I loved A Very Bad Thing. This was a great mystery with interesting characters and a surprise at the end. Five stars!!

Columbia Jones might be dead, but there's no reason for her name to die with her.

Columbia Jones famed author in the middle of world book tour turns up dead in Denver. At first no one seems to know how she died but her death leaves many unanswered questions. She has left a will with strict instructions on who is to be there and why. Her daughter Darian. Darian who is her right hand and is very involved in her daily life. Riley, who is a reporter that is doing a story on her life and world tour. Knox Shepherd who was in prison for murder. Kira a young mother and fan of Columbia Jones. Who are these people to Columbia Jones. The bigger question becomes who is Columbia Jones.
If she was killed why. What house of cards did Columbia build to keep her secrets safe.

What a thriller and the plot unraveled itself very well. Fun read.

A special thank you to Thomas Mercer and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review

I have enjoyed a few of this authors other books. I thought this book was rather interesting. It wasn't really my favorite but still was a good read.

A Very Bad Thing was filled with so much mystery and suspense---it kept me on the edge of my seat until the very last page, and my mind was blown from all of the plot twists. The novel follows Columbia Jones, a famous author who is murdered and leaves behind numerous secrets that must be uncovered from those close to her (and others who don't know her at all).

It's going to take a few days for me to recover from this book (and I mean that in the best way possible). My hat's off to J.T. Ellison---what a book!

I love a super twisty thriller this time of year! How about you?⁣
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A Very Bad Thing follows Columbia Jones, a celebrated writer who knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. ⁣Everyone loves her and she’s at the top of her game. Until she isn’t.⁣
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Because on the last night of her most recent book tour, a face in the crowd makes Columbia collapse. ⁣And the next morning - in the biggest twist of all - she is found dead in a pool of blood.⁣
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As one life comes to an end, it’s just the beginning of all the lives around her shattering - as the truth of Columbia’s illicit past comes out. ⁣
⁣
I am a HUGE fan of J.T Ellison’s books and how she masterfully twists past and present, and secrets and lies into every thrilling story. ⁣
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I would have given this 5 stars but I had a few questions that were nagging me at the end regarding all the paternity/maternity connections. I think she did a great job with the way everyone was connected but I did get pretty confused towards the end!

Thank you to Thomas & Mercer for the digital copy to review.

I am a huge fan of J.T. Ellison, and have read all of her stand alone books. This one is a doozy, and quite entertaining to say the least. The audio was great for this one, I loved listening to this ca-razy story. I could not figure out where in the heck it was going or who was behind it all, and was completely wrong in the end, which was more than fine. I could not get to the end fast enough to know how it would end.

I thought this was a creative premise - a very popular author is found dead, and basically everyone close to her is a suspect, including her daughter. But as the case goes on, it seems the author may have had a past with several that may have wanted her dead, and the body count is rising. Don’t let the length deter you, it feels like a quick read and is one that should be on your list, and don’t miss the author’s note at the end.

I absolutely love the cover of this book.

I loved the suspense and her writing is exceptional.

Will keep you on the edge of your seat and i will always recommend her books.

I will read anything this author writes.

Thanks NetGalley for letting me read and review.

Famous author Columbia Jones is found dead in her hotel room while closing out the book tour for her latest smash hit novel. Who killed her? And why? The truth slowly rolls out in the most tangled and delicious web of lies and deceit.

Oh boy what a ride! I loved this and it's zillion layers. I was intrigued with all the characters and their pieces to the puzzle. It kept me guessing and intrigued. I loved Columbia and by the end of the book loved her even more! Excellent complex whodunnit with a huge cast of characters and a bunch of surprises. Well done!!!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to read in exchange for my honest review!

This was my book club's September pick. We were so excited to read it after watching all of the positive early reviews roll in!

A VERY BAD THING was a wild ride. I always love the spin JT Ellison puts on thriller books and this one certainly had some unique elements. Also, I love the pink cover!

This book grabbed my attention from the very beginning. It started off with a bang and then went right into getting to know the characters.

Columbia Jones is a famous author and on a book tour when she is murdered. Her daughter Darius is her right hand publicist. Her world is shattered and she is on a mission, along with others, to find out who murdered her mother and why.

