The premise intrigued me and the strong start of the story kept me interested. The momentum slowed down slightly in the middle, but I was still engaged in the mystery. Some of the twists were predictable, but the final concluding twist was completely unexpected and satisfying. Thank you, NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for my copy.

Best selling author Columbia Jones is coming to the end of her book tour when she is murdered. On tour with her is her daughter, her security and Darian, a reporter who has been doing an expose. While the police work to find the murderer, the lawyers are trying to get everything ready for the reading of Columbia’s Will which supringly enough includes Darian. Turns out Columbia has left behind quite a few surprises.

Be patient with this one, J. T. Ellison takes her time and when she’s ready for this story to start the roller coaster, it will! A Very Bad Thing was a twisty, turbulent wild ride of a story and I loved it. I was constantly guessing who our baddie was!

This was a good book. I loved how they were unraveling the past after the death of the famous author. Lots of secrets came out along with some great twists! I enjoyed this book.

I love books set in the literary world and this one mostly takes place while on a book tour. The characters were interesting and the plot was nicely done. It was fun getting breadcrumbs about Columbia’s past and trying to put together the pieces.

A solid drama. The mystery aspect of this was rather obvious in my opinion but luckily the story was interesting to keep my attention regardless and I enjoyed it.

How do I review this without spoilers? Go in blind, it's worth it!!
I loved this book a lot more than I thought I would.
Not only was this hard for me to predict (and these days, nothing gets past me) - but the entire story was so dang good. I had such Mary Higgins Clark vibes - but this was better. This was so well written. J T. Ellison is a mastermind.

Thank you to NetGalley and publisher for an ARC of this book in exchange for my honest review. This book officially publishes on 11/1/24!

This book is a perfectly bingeable story. Told from multiple POVs as well as a mystery story-within-a-book, I was hooked almost immediately. There were so many twists in this book that I didn’t see coming, right up until the very last page. The character interactions felt realistic to me, as did the depictions of the characters. This novel has a strong whodunnit aspect with secrets interwoven within. Definitely recommend giving this one a read if you are a fan of mystery/thriller/crime stories!

Many, many years ago, I did a very bad thing. These are words that Riley Carrington, and the daughter of Columbia Jones, Darian, hear more than once. The reader of this book will also read these very words more than once in J. T. Ellison’s latest thriller.

As the story begins, we learn that Columbia Jones has been murdered and reporter Riley Carrington has apparently been chosen to tell her story, hopefully in the form of a memoir. Columbia’s past, her successes and her eventual death are all things that Riley has but no choice to find answers for. Chosen to complete this utterly impossible task, Riley begins to dig for answers, but is met with brick wall after brick wall.

Discovering and reading Columbia’s final manuscript somehow presents all the clues that would lead to why Columbia has died. Making heads or tails of what Riley is reading is a different story altogether. Riley reads on and digs deep. Meanwhile, Darian is quite naturally heartbroken due to her mother’s death. Anxious for Columbia’s will to be read, Darian is desperate for answers. While it might become clear that Columbia’s death was no accident, there are far more questions than answers in this compelling read.

How in the world can someone like me read 495 pages in just two sittings? When the story is intriguing, exciting, twisty and has different POVs. All of these factors definitely delivers a real treat with this fabulous book by a very talented author.

Reviewer’s Note: Make sure to read this book to the very end, as in the Author’s Note we get a peek into J. T. Ellison’s writing and and creative process.

Many thanks to Thomas & Mercer and to NetGalley for this ARC for review. This is my honest opinion.

Not my favorite by this author. It was a pretty good thriller but I found it hard to keep up with all of the characters. The ending was a little chaotic and while parts of the book seemed to drag on, I thought the epilogue could have been made a bigger part of the story. I did enjoy the quick mention of Mindy Wright as a nod to another one of her books.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

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

With a number of hit titles and a highly anticipated movie tie-in, celebrated novelist Columbia Jones is at the top of her game. Fans around the world adore her. But on the final night of her latest book tour, one face in the crowd makes the author collapse. And by the next morning, she’s lying dead in a pool of blood.

