question. Being the co-author of The Elements of Journalism, Rosenstiel offers a unique perspective and in this latest publication he is intent on describing future actions for journalists. The book itself is divided into ten chapters, each of which outlines a “fundamental way” (e.g., applying behavioral psychology or thinking of news as collaborative intelligence) that journalism must change. Probably the most interesting chapter is the one where he offers suggestions on a new interview structure building on open-minded inquiry. Throughout the book, Rosenstiel stresses the importance of considering how a story would serve the public and working with the community. Much to consider here, particularly for practicing journalists. 

For related research on this topic, see several studies from Pew Research, the Harvard Kennedy School’s Shorenstein Center, or The Conversation. More of an international Perspective is available from Media & Journalism Research Center.