A novel that follows an investigative reporter’s 30-year quest to track the rise of white supremacy in modern America? And, true to its homage to traditional newshound journalism, it’s also published in a broadsheet, newspaper format?

Yes!

THE BOTSWORTH DOSSIER, by John Yewell, is coming from City Desk Press on Feb. 18, 2026.

Set mainly in California, the story follows the lifelong friendship between Jack and Carol, who meet as college students in 1979. The more politically-attuned Carol, even as an undergraduate, is already alert to the rise of the far right and considering a career in journalism. Jack, with stars in his eyes, follows her into the journalistic career path, although not with the same fearlessness for tracking dangerous political actors.

Looking back from 2008, when the novel opens, Jack fills us in on their somewhat parallel lives, including his unrequited love. He establishes a respectable career in journalism in California in the 1980s, while Carol carves out a unique niche as an independent investigative reporter par excellence. Establishing her bona fides, unfortunately, demands that she draw closer and closer to white supremacists and Christian nationalists over the years, as she researches the rising threat of right wing violence.

As the years pass, troubling questions arise for Jack and the group of friends around himself and Carol. Is she correct about the rising tide of right wing violence? And in reporting it and getting sources to trust her over the years — especially a violent leader named William Botsworth— exactly how much has she compromised or endangered herself?

All these questions come to a head as the 2008 Obama campaign prompts new levels of white supremacist backlash and panic. The time has come for Carol, Jack, and their friends to come to terms with William Botsworth, his followers, and the secrets to be found in Carol’s research—The Botsworth Dossier.

The arrival of THE BOTSWORTH DOSSIER on the American scene could not be better timed. John Yewell’s debut novel is an homage to the tradition of independent investigative journalism currently under attack at the Washington Post and other news media.

Thanks to John Yewell for providing me a pre-publication copy of THE BOTSWORTH DOSSIER.

— Michael Shumate, Bookseller