A Very Bad Thing by J.T. Ellison

A Very Bad Thing on September 1, 2024
Genres: Fiction / Mystery & Detective / Women Sleuths, Fiction / Thrillers / Psychological, Fiction / Thrillers / Suspense
Pages: 495
Format: Audiobook
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“It’s so easy to take your life for granted. So simple to ignore the rumblings of reality, to become complacent, to think things will never change. Of course, they do, and almost always when you least expect it.”

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?

When the most interesting and readable character ends up getting killed off in the first 10% of the book…chances are good I’m going to be looking at my watch, tapping my foot, and rolling my eyes a lot. It’s not to say that there aren’t any other interesting characters in this book…or rather, the potential for interesting characters, but between just keeping track of them all, their place in the plot, and the constant discussions about what was going on (or not going on) with Columbia’s will, I just felt a strong sense of disconnect. This was sold as a thriller that with an intent on providing the promised twists, and it does…but the machinations involved to get there just weren’t that interesting, and in my case, predictable.

I rated this novel 3.5 stars. Entirely too long, started off good, and the middle was so repetitive and annoying. I think this book could’ve easily been 100 pages shorter. It ended up droning on a bit. It wasn’t a bad read for me, but it was easily forgotten from my mind the second I completed it.