Rumor Has It - Hardcover

Along with his colleagues, associate metro editor Danny Fain of the Chicago Bugle learns at a hurriedly called staff meeting that the mismanaged, mediocre tabloid will be shut down in two weeks, the victim of a circulation battle with its competitor, the Quill . During the day traversed in Dickinson's ( The Widow's Adventures ) fourth novel, office morale plummets while Danny tries to keep his department functioning despite the burden of defections and betrayals. At first it appears that Danny may retain some measure of dignity--even an improved resume. Toward late afternoon, however, as various interested parties maneuver, a promising story he's following backfires. Danny finds himself becoming the fall guy for the paper's failure, and sees his reputation and integrity destroyed (to say nothing of his severance bonus). Dickinson's contiguous "morn to midnight" treatment is without chapter divisions (as befits an account of a newsroom melee) and has all the strenuous unity of a stage play. There is nothing broad or overwrought in either satirical vision or characterization, as the author meditates on how currents of morality and convenience may move within any organization. More topical, comical and widely accessible than Dickinson's earlier work, the novel may also be less subtle--but is immediately engaging nonetheless.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

On Halloween morning, Danny Fain sees from his commuter train a child in a ghost costume hit by a car. Fain, an editor for The Bugle , Chicago's second newspaper, assigns a reporter to try to find the child and a story. At the office it is announced that the paper is closing down. Meanwhile they're still publishing, and the staff is scrambling for stories, alternatives, and new jobs. Reporter Tim Penn finds the child and gets a job from a TV station in exchange for an exclusive. There is a labor dispute in the press room, tempers flare, people are attacked, and Fain is torn between loyalty to the paper and his own salvation. When TV attacks Fain for not reporting the accident to the police, his resignation is demanded. The pace in the novel is absolutely jet speed. Dialog is bright and lively, and the commentary on the media is stunning. A first- rate novel.
- Robert H. Donahugh, formerly with Youngstown & Mahoning Cty. P.L., Ohio
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.