3.5
This was such a fast paced thriller. I listened in one sitting as I wanted to find out what happened next. That twist at the end! 😱
*Thanks to Pen & Picture and NetGalley for this audiobook review copy

This was a wild ride and I was totally here for it. I felt like I was Teagan while reading it, so that's a huge plus! I can't wait to see what happens in the follow-up book! I can't imagine the shit that she's going to burn down to get back at the crooked CIA agent!! What a piece of work!

I enjoyed this book mostly, it lost me in parts but overall I vouched for the protagonist. I think her character was a bit under-done though and could have been a bit more detailed. There was some background but at times it felt a bit vague. There were some key events that happened at the end that seemed totally rushed and then one massive thing seemed to get brushed over, I wonder if I missed something there too... either way I'll probably read the next one to find out! Thank you so much for the opportunity to read and review this, my review has been left on Goodreads and Bookmory.

"You can't just fill the shoes of a life you haven't lived."

For Teagan, in the high octane female driven world traveling action packed, The New Bad Thing by thriller author Michael Ebner, just keeping her shoes on is a feat as she runs from terrorists, the mafia, and the U.S. government.

All I kept thinking while listening to the always dependable narrator Braden Wright go through every anxiety ridden voice octaves for Teagan is the saying, "if it's not one thing it's another."

First, Teagan's mother gets caught running a Ponzi scheme and then runs off with the man who orchestrated it. Then her dreams of being a tough investigative reporter are derailed and she settles into a ghost writer position for celebrities writing their memories. Sadly, her first marriage ends, she suffers many miscarriages, and now a terrorist group is trying to kill her. All in all not good days.

As her situation worsens she realizes she can only depend on herself. Roman, the man she thought was her benefactor on a project to save women from trafficking kidnappers, puts a terrorist hit on her because of what she knows about him. Protecting herself by killing two terrorists in a Paris Hotel gets her on the radar of American European Counterterrorism Agent Lexington who rather than praise her blackmails her to kill Roman for his own personal reasons.

Oh did I mention she just found out she's pregnant after going through intense IVF with her new husband Todd. With high heels, a mother's determination, and really pissed off at all these freaking men telling her what to do, Teagan takes matters into her own hands because what's the worse that can happen, another new bad thing? I will tell you she fills the shoes for a whole new life.

I received a free copy of this audiobook from Pen and Picture Books via #NetGalley for a fair and honest review. All opinions are my own.

What would you do for the safety of your family? Would you kill, would you run, would you hide? Well the gutsy, determined Kiegan must decide. THE NEW BAD THING by Michael Ebner had me on the edge of my seat from page one. I can't say enough good things about this book. I'm not going to give away the plot, because where would be the fun in that? However I will say, if you're looking for an exciting fast-paced book. Read it! Or better yet get the audio book it's fantastic!

When Seattle reporter Teagen Penn starts working on a story she suddenly finds herself caught up in extraordinary position where in a heartbeat her life is forever changed…

Criss-crossing the globe, she’s forced to defend herself, forced to do things and become a person that makes her unrecognisable to her former self…

The story has 3 main characters - Teagen, Roman & Lexington - complex characters doing what needs to be done for their very own survival.

The Next Best Thing is fast-paced, intense & an action packed thriller.

The narrator (I listened to the audiobook) was just perfect!

This is a great start to the series. I’m really excited to see where the author takes this series!

It’s a while since I’d read a Crime Thriller so gave this one a go after hearing others rave about it.

On the whole, The New Bad Thing has a decent plot, lots of action, and features some original situations. It is an Action Thriller with lots of shooting, sieges, running around, although Ebner has also created some interesting characters. Personally, I have never encountered a hero who is running around after terrorists whilst also being on IVF. This was refreshing. However, there’s a lot of backstory for all of the main characters, and personally, I found it rather lengthy and unnecessary at times, although it could be argued that the family histories, childhood griefs and past relationships all filled-out the characters to make them more credible.

Unfortunately, I really didn’t like the character of Teagan, and found her to be rather unemotional at times. For example, despite constantly being told how much she wanted a child, towards the end of the novel I couldn’t help feeling that she wasn’t going to turn out to be a particularly maternal figure. If you’re a fan of an action-packed, plot-driven narrative, then don’t let these aspects put you off though!

The audio book is narrated by Braden Wright. He did a good job of delivering this narrative with both emotion and intensity when necessary. It is 6 hours 52 minutes in length.

