Christina Estes

Christina Estes is an Emmy award-winning reporter who draws on two decades of experience for her mysteries. Inspired by her reporting in Phoenix, Estes' newest novel, "The Story That Wouldn't Die," opens with a real-life elevator mishap at City Hall and propels fictional reporter Jolene Garcia to uncover a web of betrayal and murder tied to powerful people. Her debut novel, "Off the Air" won the Tony Hillerman Prize and was a Good Morning America Buzz pick.

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Awards: Tony Hillerman Prize for Best First Mystery Set in the Southwest

Communities: Arizona Author

Familiar Faces, Familiar Places

J.A. Jance, Elle Cosimano and Linda Castillo have created central characters who are now as well-known as they are. Today we will meet Joanna Brady, Finlay Donovan and Kate Burkholder, and learn how their creators were able make them so memorable.

Koffler Room 204 (Seats 300, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 14, 11:30 am - 12:25 pm
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Linda Castillo, Elle Cosimano, J.A. Jance
Moderator: Christina Estes
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Judith Wood, Long Realty, Katherine Stone

Plot Twists and Page-Turners

In this session, we will learn how May Cobb, Julie Clark and Christina Estes, writers at the top of their game, keep their readers guessing.

Koffler Room 216 (Seats 89, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sat, Mar 14, 2:30 pm - 3:25 pm
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Koffler/Commons (following presentation)

Panelists: Julie Clark, May Cobb, Christina Estes
Moderator: Alissa Lee
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Research Corporation for Science Advancement, Sundt Construction, Inc.

Deadly Heat

Three Arizona authors talk about how the setting, especially the deadly heat, adds to their mystery stories.

Integrated Learning Center Room 130 (Seats 143, Wheelchair accessible)  
Sun, Mar 15, 10:00 am - 10:55 am
Mystery / Thrillers
Signing area: Sales & Signing Area - Integrated Learning Center (following presentation)  

Panelists: Christina Estes, Anne Hillerman, Becky Masterman
Moderator: Cayce Blanchard
Sponsors: Session made possible courtesy of Sara Cohen, The Neymeyer Family, Margaret Briehl and Dennis Ray

Books:

The Story That Wouldn't Die

A Mystery
Mystery / Thrillers
St. Martin's Publishing Group
August 2025
ISBN 9781250364135
320 pages
Buy now

Emmy Award-winning reporter Christina Estes uses her twenty-year career for inspiration for her mysteries. In The Story That Wouldn’t Die, Jolene Garcia refuses to stop investigating, but someone is determined to kill the story—and maybe her. Phoenix, Arizona TV reporter Jolene Garcia is fresh off winning her first Emmy and committed to covering stories that matter to her community. But Jolene’s managers want stories that grab immediate attention and generate clicks, not ones that take time to develop. When a beloved small business owner dies in a car crash, Jolene isn’t convinced it was an accident. He’d been raising questions about who keeps getting lucrative deals at city hall—questions that powerful people don’t want answered. The deeper Jolene digs, the more suspicious things she uncovers. Exposing greed, ambition, and deception could become the biggest story of Jolene’s career. Her bosses tell her to drop it. But there’s a story here, and Jolene’s going to find it. More/less

Off the Air

A Mystery
Mystery / Thrillers
St. Martin's Publishing Group
July 2025
ISBN 9781250386373
336 pages
Buy now

Equal parts thought-provoking and entertaining, Off the Air introduces Jolene Garcia in Emmy Award–winning reporter Christina Estes's Tony Hillerman Prize–winning debut. Jolene Garcia is a local TV reporter in Phoenix, Arizona, splitting her time between covering general assignments—anything from a monsoon storm to a newborn giraffe at the zoo—and special projects. Stories that take more time to research and produce. Stories that Jolene wants to tell. When word gets out about a death at a radio station, Jolene and other journalists swarm the scene, intent on reporting the facts first. The body is soon identified as Larry Lemmon, a controversial talk show host, who died under suspicious circumstances. Jolene conducted his final interview, giving her and her station an advantage. But not for long. As the story heats up, so does the competition. Jolene is determined to solve this murder. It’s an investigation that could make or break her career—if it doesn't break her first. More/less