I received a copy of this novel from the publisher via NetGalley.

3.5* rounded down.

DI Eve West is suspended after she seemingly gets a colleague killed, although she knows she was not entirely to blame. Then Duran, a brutal killer she put away years ago asks her to look into the conviction for murder of a fellow inmate Sean 10 years ago. In exchange, he will provide Eve with evidence that she was set up.

I have read and enjoyed the Tartaglia series by this author, but this book is very different. My main issue with it was that there was simply too much going on. There was enough plot for at least one other novel. There is Eve and her suspension, Eve and her mysterious past and original identity, Eve and her reunion with her first love, the mystery of why Eve and he broke up, and the mystery of why Duran wants to help Eve and why he wants to help Sean.

All of that is barely even touching on the parts of the plot dealing with the death of Jane McNeil, whom Sean may or may not have killed. People were tortured, offices were set on fire, there was a sniper, a rape, possible race fixing, a hit and run, a man killed running from the police. It was exhausting and confusing. I didn't really like Eve, although I did quite like Dan, the journalist she worked with on Sean's case. The ending very clearly points to further instalments, but I may not have the energy.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Severn House for an advance copy of A Bad, Bad Thing, the first novel to feature DCI Eve West of the Met.

When Eve is suspended after an operation goes badly wrong it looks like she will lose her career until John Duran, a criminal she convicted of murder, offers her information that will exonerate her if she joins investigative journalist, Dan Cooper of 4Justice, in trying to free Sean Farrell, wrongly convicted of murdering stable employee, Jane McNeil, ten years previously.

I thoroughly enjoyed A Bad, Bad Thing which is an engrossing read with several surprising twists and turns and more action than I expected. It is an easy book to read with most of the narrative from Eve's point of view and a linear timeline, my favourite format as it doesn't overly tax my brain trying to keep up, and a limited list of suspects. Having said that, the plot itself is fairly complex with several strands, not all connected, various motives, lots of secrets and the enigmatic John Duran to ponder. It held my attention from start to finish. Ms Forbes has done a great job of weaving it all together into a coherent whole.

The novel is brought to life by the personality of Eve West. She is tough, solitary and to all appearances unemotional but all is not as it seems because she is hiding secrets and her detachment is a coping mechanism. As the novel progresses these secrets start to emerge with Ms Forbes drip feeding the reader tidbits often enough to arouse the curiosity and stop the reader getting fed up with the teasing.

A Bad, Bad Thing is a good read which I have no hesitation in recommending.

A BAD BAD THING By Elena Forbes had me enthralled in the story from the beginning. A police officer, Eve West, is suspended from the police department because of something terrible. There is one person who it seems could help he but he is an unlikely character. John Duran is a criminal that Eve put in jail and she feels that she has no choice but to help him so that he will help her. We learn that John is trying to help a fellow inmate and so while there are different things going on it all comes together quite nicely at the end. It’s funny that Eves character is very likeable and the story seems very believable. It is an easy read and enough is given from the writer to understand what is going on throughout the book.

Thank you to netgalley as well as the author/publisher for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for my honest review.

4.5 stars out of 5

I loved this dark and complex mystery . I am a lifelong Anglophile and love books set in the UK
Loved this book.

A cop with a past gets suspended after a police op goes tits up. She gets an unlikely offer of help from a con she helped put away. It turns out he wants her help proving a fellow inmate is innocent of the murder charge he was convicted of. Can she help someone else when she can’t help herself? A conflicted heroine and a strong plot combine to make a solid hit