This was a fast paced thrill ride as we follow Teagan around the world in her bid to stop terrorism, the mafia, and corrupt people. I love Teagan's story arc in this novel, she starts off as an entertainment writer and turns into a kick-ass spy/tracker/assassin? willing to do anything to protect her family. Looking forward to reading "listening" to the second book in the series due to be released in the new year.

Braden Wright did a great job narrating this novel and I am excited to see that he is slated to narrate the next book as well. I love it when a series is narrated by the same person from book 1 to the end.

Thank you to NetGalley, Pen and Picture publishing and the author, Michael Ebner for the opportunity to both read and listen to this in return for an honest review.

Normally I enjoy an audiobook as I feel I get into a great depth with the characters, hear what they are like and get an idea of their mannerisms. Or at least that works when the narrator is good. However with this, I found the storyline jumped and I became lost a lot using the audiobook and needed the physical book to right myself and review what I had missed. I found the book jumped around…a lot and I couldn’t always keep up. The plot was detailed - Tegan and Lexington got to travel considerably however I found I didn’t really enjoy the story itself. Whilst I know there is a lot of barbarity in the world and this does occur, it felt mindless and my lack of enjoyment of any of the characters meant I didn’t care what happened. I was both pleased and sad at the end about Todd - he was probably the one I did connect with more as he seemed more normal and human and I don’t feel that was really necessary. It felt it was there for the sake of it again.

That said Michael Ebner’s writing ability is spot on. The paragraphs were detailed and the flow of his sentences were great. It was easy to read if not that enjoyable for me. The narrator was perfect too - gravely but not too gruff. I’m curious at what would happen in the next book but it’s not making me run to try it. Maybe I will read a few reviews and see if they change my mind.

This thriller reminds me a lot of the movie Salt. It definitely portrays the strong female character who would do anything to help keep her children safe from the spy world she had been a part of. This was my first time reading one of Michael Ebner's books. But I definitely can't wait to read more from him. If you like fast-paced action packed books this one is for you. I did the audio and loved the different accents that came through for various characters.

A great start to this new series! Ebner’s characters continually provide surprises as the story unfolds as each one deals with their strengths and weaknesses. The author’s wonderfully developed characters that you will love or otherwise love to hate make this a riveting read. This is a well-written, suspenseful, edge-of-your-seat thriller that will leave you breathless at times in anticipation of the next twist in the plot. Don’t start reading this book if you are not prepared to stay up all night. I can’t wait to read more from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Pen and Picture Publishing who provided me with a copy of this book. I am voluntarily leaving an honest review.

2.5 rounded up to 3
In the first in a new series, Michael Ebner show what one women will go through to protect those she loves:

Teagan is an expert at getting people to talk, which she needs as a celebrity journalist and she not only has a knack for getting people to talk to her but also finding them. But she is finding that she needs to do more, and when she a story of women and girls in the Middle East being stolen and traded among terrorist group known as KIL she knows she wants to help. She creates Project Rebound to raise money to send a team to rescue the women and girls. But the project hits a major setback and Teagan travels to Paris to deal with it, her hotel is under siege from a KIL. Was it just a coincident or was Teagan the intended target? What happens next changes Teagan life forever.

Overall, this book was okay, it wasn’t quite the action adventure / spy thriller that i thought/wanted it to be. I will say that the beginning (Teagan on a fight for her life from a terrorist group assaulting her hotel) and ending were quite well done, but Ebner did loose me a bit in the middle of the book as things slowed down. The overall globetrotting and spy aspect of the book are underwhelming overall. It really is just Teagan trying to remember pervious conversations with Roman and trying to piece together where he may be in the world, so it runs a bit slow and frustrating at times.

I found the beginning of the book a little bit convoluted and was missing the aspects that told you what point in time in the story we are at. Ebner does add this in later on, but I questions why it is not there at the beginning of the book.

Teagan is an interesting character and we do get a bit of back story and character development for her, with her first marriage and her past in Japan. Though I do wonder if there is more in her past that makes her the way that she is. I like that Ebner really sets Teagan up as an anti-hero by the end of the book with the things that she is forced to do.

I do have a question for Ebner about what happened to KIL? I thought that they were going to have more impact on the story instead of being on the fringe of the story. I understand why they were part of the story at the beginning with the attack in Paris but I do not know what KIL I was brought up several times throughout the book, but served no purpose in the book past the first event and for some Teagan's motivations.

I did the audiobook version of this book and at first, I was not sure about the narrator but he totally grew on me the further I got into the book and I enjoyed his voice and the voices he used for each character.

