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Contact:  John DeDakis 

(770) 617-4377  

johede.aol.com

Mystery Novel Set in the “Fake News” #MeToo Era Wins Reviewers Choice Award

 Fake by John DeDakis available now nationwide

Fake, the follow-up to John DeDakis’ award-winning novel Bullet in the Chamber, is a winner of the 2020 Reader Views Reviewers Choice Award.  The fifth novel by the acclaimed novelist and former CNN editor, Fake features journalist-protagonist Lark Chadwick.  An extraordinary—and extraordinarily timely—tale, Fake unfolds in the era of “fake news,” when facts are suspect and reporters are targets. Out of several hundred entries in the Mystery/Thriller category, Fake placed in the top five with an Honorable Mention. Bullet in the Chamber placed first for the award in 2017.

About Fake:  Popular First Lady Rose Gannon dies suddenly during an interview with White House Correspondent Lark Chadwick.  Still reeling from the death of her photographer boyfriend, Lark is thrust into the midst of a media-bashing frenzy while covering a grieving president who’s trying to defuse a looming nuclear war. An edge-of-the-seat tale that seamlessly blurs the line between fact and fiction, Fake gives a real-life look behind the scenes at the ethical struggles of a female journalist in a #MeToo world, walking the line between personal feelings and dispassionate objectivity—trying to discern the difference between what’s real . . . and what’s fake.

Advance Praise for Fake:

“DeDakis resets the bar for inside-the-Beltway thrillers.”

--John Gilstrap, Author of Total Mayhem and the Jonathan Grave thrillers series

“A gripping, topical tale about the difficulties of discerning the truth in the new world of fake news.” 

--Kirkus Reviews

Book Excerpt:

I should have walked away. Instead, I took a deep breath and leaned toward him. “A minute ago you’re trying to pick me up, trying to impress me with how rich you are, trying to flatter me about how hot I look. Then, when you realize I’m a journalist, you judge me based on information that’s not even true . But do you even c--”

He grabbed me by the forearm and squeezed hard.

“Ow!”

“Listen to me, you snowflake bitch. In Afghanistan, I killed better people than you.”  He tightened his grip. “You need to be taught a lesson.” His eyes were wild, crazed.

About the Author: Award-winning journalist John DeDakis is a former CNN Senior Copy Editor for the Emmy and Peabody-Award winning news program "The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer." DeDakis, whose journalism career spans nearly four and a half decades, is a former White House correspondent.  His previous novel, Bullet in the Chamber, is the winner of the Feathered Quill, Reviewer’s Choice, and Foreword INDIES book awards. That novel deals with the heroin overdose that killed John’s youngest son Stephen in 2011. A writing coach and manuscript editor, John DeDakis taught journalism at American University in Washington, D.C., and The University of Maryland-College Park. DeDakis lives in the Washington, D.C. area.  He is also a jazz drummer. Visit his website at: www.johndedakis.com

Fake (ISBN: 978-1-939521-76-7, Trade Paper, 264 pages, $18.95), was published by Strategic Media Books on September 1, 2019.   Founded in 2010, Strategic Media Books, LLC (www.strategicmediabooks.com) is an independent U.S. publisher specializing in energetic, hard-hitting true crime stories and high-quality mystery fiction.  To interview John DeDakis or learn more about Fake, contact John DeDakis phone: (770) 617-4377 or email: johede.aol.com

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