Manhattan, 1938 and socialite Elizabeth Adams, bored with her life gets herself employment on a newspaper as a Girl Friday. But when reporter Ralph Kaminsky needs a photographer quickly, she is recruited and then they are both going to the Waldorf Hotel to cover a murder. This is where her social connections help her towards the solution.
An enjoyable mystery, introducing the characters to this new series. I would be interested to read how they develop, especially Elizabeth, who I found to be the least interesting of the main characters.
A NetGalley Book ( )

EXTRA! EXTRA! read all about. The season's "it girl" accused of killing her stepmother. That's exactly how I see the headlines in the paper that Elizabeth works for. Elizabeth is a go getter and loves working at the Daily Trumpet. When she gets a chance to be the photographer for a story she is beyond excited. What she didn't see coming was the picture that puts suspicion on Gloria, the "it girl" of the season.
The author has painted a great picture of the 1930s with references like Girl Friday and the mention of Ponds cold cream. I can remember my grandmother having a jar of Ponds sitting on her night table. I loved to smell it and tryh it on. Elizabeth is very smart and hopes to crack the case with her subtle questions and photographs. Her boss is a real hoot. He encourages Elizabeth and uses her skills to help get great stories for the paper.
Elizabeth is asked to help prove Gloria innocent. Can she dig up the truth before someone is killed? The setting of the story is my favorite part. I just love the time period and how easy going Elizabeth is. She comes from a wealthy family, but doesn't really let on about her background. Elizabeth's family is somewhat off putting. Her mother is a snob and her father is a tightwad, but they still try to encourage Elizabeth in her adventures. I loved the clues throughout the story that could almost be missed if you aren't paying attention. This is my new go to author for mysteries that take readers back to a time where women really had to prove they could do things men did. The story is well written with a cast of characters that at times seem to have their own agenda. The ending is really good and i was surprised at a it of the story line. I didn't figure out who the killer was, but i was pleased with the ending. I look forward to more from this author.
I received a copy of this book from The Great Escapes Virtual Blog Tours. The review is my own opinion. ( )

MURDER, SHE REPORTED is the promising start, hopefully, to a new cozy mystery series set in NY City before WWII. Ms. Cochran brings the melting pot city and it's iconic locations to vivid life.
Elizabeth is a spirited protagonist determined to have a job rather than "marrying well", hosting charity do's, and lunching. Thanks to her photography skills and a murder at "IT" girl Gloria DeWitt's debut, Elizabeth may rise above the Girl Friday position she's managed to secure at the Daily Trumpet.
The supporting cast hold their own. In regards to Kaminsky, reporter and source of "Biz's" break, and Marino, NYPD detective, there are definitely hidden depths I'm looking forward to exploring.
There were a few kinks, but those are often found in the start of a series and are ironed out quickly.
The characters, period, mystery, and location held my interest and made me want more.This was a time when it still felt as if innumerable possibilities abounded. I'm excited to see what Elizabeth, Kaminsky, Marino, Irene, and Rose do with those possibilities and where their choices lead them.
Sign me up for future installments.
Reviewed for Miss Ivy's Book Nook Take II ( )

Murder, She Reported is the first book in the Murder, She Reported series.

Socialite Elizabeth Adams has recently graduated from Wellesley and has just started her job as a “gal Friday” at the Daily Trumpet with the hope of someday being more than a typist. Then one day reporter, Ralph Kaminsky, grabs a camera and asks if anyone knows how to use it and Elizabeth hesitantly raises her hand. She is told to grab her coat, and that they were headed to The Waldorf for the debut of Gloria DeWitt who was being considered as the next ‘It Girl’. When Kaminsky learned she had a passing acquaintance, he tells her to get some pictures of her and set up an exclusive interview, as he smelled a winning story.

Elizabeth head to the ladies room to think of how to approach Gloria about an interview when she hears someone crying. It turns out to be Gloria who comes out with her makeup smudged and without thinking takes a picture. Elizabeth promises that it will never be published. As the evening progresses Kaminsky is getting anxious about having enough time to get the story written for the next day’s edition and tells Elizabeth to find Gloria. Thinking that Gloria might have gone to the restroom she heads that way. As she is about to open the door, Gloria comes rushing out the door with blood smeared on her beautiful gown. Her mother is in one of the stalls, dead, having been shot. But, soon Gloria will become a person of interest in the killing of her mother. Elizabeth promises to what she can to clear Gloria’s name. But when the picture that Elizabeth promised would never see the light of the day ends up on the front page of the Daily Trumpet, Elizabeth loses her social contacts. Elizabeth and Kaminsky end up doing their own investigation into what happened that sorrowful evening.

This story takes place in the 1930’s when men felt that they were the only ones could that should be writing stories and getting them published. Kaminsky was one of those men but soon learned that Elizabeth, who he started calling Biz, was not only an excellent photographer but had a good head on her shoulder for getting the facts for the story. And Biz didn’t want to tell much about her personal background, fearful that she might not be given an opportunity to prove her worth.

Peg Cochran once provides us with a well-plotted and told story. The characters are excellent and well-developed and were believable. I particularly enjoyed reading the interaction of Biz and Kaminsky. Biz may even have a romantic interest with Sal Marino, who was the investigating detective for the police.

I am anxiously awaiting the next book in this wonderful new series. ( )

Socialite Elizabeth Adams has taken a job as a gal Friday for a newspaper because she doesn't want the typical life of girls of her class. She studied photography at college but is finding herself running errands for other reporters and typing the society reporter's notes. One day a reporter named Kaminsky grabbed her to take some photos at the debut of a young woman who could be the next "It Girl" at the Waldorf Hotel.

Elizabeth first sees Gloria DeWitt in the Lady's Room where she catches her crying. She snaps a picture of her which ends up as front page story when her stepmother Frances is found shot to death. Elizabeth also sees Gloria in a blood-stained dress right after she finds her stepmother. All of a sudden, she and Kaminsky have a much bigger story on their hands.

This historical mystery was also an exploration of New York City in 1938. Sheltered Elizabeth - renamed Biz by Kaminsky - meets people she has never met before including Police Detective Sal Marino. She develops a crush on him which he returns. He introduces her to Italian food which she has never tasted and, at the end of this story, promises her a trip to Chinatown.

Biz is also shown trying to balance her life as the socialite her mother wants her to be with her new life working for a newspaper. Biz had polio as a child which has left her with only a slight limp and the fact that it gets worse as she gets tired. In the course of her work, she runs into fellow patient Irene who didn't fare as well and is now using leg braces and crutches to get around. Irene's family didn't fare as well during the Depression as Elizabeth's did either. Irene, now an orphan, is working as a coat check girl at the Waldorf and provides an essential clue.

I liked the historical detail that was part of this mystery. Biz was an interesting character too. I'm hoping that this is only the first adventure for Biz. ( )