JT Ellison does it again! I am never shocked how much I like these books. It was suspenseful and extremely well written! I always love a thriller that keeps me guessing and not wanting to put the book down. I read this in a weekend which is a sure sign of a great book.

Wow this book is one of the best thrillers that I have read in years!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! All the many twists and turns that this book threw at you would make your head spin!!!!! Wow an amazing book and such a fun read.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this book. I received this book in exchange for my honest review. My thoughts are entirely my own.

J.T. Ellison does it again. I absolutely love this book. In this book we are following Riley who has been asked to interview Columbia Jones. Columbia Jones is a celebrated novelist with twenty books to her name and just released a new book with a movie to go with it. On the last stop of her book tour Columbia faints on stage and after being released from the hospital she is killed. Riley finds Columbia dead and when she looks for a pulse Columbia’s daughter Darian comes in and automatically starts screaming and saying that Riley murdered her mother. Riley didn’t do it and Detectivd Sedcliffe believes her. Then Riley is stocked by a man in a baseball cap and her boyfriend is murdered. Riley is named a beneficiary of Columbia’s will through her boyfriend’s family’s law firm. Riley receives a story that is actually a confession about her killing her husband who was abusive and letting her lover take the fall. The lover is believed to be behind it but he is actually a sweet man who has a new family. Riley and Kira Hutchinson are revealed to be Columbia’s twin daughters she gave up for adoption while in jail. Darian is old enough to remember her mother so Darian stays with her mother. Riley and Kira are taken care of financially by Columbia. All the beneficiaries go to a private island to hide after realizing someone is after them. Liam their tech guy is the one who was blackmailing Columbia and lies about being her lovers son. Riley writes Columbia’s biography and the girls come together. Darian and Mason, Columbia’s personal security, get married after hiding their relationship for so long. Mason is revealed to have planned things with Liam because he is the actual biological child of Columbia’s lover and Riley and Kira’s brother. Mason’s mother is a women that worked with the lover at a hospital. The book was so good and I am so buying a physical copy once this book comes out. I also loved the references to other famous book shops that I am very familiar with and I loved seeing the references

Columbia Jones is a popular author and masterful storyteller. At one of her big events, she sees a man stand up during her talk and passes out. Later, she’s found dead in her hotel room. Who is the mystery man that stood up? Why are unrelated people being called for the reading of her will? And why doesn’t anyone feel safe?

I’m a huge JT Ellison fan, and I loved this giant pink book! I couldn’t stop turning the pages to find out how everyone was connected and who was pulling the strings behind all the drama. I’m excited to discuss this one at book club next week!! If you want some other 5-star backlist reads by Ellison, I would recommend It’s One Of Us (oh hey fellow IVF peeps!) or Tear Me Apart (loved the Easter egg in this book).

4.5 stars

Thank you to NetGalley and Amazon Publishing for the free digital and hard copies of this book in exchange for my honest review!

We start out with a letter from a mother to a daughter telling her that she did a very bad thing. Author Columbia Jones is riding high, a new big book coming out, sold to Spielberg, who is making the movie, and she is killed. Why? Then other people start being killed that had something to do with her. Riley has been following her to write an article and possibly a memoir. Columbia asked for her expressly. Why? There seems to be some connection but what? As people are killed, the secrets are revealed and we get to know the depths to which Columbia invented herself anew. Riley and Kira were my favorite characters. I love how they were thrown into the mix. Both were strong.

The past comes back to haunt you, no matter how you try to cover it up. It ties up neatly, or does it? I had my suspicions and they were right. I have to pat myself on the back a little.

Thanks to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for an advance copy for review.

Thank you, Thomas & Mercer, for the copy of A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison. This was my first book by Ellison, but it won't be my last. The story was about a beloved, famous author with many secrets. Although some were easy to figure out, the engaging writing kept me reading. It bogged down here and there, though, so maybe it was too long. There were also a few too many characters to keep track of everyone, and at the end when the action started I had to think about who was who. The epilogue will divide readers - some will love it and others hate it. I actually fell right in the middle and was just WHAT? 4 stars

Wow! JT Ellison weaves a story that is incredible in its complexity with multiple story lines and characters, and she does it brilliantly. Famous author Columbia Jones is winding up an intense month of book readings and signings across the country. All she has left to do is let Riley, the journalist, she picked do an in-depth story on her and their month together and she’ll be able to rest. Except when she goes to their interview the next morning Riley discovers Columbia dead, and she’s the main suspect.

A Very Bad Thing follows famous author Columbia Jones and the people on her immediate circle including her daughter and publicist, Darian and a reporter she’s hired to write her life story, Riley. Once Columbia is murdered, her life story unravels revealing that she was living a lie and had done “a very bad thing” that she spent her life running from.

Once the book got going, it was so hard for me to put down. I loved reading the story from so many different characters POV, especially Columbias POV before she was murdered. I love the formula of a murder happening and then the story flashing back (for some POVs) to what led up to it.

I think this book could’ve easily been 100 pages shorter. It ended up droning on a bit. I’m sad to sad the epilogue twist ruined a bit for me. I didn’t love the initial twist but could stomach it but the last one simply just made zero sense to me in the context of the story.

It was a good, fun thriller though and I’m looking forward to reading more from JT Ellison.

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

A letter starts off: "My darling daughter, ... I did a very bad thing." What a wonderful hook!
The main character is an author on a book tour. Then more and More.And.More characters were introduced. So many, too many characters and events, enough to make the book drag.
I like that J.T. Ellison includes Nashville or Tennessee as a scene in her books. Hopefully her next book will be shorter and less confusing.
2.5 stars rounded up to 3 because of that amazing beginning.