The story is one you really have to pay attention to. There are A LOT of characters and A LOT of POV's. If you need to take notes, take notes! I was confused for a while trying to figure out everyone but eventually, managed to keep them all straight.

Regardless, this is a good "whodunnit" novel with a lot of guessing to be done. When it finally all comes together, it makes sense. The twist at the end though, I just knew it! * chefs kiss *

Excellent writing by the author. This is my first read by J.T. Ellison but it won't be my last!

Suspenseful and well-written tale of a popular author who, one day at a reading, sees someone from her past and passes out on stage. The next day, she is found murdered. I liked the characters in the book, the commentary on writing and writers, and the ever-escalating suspense. I listened the audiobook alternately and much preferred the written version on the page for this one - the audiobook narrator was a little hard to understand at times. Overall a good read by a reliable suspense author.

there’s kinda been a trend of thrillers about authors lately, I mostly enjoy this trope but this one fell a bit flat for me. its length (almost 500 pages) is its biggest disservice - it meanders through the middle and by the time i finally got to the last part of the book I was pretty checked out and ready to move onto my next read.

Oh Columbia, what a tangled web you left behind! This was a top-notch psychological thriller, completely unpredictable, and impossible to put down. JT Ellison has gained a new reader!

Thanks for the opportunity to read and for introducing to this author!

Columbia Jones is living every writer’s dream. An acclaimed author of blockbuster bestsellers, she’s wrapping up the tour for her latest novel in Denver, Colorado, while surrounded by adoring fans. When one figure in the audience of her book talk abruptly stands up to leave, however, she falters and faints. Later, she and her people will blame the fact that she passed out on the altitude.

Her daughter and manager Darian Jones is personally glad that this neverending tour is wrapping up. She worries that her mother is overexerting herself, and that the nonstop travel is taking its toll. Columbia’s recently hired chronicler Riley Carrington, however, is less excited about the tour coming to an end. It’s not just that she’ll lose immediate access to the author. Columbia has proven to be weirdly cagey about her own past, making it hard for Riley to compose the comprehensive profile that she’s aiming for. When the tour’s final night arrives and Riley accidentally witnesses an argument between Columbia and Darian that raises more questions than it answers, she’s more determined than ever to pin Columbia down on the facts before they have to part.

So the last thing Riley expects is to discover Columbia’s bloody corpse the next morning. A hysterical Darian immediately accuses her of murder. But Riley didn’t have a motive to kill Columbia… or did she?

For Columbia was full of secrets, as she confesses to her daughter in a letter found after her death:

QUOTE
My darling daughter,

I’m not going to hide this from you anymore.

Many, many years ago, I did a very bad thing.

And I paid for it. Oh, did I pay for it. As did everyone around me.

We’re all faced with choices, moment by moment, as we embark on our lives. There’s no way to know what a day will bring–Joy? Abundance? Fear? Chaos? Terror? Death? When darkness falls, when you lay down your head, you are a different person than the moment your eyes opened hours before. Your day is driven by inexorable forces seen and unseen, felt and unfelt. You choose. Eat that food. Take that drink. Do that exercise. Murder that person.
END QUOTE

It seems that the sins of Columbia’s past have finally tracked her down. Worse, someone is intent on not only destroying Columbia’s reputation – and by extension Darian’s mental health – but also on terrorizing Riley. Had the journalist seen something during the tour that would justify the threats on her life? Riley and Darian will have to join forces to unravel the clues Columbia left behind in order to identify and stop a killer hellbent on vengeance.

There are a lot of twists in this thick volume, all of which have been carefully seeded for the astute reader. While I found myself occasionally boggled by Columbia’s reasoning, I did very much enjoy the bond that eventually grew between Darian and Riley as they uncovered the late author’s secrets. In this, they’re aided by the capable Detective Byron Sutcliffe out of Denver, who interviews Ruby Erickson, the organizer of the author event. In a conversation that’s a charming nod to the observational skills of mystery readers, he asks:

QUOTE
“So this guy bought his ticket the day they were announced?”