Columbia’s death shocks the world and leaves Darian, her daughter and publicist, reeling. The police have nothing to go on—at first. But then details emerge, pointing to the author’s illicit past. Turns out many people had motive to kill Columbia. And with a hungry reporter and frustrated cop on the trail, her secrets won’t stay buried long. But how many lives will they shatter as the truth comes out?

Loved it

What A Great Read!
Page turning and pulse pounding J.T. Ellison certainly delivers a fast-paced thriller and one of my favourites by her.
World renowned best selling novelist Columbia Jones is on the final night of her latest book tour. Suddenly a face in the crowd makes the author collapse and by the next morning she is dead.
The police are baffled until details emerge revealing the authors illicit past. It seems many people had motive to kill Columbia and it's not until her secrets are revealed that we see how many lives will be ruined as the truth comes out.
I loved that "Taylor Jackson" was given a mention.
Highly Recommended!

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for an arc of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

Wow! The twists kept coming with this one! Not my first JT Ellison book and definitely won’t be my last! Quick and fast paced and I definitely didn’t see the twist at the end. Would love a sequel! Thank you NetGalley for the arc!

Oh my goodness - A Very Bad Thing is an incredible read. The way the story unfolds is a masterpiece.
These characters are real and raw. The twists and turns seem obvious but aren't and the ending is perfection.
This story will stay with me. One you'll wish you could read for the first time - again and again.
I highly recommend this read.

J.T. Ellison never disappoints. Every new book she writes is my new favorite, and A Very Bad Thing is certainly no exception. The multiple narrator format just works to reveal the story, which is perfectly crafted. The characters are textured and complex, but in a believable way. They're people that could be your friends, your neighbors. I'm still trying to decide if Columbia Jones is a likable character, which is the sign of a great book, when it stays with you after the final page.

What a nicely written novel! This thriller is twisty, fun, and inventive. Though some of the twists are a bit predictable it also has some you won't see coming. Columbia Jones is a best selling novelist that is well known and loved by many. When she is found dead in a hotel room its up to journalist Riley and Detective Sutcliffe to find out the truth behind the crime. Darian, Columbia's lone daughter is tormented by the death of her mother and how to continue her legacy without her genius. This book was one of my favorites this year. Expertly written.

I am a big fan of J.T. Ellison and this book is the perfect reason why. "A Very Bad Thing" is filled with twists and turns that will leave readers guessing whodunit?

This was a phenomenal thriller to me and I could not put it down. I literally took it with me into the kitchen while cooking. It was so good. I really loved that you had no idea who the killer was throughout and the shocking twist at the end was top notch.

Thank you to NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for selecting me to read this ARC. I really enjoyed it.

What a twisty wild ride! It's definitely best to go into this one blind and just enjoy being swept up in it. We had the MOST FUN discussing this at our local in person book club.

Celebrity author Columbia Jones is adored by fans far and wide, but someone dislikes her enough to kill her. The morning after the final stop on her book tour, Columbia is found dead and bloody in her hotel room by a journalist she tapped to write an article about her and potentially write her memoir. As Columbia's daughter and the journalist take separate paths to learn about this woman, they begin to learn that the woman had a dark past that isn't done haunting them.

This book had a very interesting plot and twists I didn't see coming. I think the sheer number of different POVs took me out of the story a bit but overall I still had fun reading it and couldn't wait to find out what happened!

I have to admit that I didn't LOVE this one. I really enjoy J.T Ellison's writing, but I found this particular book to be way too long for what it was — the reveal didn't blow me away, and the characters were decent but not amazing. Overall, I recommend this one on audio because it was quite a slog for me, personally, to read with eyeballs. A solid thriller but not my favorite by Ellison.