Thank you so much to NetGalley for letting me read this! I think I would have liked it more if it hadn't been an audiobook, because it was too confusing going back and forth in time.
The actual writing and narrator were quite enjoyable, and one of the best parts of the book was how the writer managed to make personal dramas just as important as larger dramas.
I think anyone who enjoys action will enjoy this book, and the characters were likable enough to be invested in. I will probably wait a little while and read the physical book to see if my rating goes up, because I did enjoy it.

The New Bad Thing by Michael Ebner.
Narrated by Braden Wright.
Teagan is successful in her own right but she’s not the crusader journalist she aspired to be back in college. She needs a personal distraction and decides to make a difference in the world. When a foreign news story shocks her to the core, she takes matters into her own hands and starts a special project. But not everybody will be happy about her plans. When Teagan travels to Paris to deal with a project setback, she wakes up in a luxury hotel in the middle of a terrorist siege. Or is it a planned attack on her life? 
I enjoyed listening to this audiobook. Action packed. I did like Teagan. 4*.

Needing a distraction, Teagan opens a charity but soon she's involved in something bigger than she expected and the only way to keep her and her family safe is to fight back.

This was a fast-paced novel full of danger and excitement.

I felt for the character of Teagan and you could see the domino effect happening as each event unravelled, as well as those 'what if moment' which could have happened if things had been done differently.

The narrative is told through the third person point of view giving us different angles to the storyline. I love the character of Teagan and felt her strength, although I would have preferred more of a background on the character; but I do understand that probably would have slowed the pace.

This is a great start to a series, although quite heavy in places, it's one that anyone would enjoy.

The New Bad Thing by Michael Ebner
Narrated by Braden Wright was an excellent audiobook especially as it's the first book in the new The New Bad Thing series. It had everything with lots of twists and turns that was super fast-paced throughout it was full of action, conspiracy and excitement from the beginning till the end which made it a brilliant book! I loved it!

Teagan is successful in her own right but she’s not the crusader journalist she aspired to be back in college. She needs a personal distraction and decides to make a difference in the world to help others. When a foreign news story shocks her to the core, she takes matters into her own hands and starts a special project. But not everybody will be happy about her illegally funded venture. When Teagan travels to Paris to deal with a project setback, she wakes up in a luxury hotel in the middle of a terrorist siege. Or is it a planned attack on her life?

Like other survivors from the siege, she is taken to a local police station. Routine questioning turns to intense interrogation by an American–a European Counterterrorism agent–Robert Lexington. She is the only one in custody who has seen Roman in the last ten years. Teagan is persuaded by Lexington to help locate him–a high priority person of interest–and in return she will avoid the courts and military prison back home. What follows is a challenging personal journey for Teagan across Europe and America. She must draw on her experience as a skilled interviewer, improviser and investigator to find the ghost-like Roman for her family's survival.

I highly recommend this book and looking forward to the next instalment. I loved it.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and Pen and Picture for this advanced copy in extreme for my honest and voluntary review.

In keeping with its title, New Bad Thing felt the need to keep upping the stakes with twists and reveals, peeling back layer upon layer of corruption and double dealing. An American reporter is involved in one of several coordinated attacks on Paris hotels by an ISIS-like group, but is a bit better equipped than we first assume and actually rides it out safely and take out a few terrorists, Die Hard-style.

Why does she have a gun and training? Well, as things unfold, she was actually there hunting down some mercenaries that she hired to go after the terrorists as part of a fundraising and vigilante campaign that started as a diversion from her feelings of powerlessness and frustration being unable to get pregnant.

Her interview after being rescued from the hotel attack quickly steers towards this, and the agent whisks her off to another part of Europe, insisting her husband join -- ostensibly as he also wants to track down the embezzling soldier for hire. This winds up being a trap to get the reporter to track him down for the mob, as she is somehow the only person able to track him down, and they're willing to wait out her pregnancy for her to do so.

Despite some farfetched aspects and whiplash-inducing allegiance changing, it's an interesting read full of colorful characters and situations.

First I would like to say thanks for allowing me to listen to this audiobook.
It was well written and narrated, but just wasn't for me. It did not keep my attention and I ended up not finishing it. I'm sure that it will work for some thriller lovers, just not me.