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison is a one of a kind mystery/thriller about an author on her last stop of her month long promoting her new book The Ivory Lady. Columbia Jones has very carefully crafted a web of lies around her past and now she is ready to unravel them piece by piece. Riley is an up and coming reporter that just landed the biggest break of her carrer. She has been invited to come along and document the book tour and in return Riley gets to write a one of a kind article for the newspaper she works for. Darian, Columbia's only child has been helping her with her mother since graduating college. Columbia has kept Darian on a very short leash. Darian doesn't mind it however, she is wondering why after all these years why is Columbia having a journalist on the book tour with them. Kira is a long time fan and has read every book that Columbia has very written. Her husband Luke, has suprised her with a once in a lifetime trip to Denver for a VIP experiance a meet and greet with Columbia. The more that Riley digs into Columbia's past the more she is in danger. If writing the story of a lifetime worth dying over? This book will keep you on the edge of your seat until the very last chapter in the book.. I was hooked by the very first page. I would like to both NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for letting me read a advanced copy of this book.

I received a complementary ARC of this book from NetGalley on behalf of the author and the publisher.
I could not put this book down. This was one of the best books I've read in a long time. Ellison is at the top of her game! The characters are well thought out and developed and there stories unfold with a slow burn. The story hits the ground running and doesn't let up until the end. It was a little on the longer side but I honestly didn't want it to end.

A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison is an excellent twisty psychological thriller.
I love stories about authors , and this one hits the mark!
The characters are well written, complex and twisty for sure!

I love this authors books and this new one is no exception.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a complimentary ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A Very Bad Thing is the first J.T. Ellison book I've read in awhile. I've tried some of the previous ones without a lot of luck, but this one looked pretty interesting. Famous author mysteriously dies with secrets she's been trying to cover up. Sure...sounds like fun.

Overall, this was a quick engrossing read. Lots of twists, turns, and generally entertaining. This started out as four stars and went down to three because I feel like the end was a little all over the place with random mustache twirling moments and all the strings being pulled together was a little too tidy. The pacing was solid though and I'd recommend it if you're looking for something where you don't have to think too hard.

Lies, lies, and more lies in this thriller about a world famous author, Columbia Jones, who suddenly dies in the midst of her book tour. What was the cause of her death? Who could have caused it? Was it poison? Was it the gentleman who stood up and walked out in the middle of her talk? Was it her daughter? The journalist working with her? So many questions are posed throughout this read as J. T. Ellison once again has produced a thriller meant to keep you awake and reading the next chapter, seeking clues or answers.
I so enjoyed the way Columbia’s background is slowly revealed. Also loved the chapters of her old novel that helped bring her background to light.
I found most of the characters, especially Columbia and Darian, unlikeable. Riley intrigued me and I found myself rooting for her throughout the story. I also enjoyed the addition of Kira and her family. I did guess at some of the revelations mid way through the book but others were shocking.
J. T. Ellison never disappoints and this is another well written thriller. Many, many thanks to J. T. Ellison, Thomas & Mercer, and NetGalley for affording me the pleasurable opportunity to read an arc of this thriller to be published on November 1st. Four and a half stars.

Thank you, Netgalley, J. T. Ellison, and Thomas & Mercer for the ebook. This book was a page turner! Ellison has a way with words and a way of explaining homes and places it just is like you're right there seeing it. This was a wild ride and I highly recommend.

This is the stuff thrillers are made of. Fast-paced, can’t trust anyone, new identities, multiple suspects, twist after twist after twist. A Very Bad Thing hooked me from the very first page and took me on one roller coaster of a ride.

I loved all of the characters - Ellison did a great job giving each of them individual personalities, backgrounds, and motivations - and the mystery of Columbia’s life and death. The ending left me absolutely shook.

This story is a bit long, especially for a thriller, but it’s so worth it. Easily Ellison’s best and most engaging novel yet!

Thank you to Netgalley and Thomas & Mercer for the e-arc in exchange for an honest review.

Columbia Jones is a famous author who was in Denver for the last meet and greet of her book tour after being on the road for a month. She had asked Riley Carrington, a well-known journalist, to accompany her on this tour with the intention that Riley would write her biography once they were back home. When Riley goes to Columbia's room to finish her interview with her the following morning, Riley finds her dead in bed. This sets off one of the biggest "whodunit" and why did they do it. I did enjoy this story but I felt it was too long with way too many characters involved. It got very confusing at times and was somewhat repetitive.

Thank you NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the ARC of this very interesting book.

This has a really well written and thought-out plot. I enjoyed the writing style, short chapters and the multiple POVs, although I did find the beginning to be confusing because you are introduced to quite a lot of characters but once you know who’s who the story is easy to follow.
I thought some of the plot to be slightly predictable but the twist at the end really through my sideways.

★★★★

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I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the opportunity to review this book.

This does not disappoint! The story builds quickly and continues at a fast pace. The behind the scenes glimpse of the life of a successful author and the people around her make for an interesting read. Short, fast chapters with both likeable and unlikeable characters make this a ‘gotta find out how it ends’ story. I flew through the chapters. It was a day and a half read for me.. I’ve enjoyed J.T. Elison’s other books and this is no exception. I can’t wait for her next.
Thank You to NetGalley, Thomas & Mercer, and J.T. Ellison for the opportunity to read and enjoy this ARC.

Wow! What a rollercoaster. I truly did not know what to expect at any point while reading this book but in the end it all made sense. Ellison weaves a complicated story of an authors hidden life that comes out slowly after she is murdered and doesn’t miss a beat. There are no plot holes or loose ends. Would highly recommend this to anyone who is looking for a twisty thriller to dive into.