This book was okay, and in the end did enjoy the book overall and I would be interested in reading the second book in the series just based on how this one ended and the character development and change that Teagan goes through.

Enjoy!!!!

This was my first Michael Ebner novel and it really pulled me in. Great fast paced thriller! Can't wait for more. The beginning of the audiobook was a touch hard to follow but it all fell in to place as I listened.

“A reporter confronts terrorists, the mafia and fertility issues in Ebner’s new series starter” (Kirkus Reviews). 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.

Very well written book, keep my attention with alot of action. I enjoyed listening/reading this book. I will also be reading the next book.

The New Bad Thing is a refreshing take on the espionage genre. I enjoyed the main character, Teagan. She is written and characterized realistically enough that I felt she was someone I knew personally by the time the book ended. Maybe because we’re both women, but her big personal “win” meant a lot to me after hearing about her struggle to get to that point. I hate reviews with spoilers so I won’t go in to detail about it! The plot is fast-paced and engaging; the action reads like a film. Ebner is an incredible author and I’m looking forward to reading the next book!

This story was intense to say the least. There was a lot of action and heartbreak and just dread. I really enjoyed it. It bounces from past and present but it’s easy to follow. I’m curious about the second book. The narrator did okay. It wasn’t my favorite audio book but the story itself made up for it.
Check triggers before reading! Thanks NetGalley for the opportunity to listen

The New Bad Thing is a fast paced, non-stop, action packed, thrill ride that starts off with a terrorist attack at hotel in France where Teagan is staying.
Teagan Penn is a successful entertainment journalist and a loving wife to Todd and both are in their 30’s. She wants a baby more than anything in this world, after failed fertility treatments it still hasn’t happened for them.
Teagan starts a crowd-fundraising project to rescue women who have been kidnapped by KIL, the worlds leading terrorist group in the Middle East. She creates an operation called Project Rebound with her friend and crime lord Roman where they raise $12 million to rescue the girls. Things start to fall apart so she has to go to Paris to find out what is going on. When she gets there, KIL attacks, killing innocent people. When she reaches out to Roman for help she finds out he is the reason the attacks is happening, he sent them to murder her. I have to say For a reporter, Teagan is bad ass and people fear her.
In my opinion, I thought the book was good however, I will say I didn’t care for the narrator. His voice was too boring for the book, all the action that happened and because of his voice it took me a while to get into the book. For this reason I gave this book 3.5 stars. I just read that this is going to be a series and this is the first book in that series which explains the ending. I can’t wait for part two, I have to know what happens. I also want to add that this book cover is one of my favorite covers, y’all did a great job with it.
Thank you to Pen and Pictures, Michael Ebner, and NetGalley for a chance to read this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Frustrated and a little despondent, following a number of miscarriages, Teagan decides to set up a project seeking to rescue young girls taken from their homes as she's not sure she'll ever become a mother. While trying to set up Project Rebound, she brokers a partnership with Roman, a Mr Fixer character with a secret, dark past.

Having survived a terrorist attack while staying in a Parisian hotel (or at least an attack that KIL - the story's world renowned terrorist group - claim was carried out by them), Teagan is interrogated by Lexington, a US agent with a multitude of masters, including those who want to use Teagan's knowledge of Roman's movements to achieve their own aims.

A thrilling story which sees Teagan and her family become embroiled in a long running family feud which crosses a number of continents, I loved the multifaceted nature of the characters in this book. Having initially found Teagan a little cold, I found myself desperately hoping she could overcome all the odds faced, and regularly shared her joy and pain. Lexington too moves from being a character you think you can (and should) trust, to one you possibly should detest, albeit you can possibly understand the cause of some of his actions.

Interested to hear that there is another book in the 'series' coming later in the year, I am interested in checking it out, particularly if it has the same fast pace and interesting twists.

This story focuses on heroes are in plain sight amongst us often been made through extreme tradergy or circumstance.
Loved the narrator even when describing extreme violence his voice control and tone were spot on. Attempts at ascens were good thankfully this wasnt needed too much.. The book burb tells what you need to know .its fill of action violence a complex heorine who becomes so in the end to get home. The opening of a series whi h kept me hooked throughtout. I loved tge ending but i was crying out for more. I gueese tgats hood writing as im invested in teegan and look firwatd to book 2.
Thank you net gallery and publisher for my arc audio

I overall did enjoy this book - however, the story bounced around a lot between the past and present, and at times it was hard to follow. The story itself was full of action from the start and I never found myself bored with it. Overall a 3.5 star read for me.