I was lucky enough to both read this book and listen to the audiobook. I wanted to hear how the story played out in addition to reading along. The narrator was good. I really enjoyed the pace at which he read. I also liked there while you could tell the difference between characters, the voices weren't too crazy.

After hearing a new story Teagan develops the urge to do something fulfilling with her life - help women in need in foreign countries. She starts a special project with the help of an investor. Things go south when the investor disappears with the money for the project. While in Paris to solve the complication, a terrorist attack occurs at Teagan's hotel. When brought in for questioning with the other survivors, Teagan quickly realizes this agent is not quite who she thought; he also has an interest in her disappeared business partner.

This was a really good listen and I enjoyed the pace of the book. I would definitely recommend this. I was lucky enough to read this for free and this is my honest review.

Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

Decent story with lots of action. I couldn't connect with the main character as much as I wanted to, so it fell a little flat for me but overall I liked it. The narrator was good.

Though initially I thought this would be a great crime fiction (for me), because this book appeared to be one in which I would become connected, I quickly lost interest in the overall plot of the story and could not connect to the characters.

Teagan has tried to get pregnant and have a baby for her husband, but her inability to have a baby appears to be one of the few things that she was unable to get a handle on. Her quest to save and protect women against a Middle Eastern terroist group becomes her obsession. Teagon is in a hotel room and hears gunshots ringing and discover it is the K.I.L members combing every hallway, and room killing anyone they can find, no questions asked.

Between the MC interviewing C.I.A agent to tell his exclusive story, her becoming vigilante of some sorts, an asset to an Italian crime syndicate, and trying to conceive was a bit overwhelmingly disjointed.

Though I am certain an audience that enjoys ready books that are not represented chronologically would enjoy this story, I prefer books that are laid out a little more coherently. Also, I am unsure if the author conducted enough research regarding women who are unable to conceive or become pregnant.

I give this story a 3 star rating, but would consider reading another book penned by Mr. Ebner.

Thank you Netgalley, Pen and Picture Audio, and Michael Ebner for allowing me to listen to this ALC for my honest review.

Enjoyed the story, did not like the narrator. The narrator tried to hard to say Italian words/names with an accent. The plot was good. It's a spy thriller.

The central figure here is a woman, Teagan. In her late thirties she’s desperate to have a child with her husband Todd, but fates have so far been against her. Looking to divert her focus, she’s decided that the actions of a terrorist group called K.I.L. offer her a short-term way of turning her attention to something other than her seeming inability to conceive. She’ll find a way of helping women kidnapped by this group in the Middle East. As a respected journalist she has some contacts and some knowledge that she feels will help her achieve this aim.

Told in non-chronological order, we’re treated to a series of events that are, at first, hard to fit together. Teagan is in a hotel where K.I.L. members are marauding through its corridors killing everyone they can find. Teagan is interviewing a reclusive man who wants her to write his life story. A dodgy C.I.A agent is seeing the bottom of a bottle of wine little too often as he laments his lot, seemingly stuck in Europe with little hope of returning to his family in America. A young man in Northern Italy starts to make his way through the ranks of a ruthless Mafia gang. So, just how do these elements link together?

There’s no doubt that Teagan holds the interest most prominently here. Attacked by a dog when she was young, she bears the scars on her face as witness to the event. This either works to offset and enhance her natural beauty or it casts a shadow that’s proves to be an ugly distraction to observers – both scenarios are presented here. She’s fearless in pursuit of her career goals and also in the face of physical danger, but she’s defenceless when it comes to facing the possibility of life without a child to love and care for. Consequently, her moods and her actions are unpredictable.

At heart there’s a good story here as the various threads eventually come together to present a semi-cohesive whole. But my reservations are twofold: firstly, I struggled to like or even believe in any of the major characters; secondly, I’m just not a fan of this jerky way of telling a story where events are overlaid or the timeframe is constantly switching. There’s a follow-up book already lined up for release and I’ll have do some thinking as to whether it’s one I’ll be adding to my bookshelf.

Interesting premise that sneaks up on you with powerful thrills, an intricate plot, and a kick ass heroine. I'm intrigued by the author and looking forward to what he comes up with next.

