Isn’t it strange that independent investigative journalism is flourishing? After all, weren’t we told not that long ago by the self-appointed pundits that the internet and social media spelled the death of journalism?  And yet here we are with The Panama Papers, the Theranos scandal, and countless other stories uncovering the misdeeds of the rich, powerful, and famous. Turns out the demagogues, the technologists, the money men, and the powerful in general often have a lot of nasty secrets that they want to hide from everyone else.  And we know about those nasty secrets because of investigative reporters.

Nasty doesn’t get close to describing the behavior of Harvey Weinstein, the movie producer brought down by a team from The New York Times led by Jodi Kantor and Megan Twohey.  His relentless and reckless abuse of women over decades is a shocking story. No less shocking were the efforts made by a cadre of lawyers and advisors to cover up his misdeeds and to put pressure on those who threatened to reveal them.  It’s a great credit to the reporters and leadership of the NYT that they stuck to their task of exposing this dangerous, powerful man despite a barrage of intimidation.

She Said is the account of the reporters’ work.  In parts it reads like a thriller. Victims, some of them famous actors, others vulnerable colleagues of Weinstein, are encouraged to go on the record to tell their stories, sometimes at great risk. A dangerous cat-and-mouse game is played with Weinstein and his advisors in the run-up to publication. It’s tense and compelling stuff.

The final section of She Said shifts the focus away from Harvey Weinstein and on to Justice Kavanaugh.  I think that was a mistake.  The Kavanaugh scandal – and I’m in no doubt it is a scandal – deserves its own full account and shouldn’t have been tacked on here almost as an appendix.  It’s a small quibble.  Kantor and Twohey have written a necessary and vivid history of the Weinstein affair and have reminded us, if reminders were needed, that investigative reporting will be essential if basic freedoms are going to be preserved and abusers of all kinds are going to be held to account.