bad news indeed - Rated 
While this story starts out well and the description of the life of reporters in Israel is interesting and well done, the rest of this author's descriptions are lacking and make me feel that perhaps the israel she visited if at all when writing this book was the Israel of thirty years ago...While the story itself is very "chick lit" it has its moments, and was fine to pass the the time on a flight or trip, but I wasnt enthralled by her descriptions of Israel - they were mediocre at best. I live in Israel and am unable to find any likeness in her description and the place I live. Unless the author's point of entry was Eilat I fail to see how the roads could be dusty and desert like, it does not rain in Israel during the summer, the heat while difficult is in fact exactly like spending summer in New York, the time difference for the author's information is two not three hours, Jerusalem's streets are not empty or deserted, although it is true that in recent months the feel of the place has changed for obvious reasons. These small points may not have affected other readers' enjoyment, but time after time she made mistakes that made this book an annoying read....
accurate - Rated 
having had the pleasure of staying two nights at the american colony hotelas part of my fly drive package to israel that also included five nightsin eilat and that is another and sad story i can vouch for anna's accuracyvis a vis the colony and especially the bar where the journalists meet.not being one of them i was taken aback by the courtesy and kindness theyshowed me an ordinary widow who has never been anywhere like this. upon myreturn home after the holiday i rushed to buy her book. it is not myposition to say she is right to condemn the journalists as hard drinkingand fast living. all that is over my head. as a travel guide the bookscores highly and i recommend it highly to all who seek an off the wallview of the Holy Land.
brilliant - Rated
it had never occured to me to become a reporter covering wars and riots. i intended to become a lawyer after i leave college. now i know that i want to follow in anna's footsteps and become a reporter. she makes it sound hard but also exciting and glamorous. as a woman and it is obvious to me she is the excellent heroine of the book she uses her feminine wiles to get the story. what harm is there in that? it is the same as a man using his charm or height. i am biased because i want to follow anna. for those people who are too old or not that way inclined it is also a terrific book.
Entertaining, but... - Rated
The Bad News Bible is one of those books ideal for passing the time on long train journeys. It's not too complicated to read, and kept me turning the pages. Also, since Ms. Blundy has actually been a foreign correspondent like her main character, I'm assuming that she paints an accurate portrait of life in that profession. However, I also suspect that Faith Zanetti, Blundy's ballsy reporter with a troubled past, is at least partially a Mary Jane figure for Blundy herself. Zanetti never seems to get emotional over anything, despite the fact that everyone around her seems to be dropping dead. The setting, in Israel, and focusing on the Palestinian conflict, is an interesting one not often covered in fiction. Another book I've read is "Damascus Gate", which also deals with a reporter. However, where Damascus Gate gave a fairly accurate picture of Israeli, and particularly Jerusalem, life, "The Bad News Bible" could quite possibly have been written without ever setting foot in Israel. So, an entertaining read, but neither a great work of literature, nor a passable guide to the country. I can't help thinking that the actual "Bad News Bible" referred to in the text (telling reporters what to do if the worst should happen) would be a much more interesting read.
sizzling - Rated
as someone who rarely dips into chick lit i must say i was more than pleasantly surprised by mrs blundy's novel. as someone who prefers what could be called "heavy " reading like biographies, historical reconstructions and military history such a book is foreign territory to me. it was bought by my grand daughter who thinks i am a stick in the mud for only reading what she says is depressing fare. to me books are not meant to be about cheaply and glibly entertaining the reader. they should challenge and stimulate the mind, not the raw senses! this is what this excellent book does aplenty. moving from the relative calm of the newsroom in London of a newspaper mrs blundy transports us around the globe to the middle east and the violence of that benighted region, which i can claim some modest expertise in. she has no grasp of the region and instead weaves a magical story, where the key characters, what i call the dramatis personae, act out their tragic stories. to set such a story amidst the most tragic region of our benighted world is first class. and i must say i enjoyed reading a novel instead of my usual heavyweight intellectual reading. mrs blundy should now turn her great talent to more substantial works.
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