“I said the ticket was sold the first day. There’s no way to know for sure the person who sat in the seat was the same one who purchased the ticket.”

Sutcliffe fights back a smile. “Now you sound like a cop.”

“Not a cop, Detective. A reader. We pay attention to the details. “ She flashes her dimples, bright teeth shining in the sunlight.

“You have the name of the ticket purchaser, and the video from that night. Anything else?”

“If I had more, I wouldn’t be a reader. I’d be a cop.” She grins again and he laughs out loud.
END QUOTE

Filled with insights into the psychology of both readers and writers, A Very Bad Thing is packed with tons of detail for the thriller reader who savors getting wholly immersed in a sweeping story. While Columbia may have indeed done a very bad thing once upon a time, her legacy lives on in this book, with a final twist that some readers may not see coming.

J.T. Ellison is one of my favorite authors. Unfortunately, this is the first book by her that I did not overall enjoy. There were parts that I liked, but also I expected and guessed many of the twists in this one. I'm sure this is just a one off and I am already looking forward to reading her next one.

"A great writer knows when to deliver a juicy plot twist. But for one author, the biggest twist of all is her own murder." A very bad thing, indeed!

I'm a longtime fan of J.T. Ellison and I could not wait to dive in. Unfortunately, it got off to a slow start and I had trouble hanging on. But I'm glad I did, because it definitely paid off in the end.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to like this more than I did but I found it a tad confusing and hard to follow the different characters. Not a favorite

Holy crap. I’ve read J.T. Ellison before and knew that she could write, but, man! Talk about glued. to. this. book. I couldn’t stop reading!

The novel centers around Columbia Jones, I imagine her as like the J.K. Rowling or Stephanie Meyer of this fictional world, someone whose books just go mega-viral upon release. But the morning following the last stop of the book tour for her latest release, she’s found dead in her hotel room. What’s even odder, she had fainted onstage at the event the night before after spotting a mysterious man in the audience. As police and the hand-chosen reporter, Riley Carrington, begin looking into events, it becomes clear that Columbia’s past might have something to do with what happened- and that her past isn’t what she’s been telling everyone it is.

The book is told from multiple POVs - but I didn’t find it confusing, as things were clearly marked and it was easy to follow the storyline progression.

As I said, things flowed really well in this book and I just fell right into the storyline right from the beginning. There was so much suspense as the story progressed that I was absolutely blown away with each new twist and I had to readjust my theories. It was great! That’s what a good mystery/thriller should be doing - throwing curveballs that are exciting, but realistic for the story.

Columbia was a great character because she was very complex. There’s so much there, it’s hard to know where to fall with her. But no spoilers here; I’ll let you decide what you think!

And as the story came together, it was satisfying, because you could see all the clues lining up - like a puzzle coming together. And as always, make sure you read until the very end, because the excitement continues until the very last page. It’s so good, trust me.

Make sure you check out this book if you love a great mystery/thriller! J.T. Ellison has written another winner with this one!

Interesting story. Good plot line. It was just a good read. A little bummed that it started off slow but it picks up, so keep that in mind.

First line Friday

"My darling daughter. I'm not going to hide this from you anymore. Many, many years ago, I did a very bad thing. And I paid for it. Oh did I pay for it. As did everyone around me."

Special thanks to @thrillerchick @amazonpublishing & @netgalley for the #gifted eARC.

➡️ swipe for synopsis 👉🏼

𝙈𝙔 𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙄𝙀𝙒:
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Not much dialog, which as you all know isn't my fav. Also it's written in the 3rd person (all but the underlying story within the story). It isn't hard to read, just not always my favorite POV.
It does have dual timelines, and multiple POVs - plus the story within a story is very captivating. I did go in blind and for the first 20% I was a little curious when it would pick up and then boom 💥 it takes off and doesn't hold back. Next thing i know it's midnight, I'm 60% in and am dying to use the bathroom.
[I think i have it figured out but we shall see]
People keep ending up dead and the facts keep ping ponging back and forth.

This was a fantastic read!

𝙋𝙐𝘽 𝘿𝘼𝙔:
Nov 1, 2024