I absolutely loved this story! Any time there is a twisted family secret, surprise family members, along with great story telling I am in! Columbia Jones would have been so easy to hate as a character but the more you learned about her past and why she made the choices she did it all makes sense. The mother-daughter and sibling relationships are the heart of the story with enough twists along the way to keep you guessing. I am hoping for a follow up as the ending leaves it open for more intrigue.

The prologue of A VERY BAD THING consists of an intriguing letter written by Mother, now dead. She asks the reader of the letter, her child, not to hate her forever for the very bad thing she did many years ago. What has she done? Who is the author of the letter? Who is the recipient? Riley Carrington is a female reporter who goes on tour with Columbia Jones, a famous author promoting her new book, IVORY LADY. Colombia faints and is taken to the hospital ER. What causes Columbia to faint? Is it because she sees a man she knows who comes to her lecture? I have lots of questions and read on.

From the very first page of the prologue, I am absorbed into this thriller. I thought I might buzz through this book, but no way. The author, J. T. Ellison, writes a well-crafted tale with characters that seem alive to me—quite an accomplishment. I do, however, long for more dialogue tags. Thank you, Thomas & Mercer and NetGalley, for the chance to read and review an advance reader copy of A VERY BAD THING.

I’m a big fan of J.T. Ellison, I love her Taylor Jackson and Dr. Samantha Owen series. I’ve only read a few of her standalone novels but jumped at the chance to read an arc of ‘A Very Bad Thing’.
The plot revolves around a famous crime writer who dies suddenly on her latest book tour. Who would want to kill Columbia Jones? Turns out quite a few people actually want her dead. Especially with all the secrets she knew.
I really enjoyed ‘A Very Bad Thing’. It had a well constructed plot and was full of interesting (and irritating) characters. This was a good murder mystery that captured my attention and made me want to keep reading into the wee hours. I ended up finishing this book in a couple of days. 4 stars from me.

It took me a week after finishing this book to write a review. I really had to ponder this book for some time, it was that good! And it turns out, I don’t know what to write to do this book justice. This is a great psychological thriller and it is a definite page turner! Highly recommend this one!


Thanks to Thomas & Mercer for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Decent mystery/thriller with some good twists throughout. I really wanted to like this book more than I did, for me the main problem was honestly how long it was. At almost 500 pages it felt like there could've been some more stuff edited out and for me took a while to get into. Would recommend and will continue to read more from J.T. Ellison this one just wasn't my favorite. I want to thank NetGalley and Thomas & Mercer for the arc in exchange for an honest review.

A Very Bad Thing
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Pub date: November 1, 2024

Famous author Columbia Jones is murdered in her hotel after her book signing. This book was so gripping! There were many characters but I loved how they all came together. Many had motive to kill Columbia, but who really did it??? I really loved the book in a book! I thought this was very clever and loved reading how Columbia’s past unravels in this twisty book. This book was really long!! I think it definitely could’ve been shorter. I would’ve given this 5 stars, however really did not like the ending. I did suspect the murderer early on, which did not take away from the book. I just felt it did not tie in quite right. This was my first book by this author and I really enjoyed it! I am definitely excited to read more by this author!!

Thank you so much @otrpr and @netgalley for the ARC for this book!!! We had so much fun @thrillersbythebookclub.mke discussing this one!!!

Thank you to the publisher for inviting me to be a part of the book tour for this date. My tour date isn't until October 12, but I thought I would go ahead and write my review, as I finished the book yesterday and have had a little bit of time to ponder my thoughts on it. This was actually the first book by J.T. Ellison that I have read, although I do own a few of her previous titles. I can see why she is popular amongst thriller lovers, she definitely has the ability to weave together a unique and fun story that is entertaining from the get go. It is hard to imagine if you woke up one morning and found out that your favorite thriller writer was murdered, especially if you were at the same hotel/event that she was at. What would be even more crazy if you found out that the writer was your mother and you were given up for adoption at birth. That is pretty much what happens here- Columbia Jones is a super famous and popular author, and one morning, she is found dead/murdered in her hotel room. No one knows what happened and of course, there are lots of potential suspects. There is Riley, the journalist that Columbia had hired to go on tour with her, her daughter Darian who (thinks) she is the sole beneficiary of her mother's estate, people from her past who have a score to settle. She leaves a handful of people envelopes that hold clues to her past, and all of these "strangers" are seemingly more connected that any one of them thought. I was genuinely stumped as to who killed her, and I was leery of a few characters. Overall, the story kept me invested from start to finish, and I am planning on going back to some of J.T. Ellison's previous titles and checking them out. The only complaint that I have about this story is that there are a lot of characters/names in play here, and it was a little hard at times to keep everyone straight.. Columbia, Riley, Darian, Detective Sutcliffe, Skye, Nate, Liam, Mason, Kira, Luke, Devon, Knox, Oliver, Patrick... to name a few.

A Very Bad Thing by JT Ellison
Columbia Jones, a famous author with a secret past and now she’s dead. Her daughter, Darian has questions especially when she finds out her mom drew up another will that she knew nothing about. And who are these other beneficiaries now? A ex con, a journalist and a bakery owner. How does her mom even know these people, Darian always thought it was just her and her mom. This book had me guessing how everything tied together though I figured out a small part the ending still blew me away.

JT Ellison has done it again, my weekend was consumed by A Very Bad Thing and it was fabulous. A story about a writer being murdered on a book tour, how can you pass that up. Full of book references and a nod to a previous series of her own, JT had me turning those pages to see what would happen next.

A very famous author, her new book just out and is about to become a movie too, is on the final night of her book tour. She has her daughter and publicist, Darian with her, as well as a journalist who is writing a feature article about her everywhere she goes. The story is about to become even bigger, when the next morning, Columbia Jones is found in a pool of her own blood, dead in her hotel room.

But everyone loved Columbia, who would want her dead? It turns out, Columbia was keeping some very dark, dark secrets from everyone, and those left behind struggle to put the pieces together l

This is a long book but boy did it fly by. Not only is there a murder to solve, but we have a book inside a book - how much do we readers love that!! This is a fun and mysterious read, with plenty of ways this could have gone. Be prepared to lose your day or night lost in the story. Full of characters that are so realistic and easy to get attached to quickly. I just adore this author so much and will pick up anything she writes.

Thanks so much to Thomas and Mercer on NetGalley for the advanced copy. Get this one November 1st.

I loved this book. J.T. Ellison has been hit or miss for me, but this book hooked me from the beginning and never let go. I read it in 24 hours and still I couldn't get to the answers fast enough. I loved all the twists and how open she left things all the way to the end. You never knew who you could trust and what was really going on.

An author is found dead in a hotel room, The people who are suspected to be involved are slowly revealed . I really enjoyed the twists in this one, however believe it could have had a similar effect in a much shorter format.

I loved this book! A fresh new take about an author murdered and the web that was woven prior-to and in solving the mystery. I was provide this novel as a member of Thriller By The Bookclub - the Milwaukee (WI) Chapter. Thank you to the publisher for allowing us to hype the book prior to publication!!! We discuss this one this week and I cannot wait!

I enjoyed the ride, start to finish. I appreciated the diverse characters (all of them from such different walks of life). I also enjoyed the varied settings of this book. And my fave of all, it was a book within a book! How fun!

I wouldn't call this a triller, though -- but a modern whodunnit in the realm of Instagram/Facebook/IT - so mystery for sure.

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!