3.5 stars. An interesting mix of a light hearted, comedic, modern day story with historical glimpses from such a difficult time during WWII. The humor/quirks from the main character’s story was a nice way to balance the harsh realities of the war. I found the entries/records at the end of each chapter were initially very confusing and tough to follow/keep straight, but I ended up really looking forward to them (once I started piecing the names & stories together).

Thank you Net Galley!

The cover and synopsis immediately caught my attention! When Las Vegas hairdresser Lucy Rey hits rock bottom after discovering her fiancé's infidelity, she realizes she needs a new job to stay afloat financially. While scanning the classifieds, she stumbles upon a unique opportunity: a bearer of bad news. The job comes with an all-expenses-paid trip to the Italian Dolomites and a $25,000 bonus upon delivering the news to its intended recipient. This mission plunges her into a World War II mystery that unfolds in the most unexpected ways.

The beginning of the book had me hooked, but the historical storyline lost some of its grip on me. There was a lot happening, and I felt the relationships, especially between Lucy and her grandmother, weren't as fully developed as I would have liked. Overall, it was an enjoyable read, though at times a bit challenging to follow.

This book was such a pleasant surprise. Lucy, who is operating among a hot mess of a life, gets hired to be a bearer of bad news. Along her journey in Italy, we get flashbacks to events from WWII. This book was not at all what I was expecting, but definitely kept me engaged and questioning what would happen next. Such a fun read to start off 2025!

Okay first of all, the author’s note deserves all the heart emojis. Also the concept of this book was so intriguing to me.

This book is a split timeline between WW2 and a finding yourself across the country, Eat,Pray, Love type story. The present day portion is very quick paced and kept my interest but the historical fiction was not necessarily my cup of tea. However, this book is still a very cute read and I can’t wait to read more from this author!

3.5 stars rounded up.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this arc!

This book was not quite what I was expecting because the cover was a frolic and Lucy
was not at all what you’d expect for the part she played in the role fashioned with the
fictional Bearer of Bad news. The story did take the reader on an adventure to the
Italian Dolomites, and the historical component was good, if not unexpected. Lucy,
desperately in need of so much, finds herself involved and looking to be well
paid, but the task becomes so much more than she expected. Parts of the book
required an awful to to get through, but it’s worth it to follow the money.
My thanks to Gallery Books for the download of this book for review purposes.

“The Bearer of Bad News” by Elizabeth Dini is a unique story. The concept of the book intrigued me immediately. The idea that a young unemployed hairdresser would accept a job to be the bearer of bad news and deliver it to a person in an estranged family in the Dolomites sounded fun and adventurous. Unfortunately for me, the book became a complex story of the hairdressers all expense journey muddled with feuding sisters trying to recover a Nazi stolen artifact from WWII. Told in duel time lines, I found the historical portion hard to follow and the current family drama with our heroine and her aging movie star grandmother unsympathetic.

From other reviews I see people feel very differently so it may be this book was just not for me.

Thank you NetGalley and Gallery Books for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 rounded up to 4.

The cover and first chunk of this book are completely different than where this book netted out. Even the genre’s listed on goodreads “mystery” and “contemporary” don’t feel right. I thought this was going to be a lighthearted ~finding yourself~ book but it was more of a deep cut finding yourself with WWII details. I think I liked the bouncing back between quirkiness and heaviness but the historical fiction aspect of this book was not at all what I thought I was going to get and I think anyone picking this up would be surprised by it based on the blurb. Also, it might have been the formatting of the ARC but I felt the flashback documents were a little hard to follow.

Felt like the author’s note made me like this book a lot more too, which doesn’t happen too often.

TY netgalley for the ARC.

3/5 stars - This book took me awhile to get into. I thought it was going to be different. I will comeback to it in the future when for when i’m in the mood for more mystery ! :)

I think this book gave Lucy a new adventure in the aftermath of heartbreaking news about her fiancé. I personally lost interest at times, having a harder time connecting to Lucy as a narrator, but the writing overall was smart!

❤️❤️❤️❤️/5

Don’t let this cute book cover fool you! This book has a mixture of mystery, WW II history, and a little a bit of romance.

What I liked:

The author put A LOT of research! She based the names of the women fictional characters to the different women in history who risked or gave their lives to fight against the Nazis.