⛧ ⛧ ⛧
the new bad thing had me on the edge of my seat. with discomfort. and confusion. trying to follow the plot with the back and fourth in the timeline was confusing. stay for the action, don’t mind the lack of character development.
Teagan goes from a desperate I’ll do anything to be pregnant to, i’ll do anything to protect this infant and nothing will stand in my way. mom-ssassin. can’t wait for book two, hate to see how she is when baby is in little league soccer.

Id rate this as a solid 4.5 stars.

The New Bad Thing is the first book I've read/listened to by Michael Ebner. This is a very action packed novel. The main character, Teagan, finds herself in a current situation that could be life or death. The plot focuses on the present circumstances and then will flashback to past events that lead to a situation happening in another country. This book covers topics from Mafia involvement, terrorism, conmen, saving "stolen" girls, marriage, & just plain survival. In the end, how far will a person go to save themselves & their family.

Trigger Warning - Some may find the infertility struggle a TW.

*Thanks to NetGalley for my advanced copy.

The New Bad Thing from Michael Ebner hooked me immediately as the novel opens with a Seattle reporter, Teagan, in a Paris hotel that is under attack from the terrorist group K.I.L.

Alternating between past and present, we learn Teagan is needing a distraction after a recent miscarriage. Her focus lands on helping young women escape the terrorist group K.I.L. Previously Teagan is well known as a reporter celebrities are comfortable with because she doesn’t seek out salacious details about their lives. Because of her well-known connections, she wants to reach out to Roman, someone who is involved in “Project Rebound” which is devoted to rescuing girls recruited against their will to join terrorists organizations. In a strange turn of events, while Teagan is visiting Roman to ask for his help with her new found crusade, he asks her to be a ghost writer for his autobiography.

As Teagan heads to Europe, everything she thinks she knows is turned upside down as she finds herself in a Paris hotel under attack. She also seems be the target of the attack. Is it due to her desire to help rescue girls and find out who is responsible for it or has Roman deceived her and offered her on a plate as an offering?

I was hooked and couldn’t stop reading! This action-packed, international espionage based game of cat and mouse is not my normal genre but I am so thankful for NetGalley, Pen and Picture Publishing, and Michael Ebner for allowing me the opportunity to listen to this! I can’t wait to continue the series!

Teagan is desperate to be a mother and as a way to help deal with the mental strain of struggling to conceive she decides to distract herself and help others, This is very much a tale about ordinary people in extraordinary situations and in parts asks you to suspend reality whilst also keeping you fully immersed in it with the ongoing terror attacks.

I enjoyed rooting for Teagan and she is a female character with depth and shows a determination that can often be lacking in female lead characters. You can’t help but root for her. This is only a short book in the grand scheme of things. The audiobook is under 7 hours long which means it’s a fairly quick listen, if like me, you listen at double speed. I just wish the middle was as fast paced as the start and end of the book

It has made me want to jump straight into Book 2 though!!

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen and Picture for the ARC and the chance to read this book.
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On one hand this book is a super fast paced thriller that takes off from the start. But on the other hand it feels like the story began in media res and ended much the same way

The new bad thing by Michael Ebner is quite a ride. It starts on a high and just continues getting higher and higher and higher. The story of Teagan and her husband Todd, trying to have a baby can be very emotional, as well as the fear that she lives through in meeting criminals from Italy and Europe. It turns out that she becomes quite a gunmoll and has to use that ability to save her child. This was a great book! It was fun to read, and clearly written. Every single word was a tableau in my mind, Michael Ebner is a wonderfully descriptive writer. It was a quick read, and I really liked it. I listened to the audiobook, and whoever the narrator was, did a fabulous job. Every word was clear and his diction and elocution were perfect. I look forward to more books in this terrific series. Thank you, Michael Ebner.

Espionage usually isn’t my genre, but I truly enjoyed this book. I loved the MC Teagan. This book was action packed, fast paced and took us across various continents. The character development throughout was great! I’m looking forward to book two!

Thank you Net Galley and Pen and Picture for this advanced copy in extreme for my honest and voluntary review.

Did I like this book? I don’t know. I liked the subject. I liked the characters. I liked the action. I liked that it was fast-paced. Could it have been too fast-paced? Maybe. It jumped around a lot and a lot was thrown in there. On the one hand, I felt how overwhelmed the characters probably felt. On the other, I always was at least a little off balance. There was just a lot thrown in. I will read the second story and hope it doesn’t make me quite as discombobulated.