Lucy was such a fun character. She was kinda of a mess but so lovable

the balance between comedy and heavy topics like WWII

What I had hard time with:

Took me a while to get into it because hard time keeping track to the alternating timelines

A unique blend of quirky spy/mystery and serious WWII historical fiction to create a novel I was unable to put down. The novel is told from one POV but has historical artifacts such as letters and case files mixed into the story to provide context for the historical fiction aspect of this novel.

I felt an immediate connection to the female main character, Lucy, is sassy, strong willed and cunning. After her life is upended she accepts a unique job as "Bearer of Bad News" that takes her on a journey to Italy to uncover the truth behind an 80 year mystery wrapped in WWII secrets and betrayal.

If you are looking for a lighthearted historical fiction novel I would highly recommend this one!

Thank you Gallory Books for the ARC.

I love movies and books about quests through Europe so I was very excited to be approved for this book. Refreshing premise about a bad news bearer (is that a real job?) set in Europe. It is a bit confusing with the way the flashbacks are written which made it hard to follow because a lot of characters were introduced. The names were also a bit pretentious.

Lucy's life just went from generally dull to unaccountably awful. An accidental photo showed her fiancé in an amorous embrace with another man. His "work" trips have become exceedingly more explainable. Lucy is about to lose her apartment (not that she liked it anyway) but has nowhere else to go, and has never been that great at her salon job. Coming across a questionably chance advertisement for a bearer of bad news job, Lucy thinks, "why not?" and applies. She of course gets the job which sends her to Switzerland where she slowly begins realizing she is connected to both the author and intended recipient of the bad news and those origins trace back to mistaken identities and a Nazi-stolen necklace worth millions.

I expected something completely different in this book, and ended up with much more of a drama story than one with comedic vibes. Lucy quickly across as very troubled and not exactly stable. I was glad to see her finally see her own stubbornness in the rift with her grandmother. Many parts of this book were confusing for me - I had a hard time keeping the characters in the flash backs straight.

It's gonna be hard to market this book. It's not a romance, though it has romantic elements. It's not a mystery, thought it has mystery in it. It's not historical fiction, not a spy, not a caper. Perhaps it's a female driven answer to a James Patrerson novel? Start reading for the late 20s early 30s woman figuring out her life, stay for the Hollywood grandma and Nazi Germany stollen jewels? This book is well written and researched. Some of the characters were interesting. Some if the plot points were good, some convenient. Seems like this may be a start of a series? I may like the second one better now that I get the tone. I waited until the last 3 days I had access to this book to read it and... yeah. If you are someone who doesn't like being confined to one genre, this book is for you. 3 stars. Thanks to Net Galley and Gallery Books for this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

This book was the perfect mix of spy mystery, historical fiction and it was humorous. I wouldn’t have expected to enjoy a book that takes place during WWII, but this book was so much more than that. The author did an amazing job with this book and I honestly think anyone could enjoy it!

What a fun take on a cozy mystery that incorporates a pinch of WWII history. I was rooting for Lucy through every twist and turn, through to the very final plot twist.

This was honestly unlike anything I've ever read. A mix of quirky accidental spy/mystery fiction with very serious WWll historical fiction.

I loved this story but I did find the historical fiction surprising based on the blurb and what I thought I was getting into. I think at times I struggled with the seriousness of the flashbacks and the silly / quirky writing of the present day.

Lucy was a mess but I loved her. I wish there had been a bit more of a friendship or connection with the other characters but I get that everyone was a suspect. I also loved all the clues tucked in throughout the book.

Overall this was fun and hilarious and heartbreakingly sad all at once. I really enjoyed reading something so different and unique.

This seems like it was going to be a light and fluffy and quick read. I liked the setup - the concept of a Bearer of Bad News as a career path made me smile and felt like a natural offshoot of this current environment in which you can pretty much pay anyone to do anything for you. But the layering of the Nazis and generational family drama struck a discordant note for me.

The book was heavier than anticipated, or than the cover or blurb would suggest, and I struggled with it as a result. It was like the book couldn't quite decide what it wanted to be - cozy or serious - and by trying to blend the two, it wound up being neither. I found it unsatisfying. It was not a good fit for me...

Such a fun read! There's intrigue, but it's relatively lighthearted, and there's also some good historical tidbits thrown in. The character's are all pretty surface level but it was what I expected and still enjoyed reading about them.

3.5 stars rounded up.

I almost felt like I was reading two different stories -- one contemporary, one historical -- with two very different tones. Both were interesting.

*Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for providing an e-galley in exchange for an honest review.